Trip Invite Northern Spain back through France
- Thread starter grantmac
- Start date
Sorry …what a muppet i am….21st September from harwich to portsmouth, then ferry arriving 23rd september in spain and riding across northern spain and up through france ro arrive home on rh 3rd october
we arrive the same day, but you will be 5 hours ahead of me, arriving at 0800. I only have 20 hours on the ferry from Plymouth.
Here you go.
Obviously this is half of a there-and-back route from my home taking in the best bits and inevitable it has to be wibbly-wobbly - a bit like me!
- in order to do this, but if you're going to get the best of the Pyrenees it's inevitable ...
I start and end well inland of the coasts as that depends on where you're coming from and going in to but if it were me I'd start at Sant Jean-de-Luz and end at Colliure, both within sight of each end of the Pyrenees where they drop into to wet stuff ...
Some will say that we're missing the Irati route between Saint Jean-Pied-de-Port and Larrau and if you haven't done it you might want to but in September it's very weather dependant and also if you want to really explore all of the delights of the Pyrenees that's a trip in itself.
I've ended this section at Canfranc Station as it's mentioned in the thread but Jaca is probably the better option to stop - maybe first night of starting from Bilbao in the morning.
Likewise it looks like I'm missing out on the Col de Tourmalet here. But the same arguments apply as before. My aim here is to have a blast over the frontier passes and back again before heading further south - from Bagneres to Luchon to Puigcerda there aren't any frontier passes worth the salt and precious few others. From now on the route now explores whats called the Pre-Pyrenees where limestone formations dominate that landscape - namely spectacular ravines ... The stop at Col de Nargó is purely arbitrary as it's limited by the number of waypoints I can use on Gogglemaps - but there is a fuel station there and a nice coffee can be had in the hostal next door while watching all the hapless twats heading too and from Andorra ...
This is a section of fantastic variety which I sometimes do as a day trip - a long day trip! - from my home in Tremp. The first section runs along the escarpment where the Pyrenees suddenly plummet into the rolling countryside of central Catalonia with, on clear days, views of the sacred Montserrat mountain just outside Barcelona before turning back to climb into the high Pyrenean zone around Tuixent. This area is very isolated and hardly visited by Johnny Foreigners so let's keep it between us eh?
Finally the 'mountain' section over the top from La Pobla de Lillet reminds me of the IoM before we join a short section of the boring old N-260 - for the first and only time this trip! - down into Puigcerda, a pleasant little town to chill out and from which the rest of your itinerary can go pretty much anywhere ...
Enjoy
Obviously this is half of a there-and-back route from my home taking in the best bits and inevitable it has to be wibbly-wobbly - a bit like me!
- in order to do this, but if you're going to get the best of the Pyrenees it's inevitable ...I start and end well inland of the coasts as that depends on where you're coming from and going in to but if it were me I'd start at Sant Jean-de-Luz and end at Colliure, both within sight of each end of the Pyrenees where they drop into to wet stuff ...
Some will say that we're missing the Irati route between Saint Jean-Pied-de-Port and Larrau and if you haven't done it you might want to but in September it's very weather dependant and also if you want to really explore all of the delights of the Pyrenees that's a trip in itself.
I've ended this section at Canfranc Station as it's mentioned in the thread but Jaca is probably the better option to stop - maybe first night of starting from Bilbao in the morning.
Likewise it looks like I'm missing out on the Col de Tourmalet here. But the same arguments apply as before. My aim here is to have a blast over the frontier passes and back again before heading further south - from Bagneres to Luchon to Puigcerda there aren't any frontier passes worth the salt and precious few others. From now on the route now explores whats called the Pre-Pyrenees where limestone formations dominate that landscape - namely spectacular ravines ... The stop at Col de Nargó is purely arbitrary as it's limited by the number of waypoints I can use on Gogglemaps - but there is a fuel station there and a nice coffee can be had in the hostal next door while watching all the hapless twats heading too and from Andorra ...
This is a section of fantastic variety which I sometimes do as a day trip - a long day trip! - from my home in Tremp. The first section runs along the escarpment where the Pyrenees suddenly plummet into the rolling countryside of central Catalonia with, on clear days, views of the sacred Montserrat mountain just outside Barcelona before turning back to climb into the high Pyrenean zone around Tuixent. This area is very isolated and hardly visited by Johnny Foreigners so let's keep it between us eh?
Finally the 'mountain' section over the top from La Pobla de Lillet reminds me of the IoM before we join a short section of the boring old N-260 - for the first and only time this trip!
- down into Puigcerda, a pleasant little town to chill out and from which the rest of your itinerary can go pretty much anywhere ...Enjoy
Which route did you take us on Simon ?Here you go.
Obviously this is half of a there-and-back route from my home taking in the best bits and inevitable it has to be wibbly-wobbly - a bit like me!
I start and end well inland of the coasts as that depends on where you're coming from and going in to but if it were me I'd start at Sant Jean-de-Luz and end at Colliure, both within sight of each end of the Pyrenees where they drop into to wet stuff ...
View attachment 507900
Some will say that we're missing the Irati route between Saint Jean-Pied-de-Port and Larrau and if you haven't done it you might want to but in September it's very weather dependant and also if you want to really explore all of the delights of the Pyrenees that's a trip in itself.
I've ended this section at Canfranc Station as it's mentioned in the thread but Jaca is probably the better option to stop - maybe first night of starting from Bilbao in the morning.
View attachment 507901
Likewise it looks like I'm missing out on the Col de Tourmalet here. But the same arguments apply as before. My aim here is to have a blast over the frontier passes and back again before heading further south - from Bagneres to Luchon to Puigcerda there aren't any frontier passes worth the salt and precious few others. From now on the route now explores whats called the Pre-Pyrenees where limestone formations dominate that landscape - namely spectacular ravines ... The stop at Col de Nargó is purely arbitrary as it's limited by the number of waypoints I can use on Gogglemaps - but there is a fuel station there and a nice coffee can be had in the hostal next door while watching all the hapless twats heading too and from Andorra ...
View attachment 507902
This is a section of fantastic variety which I sometimes do as a day trip - a long day trip! - from my home in Tremp. The first section runs along the escarpment where the Pyrenees suddenly plummet into the rolling countryside of central Catalonia with, on clear days, views of the sacred Montserrat mountain just outside Barcelona before turning back to climb into the high Pyrenean zone around Tuixent. This area is very isolated and hardly visited by Johnny Foreigners so let's keep it between us eh?
Finally the 'mountain' section over the top from La Pobla de Lillet reminds me of the IoM before we join a short section of the boring old N-260 - for the first and only time this trip!
Enjoy
Meanwhile a bit more mainstream, avoiding some boring bits and using some of the good bits of the N-260
I've also just realised that Goggle will take you through the Canfranc tunnel instead of the Somport pass - which would be a pants thing to do!
I've also just realised that Goggle will take you through the Canfranc tunnel instead of the Somport pass - which would be a pants thing to do!
I would be up for joining in 
PM sent.
Last call...... for 21st September boarding....
We are back to 2 intrepid adventurers.....I do have all the France lodgings now booked for 1 extra person who was unable to confirm so all that is required for anyone still wishing to commit is to cooirdonate the ferry and Spain bookings .
Time is runnig out on the ferry so any definate interest please let me know and I can also help with the last stages
We are back to 2 intrepid adventurers.....I do have all the France lodgings now booked for 1 extra person who was unable to confirm so all that is required for anyone still wishing to commit is to cooirdonate the ferry and Spain bookings .
Time is runnig out on the ferry so any definate interest please let me know and I can also help with the last stages
@Simon_100 are you planning to ride with us a few days?
If you're staying in or near Tremp we could set off together and ride east until I need to peel off back home, making a round trip for me. Better than trying to meet up on your inbound leg ...
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