Advice for Northern Spain in March?

[Jakester]

Hi, finally had enough of the crap Welsh weather and booked a couple of weeks in March to head south toward Spain on the new-to-me Hexhead 1200GS. I've given it a good service, including valves and throttle body balance. Done just over a thousand miles on it now since buying it, and apart from a little hiccup with the side stand cutout switch (bypassed now!), it feels solid and ready to rock.

Newhaven to Dieppe crossing, leaving UK on 14th March, back on 23rd March. Mixture of camping and cheap hotels

I'll be heading down the centre of France through Millau (because, bridge), then Perpignan and into Spain with an idea to head to the Bardenas Reales then up towards Pamplona and back up through France passing through Bordeaux (because, wine).

I'm hoping the wisdom of the forum might offer me some advice.

I've ridden in France a lot, so am pretty happy that I can just find a farm campsite off the side of the road, or municipal one in a town, pretty much whenever I need one (I'm assuming this holds true in March as it does in August?) and will use the odd B & B Hotel chain if the weather is rubbish enough.

I have never ridden in Spain, so my main question is whether it is similar to France and you can just ride until you've had enough and then quickly find a convenient campsite, or do I need to be more organised? So, far I've booked the ferry ticket and a night in a B & B Hotel in Clermont-Ferrand which I can just blast down the motorway to on the first day off the boat. I don't really want to plan much more than that if I can just wing it, so please let me know your experience of this. Noting that this will be in March, so is there a chance on campsites being closed for winter?

And generally any advice on my vaguely planned route across the top of Spain. I was thinking of 3 or 4 days to do this, with the middle of those spent exploring the Bardenas. How is the weather in mid-March (got to be better than Wales anyway).

Thanks

 

[siddo]

Hi, finally had enough of the crap Welsh weather and booked a couple of weeks in March to head south toward Spain on the new-to-me Hexhead 1200GS. I've given it a good service, including valves and throttle body balance. Done just over a thousand miles on it now since buying it, and apart from a little hiccup with the side stand cutout switch (bypassed now!), it feels solid and ready to rock.

Newhaven to Dieppe crossing, leaving UK on 14th March, back on 23rd March. Mixture of camping and cheap hotels

I'll be heading down the centre of France through Millau (because, bridge), then Perpignan and into Spain with an idea to head to the Bardenas Reales then up towards Pamplona and back up through France passing through Bordeaux (because, wine).

I'm hoping the wisdom of the forum might offer me some advice.

I've ridden in France a lot, so am pretty happy that I can just find a farm campsite off the side of the road, or municipal one in a town, pretty much whenever I need one (I'm assuming this holds true in March as it does in August?) and will use the odd B & B Hotel chain if the weather is rubbish enough.

I have never ridden in Spain, so my main question is whether it is similar to France and you can just ride until you've had enough and then quickly find a convenient campsite, or do I need to be more organised? So, far I've booked the ferry ticket and a night in a B & B Hotel in Clermont-Ferrand which I can just blast down the motorway to on the first day off the boat. I don't really want to plan much more than that if I can just wing it, so please let me know your experience of this. Noting that this will be in March, so is there a chance on campsites being closed for winter?

And generally any advice on my vaguely planned route across the top of Spain. I was thinking of 3 or 4 days to do this, with the middle of those spent exploring the Bardenas. How is the weather in mid-March (got to be better than Wales anyway).

Thanks

I never book anything in Spain and ride until ready to stop. I'll find an hotel online. Never looked for a campsite.
It'll be cold and wet at that time of year. It's drier and warmer in Catalonia though.

 

[Jakester]

I never book anything in Spain and ride until ready to stop. I'll find an hotel online. Never looked for a campsite.
It'll be cold and wet at that time of year. It's drier and warmer in Catalonia though.

Thanks, that's kind of what I want to hear. If I don't have to book anything in advance I can just go wherever the weather looks best. No real plan apart from a vague notion to visit the Bardenas Reales and get the hell away from the UK for a while.

 

[Captain jack]

I wouldn’t bet on the weather being better than wales in march. As for campsites I think they mostly open April to October but there will be some, mostly for campervans. Even fewer in Spain out of season. Good luck

 

[crumbles]

Just wing it,and camp somewhere discretly away from villages,perhaps down a track too a forest...

 

[Jakester]

I wouldn’t bet on the weather being better than wales in march. As for campsites I think they mostly open April to October but there will be some, mostly for campervans. Even fewer in Spain out of season. Good luck

If the weather looks that bad in the north I'll maybe just blast on down the coast until I find some sunshine.

 

[Jakester]

Just wing it,and camp somewhere discretly away from villages,perhaps down a track too a forest...

Yep, I think that's going to be my plan .

 

[siddo]

Yep, I think that's going to be my plan .

Just plot your route and you can stop at leisure.
Nothing worse than chasing a booking and the weather is shocking. You can just stay where you are until it improves.

 

[Wapping]

Nothing worse than chasing a booking and the weather is shocking. You can just stay where you are until it improves.

Nothing worse than, in shocking weather, finding that there is nowhere to stay.

 

[shez1]

I had a ride through Bardenas Reales last year and was not overly impressed. It was OK, but I would not let it dictate the route. In March the weather should dictate the route and I would plan to spend time near the Mediterranean. I don't think camp sites are open generally, but along the Med you may find some? Hotel / hostel accommodation is much cheaper in Spain than France, in fact most things are. Give your time constraints I would head for somewhere along the Gulf of Roses. L'Escala and Roses are both nice places with some good roads nearby. Enjoy your trip.

 

[Arsey]

I had a ride through Bardenas Reales last year and was not overly impressed. It was OK, but I would not let it dictate the route. In March the weather should dictate the route and I would plan to spend time near the Mediterranean. I don't think camp sites are open generally, but along the Med you may find some? Hotel / hostel accommodation is much cheaper in Spain than France, in fact most things are. Give your time constraints I would head for somewhere along the Gulf of Roses. L'Escala and Roses are both nice places with some good roads nearby. Enjoy your trip.

Agreed, Roses is quite pleasant but stay on a quality street for your celebration. Pretty sure I stayed in a nice small hotel nestle d in a corner , having a beer watching the local heroes ride past .
It’s not black magic

Cadaques is a fav too

 

[siddo]

Nothing worse than, in shocking weather, finding that there is nowhere to stay.

That's when you ride to the nearest one with a vacancy.

 

[J biker]

Campsites will be mostly closed in France, Spain, I doubt you will find one.
As you have worked out, South is a better bet. Picos are wet and cold early in the year.

 

[J biker]

Btw, ClermontF can be a rather cold area early in the year with snow being common. Safer to do booking.com at the last minute and let weather dictate route.
Good luck!

 

[wessie]

So, far I've booked the ferry ticket and a night in a B & B Hotel in Clermont-Ferrand

Btw, ClermontF can be a rather cold area early in the year with snow being common. Safer to do booking.com at the last minute and let weather dictate route.
Good luck!

did you miss the bit I have quoted from the first post?

 

[Jakester]

Btw, ClermontF can be a rather cold area early in the year with snow being common. Safer to do booking.com at the last minute and let weather dictate route.
Good luck!

No worries, ClermontF is just somewhere definite to sleep at the end of the first day off the ferry. I'll be heading straight down the peage/Mways from Dieppe to get there so hopefully just a dull m/way blast to get Northern France out of the way. From there maybe down as far as Perpignan on the next day but will see how it goes. The municipal campsite in the centre of Perpignan opens from the 15th March so could be a cheap stopover before Spain.

 

[Jakester]

I had a ride through Bardenas Reales last year and was not overly impressed. It was OK, but I would not let it dictate the route. In March the weather should dictate the route and I would plan to spend time near the Mediterranean. I don't think camp sites are open generally, but along the Med you may find some? Hotel / hostel accommodation is much cheaper in Spain than France, in fact most things are. Give your time constraints I would head for somewhere along the Gulf of Roses. L'Escala and Roses are both nice places with some good roads nearby. Enjoy your trip.

Thanks, that sounds promising. Yes, I was thinking of just bailing out to the Med if the weather turns iffy further inland. Though I've been keeping my eye on Zaragoza weather for the last few days, and there seems to be plenty of sunshine there even in Feb.

 

[rossman999]

Its certainly going to be better weather than the UK but just remember how high the centre of spain actually is.

I was there in October and in a single day I got a temperature swing of over 20 Degrees -starting out on a cold misty wet day on the top of a mountain and ending up at sea level.

PS in October many hotels and cafe's were shut and probably will still be in March - but what was open was great value.

 

[wessie]

PS in October many hotels and cafe's were shut and probably will still be in March - but what was open was great value.

one thing they have in Spain that are much better than we get in the UK are little cafés within fuel stations. They tend to be used by local tradespeople and serve a cortado for a euro rather than a Costa robot serving a bucket for a fiver. These are likely open all year.

 

[BeeMJones]

Hi, finally had enough of the crap Welsh weather and booked a couple of weeks in March to head south toward Spain on the new-to-me Hexhead 1200GS. I've given it a good service, including valves and throttle body balance. Done just over a thousand miles on it now since buying it, and apart from a little hiccup with the side stand cutout switch (bypassed now!), it feels solid and ready to rock.

Newhaven to Dieppe crossing, leaving UK on 14th March, back on 23rd March. Mixture of camping and cheap hotels

I'll be heading down the centre of France through Millau (because, bridge), then Perpignan and into Spain with an idea to head to the Bardenas Reales then up towards Pamplona and back up through France passing through Bordeaux (because, wine).

I'm hoping the wisdom of the forum might offer me some advice.

I've ridden in France a lot, so am pretty happy that I can just find a farm campsite off the side of the road, or municipal one in a town, pretty much whenever I need one (I'm assuming this holds true in March as it does in August?) and will use the odd B & B Hotel chain if the weather is rubbish enough.

I have never ridden in Spain, so my main question is whether it is similar to France and you can just ride until you've had enough and then quickly find a convenient campsite, or do I need to be more organised? So, far I've booked the ferry ticket and a night in a B & B Hotel in Clermont-Ferrand which I can just blast down the motorway to on the first day off the boat. I don't really want to plan much more than that if I can just wing it, so please let me know your experience of this. Noting that this will be in March, so is there a chance on campsites being closed for winter?

And generally any advice on my vaguely planned route across the top of Spain. I was thinking of 3 or 4 days to do this, with the middle of those spent exploring the Bardenas. How is the weather in mid-March (got to be better than Wales anyway).

Thanks

Well you are missing some good weather here in South Wales. I hope your little trip is going well. Post some pics when you get back. Hope to pop over there myself.