Advice on the Pyrenees please

I quite like a place called Torla in the ordesa national park.
There is an offshoot off the N260 that heads up to it(still signed N260).best part of the 260 imho
The village of Torla is set in spectacular scenery and it’s worth an overnight stopover,to see the sun setting on the mountains,
And seeing the colours change.
There is a nice restaurant with a good sized terrace to view from over an eve meal,but if the place is busy you’d need to grab a table sharpish.
Can’t remember the name of the restaurant,but if you go it will be obvious enough.
There are a few hotels in the village and one a few hundred meters back from the aforementioned restaurant with an underground secure car/bike park ,if that sort of thing is a requirement.

Good tip, Torla is a lovel place and actually not as 'touristy' as you might think given that the Ordesa is the most visited location in the Pyrenees - if you have to get the bus into the park, whuch is closed to traffic in the summer and other peak periods, yiu have to be there before nine at the very latest, better before eight, to avoid huge queues.

The Camping Rio Ara just next to the village is one of the best campings I've ever stayed at and although it's a stiff climb up to the village to eat it's a very easy wobble back ...

That section is the origibal N-260 which was replaced a few years ago by a totally new road from just south of Sabiñánigo to Fiscal. TBH I don't like the Torla section, strictly speaking the N-260a now I think, as those tunnels are horrible. And there's a much, much better road south of the new one, the A-1604 to Boltaña. Definitely one of the very best roads in the Pyrenees - but watch out for stray horses, geese, goats, etc.!

Enjoy
 
Good tip, Torla is a lovel place and actually not as 'touristy' as you might think given that the Ordesa is the most visited location in the Pyrenees....

And there you have the start of your problem, Markyboy or your first solution, we really cannot tell.

You have been given a good suggestion of Torla, as an attractive place, with a nice restaurant (name unknown but apparently obvious) and hotels. Torla is a large village / small town, about 120 km south southeast of Pau. I said Pau only as it’s the place you mentioned as entering the Pyreneees.

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As luck would have it, the ADAC map I linked you too, does have a suggestion that would take you through Torla. That in itself is not to surprising as the bods at ADAC probably know it’s a nice place, so have gone to the trouble to bring it into their route(s) of reasonably easily driveable roads, suitable for anyone with a driving licence whether they are in a family saloon with a dog and three children or mounted as you will be on an awesome Adventure (with a capital A) steed. They really may be your best overall guide over a huge area, as they are specifically designed for just the sort of jaunt you plan on making. Do they have goat tracks? No, as that would just be stupid. You wanted some off-road, get a decent map and find some. Do they bring in good roads that’ll guide you A to B and still have fun? Yes, without a doubt. Might they miss out that special little road that only some bloke on UKGSer knows about but can’t quite remember where it was or can’t be arsed to show properly on a map? I guess it might but it won’t ruin your holiday and who knows, you might find your own.

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The next lucky bit is that you are going from Pau to Alicante, so Torla is at least roughly in the right direction. You’d be in a right pickle if it wasn’t.

Now the tricky bit:

1. If you’d like to stay there, can you do the extra 120 km from Pau (or wherever) to Torla and be there in time to check in, have a quick scrub up, a beer and into the restaurant. Yes? Great. No? It’s useless.... or maybe not....

2. If, having read about Torla as ‘the place’ not to miss, can you find a way to work it into your itinerary if only to pass through for morning coffee or lunch or afternoon tea or just so that you can say you have been there to ‘scope it out’, to use the popular vernacular? It’s on the ADAC suggested routes, which you might (or might not) adopt, so it might work; it’s really up to you.

Hopefully, this example shows how incredibly difficult it is to tell people how to go from A to D via maybe B and C, when the person asking the question really has no idea where they’ll be or even for how long, all over a huge area, when really their main target is to get to see their wife in Alicante which is miles away, having started on the Normandy coast and returning via Santander, all over two weeks which may (or may not) include the sea crossings and the journey from and to their front door. You can see that some bods are suggesting the French side of the Pyrenees, but Torla and it’s suggested roads eastwards is on the Spanish side of the mountain range. That’s the problem; everyone is right and wrong at the same time. Why? Because the Pyrenees cover a huge area, littered with good ‘must do’ roads and ‘must do’ places. You could spend weeks there, if you wanted to but you don’t have that luxury.

My suggestion now is that you sit down with your friend, some maps, the suggestions made and a couple of beers, your calendar, Google and TripAdvsor. You can then start to plot things out for yourself. Then return to UKGSer with the route you have worked out, the time you have set aside for it all and the places the pair of you intend to stop. Please plot it into something like Google maps (which is easy to do) so that you can show the bods here exactly what you have in mind.... they’ll then be able to give it the once over.


PS I really cannot stress enough how good the ADAC map is. If you look at the suggestion in this thread on the cols on the French side, you can find them (and more) on the routes. You can find Torla, too and that the Spanish side route brings in the popular Spanish ‘puerto’ passes. It really is designed to answer a question just like yours, as simply as possible. Use it with confidence. But wait, it suggests the N-260! Somebody in the thread said take it, somebody else said don’t.... there you see the problem. Just like, “Which gloves should I buy?” everyone has an opinion. Don’t worry, we see the same thing when it comes to the B500 in the Black Forest, so it’s not unique to the Pyreneees. The easiest solution? Find your own way.

PPS If you are serious about places to see and do and are prepared to do a bit of reading, the Michelin Green Guide to Spain (and its sister, France) is really very good. You can get the whole country books or the more regional versions very easily on Amazon or through any half decent bookshop or library. Besides giving you all sorts of information in an easy to follow form, they often include routes you might take. Again, the routes (just like those from ADAC, RiDE magazine) are inevitably some sort of compromise as they cater for a mass audience of varying skill levels, expectations and above all, time available.

Enjoy your holiday, you plotting it out is part of the fun and you’ll learn plenty. Trust me on that at least. It’s not hard once you get going. I created all this post on an iPad, lying in bed.... I’ll spare you the pictures.

Richard
 
Good tip, Torla is a lovel place and actually not as 'touristy' as you might think given that the Ordesa is the most visited location in the Pyrenees - if you have to get the bus into the park, whuch is closed to traffic in the summer and other peak periods, yiu have to be there before nine at the very latest, better before eight, to avoid huge queues.

The Camping Rio Ara just next to the village is one of the best campings I've ever stayed at and although it's a stiff climb up to the village to eat it's a very easy wobble back ...

That section is the origibal N-260 which was replaced a few years ago by a totally new road from just south of Sabiñánigo to Fiscal. TBH I don't like the Torla section, strictly speaking the N-260a now I think, as those tunnels are horrible. And there's a much, much better road south of the new one, the A-1604 to Boltaña. Definitely one of the very best roads in the Pyrenees - but watch out for stray horses, geese, goats, etc.!

Enjoy
As you say Simon,the campsite in Torla is v good,
Only downside is in the morning it’s in the shade till @10am as the hills are very high .
Not good for drying tents etc prior to packing up if it’s damp.(minor consideration i know but a pain if it’s rained in the night,and an early start is on the cards)
 
Good Lord ! :eek: A thread that hasn't been hijacked by Brexit ! Hope you have a great time whatever routes you end up taking .. the scenery is stunning over there.

Yet you are the one who mentioned it :blast :augie


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What news and views, Markyboy?

Well we are now in Guardamar Del Segura enjoying 37 degree heat with lots of beers and a swimming pool 10 metres away to cool and soothe our knackered bums.

I asked people at the start of this thread about their thoughts on the pyrenees and possible routes so it would be unfair to not put up where we had been on our trip.
Day one - Newcastle to Portsmouth

Day two - St Malo to a camping ground in Salles via Rennes, Nantes, La Rochelle, Rochefort, Royan and Bordeau.
The early part of the run was done on much faster roads but from Nantes the rest of the day was on gorgeous D roads. Our original campsite happened to be full when we arrived so the owner gave us the address of his friends campsite in Salles which was lucky as we really needed some refreshments.

Day three - Salles to a Camp site called Torre De La Mora just south of Tarragona via Pau, Laruns, Formigal, Huesca, Lleida then Costa Daurada. The campsite overlooked the sea and although for families treat us very well with a warm welcome and great facilities.

Day Four - Tarragona to Guardamar Del Segura following the coastline all the way south trying to avoid the major roads as best as we could.

We have photos and videos of some of the trip which I will load once home. The homeward trip will be this Sunday back to the pyrenees and then Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday playing in the pyrenees ending at Santander for the ferry Wednesday evening.

I'll update the return once its completed and hope this helps in some way.
 
Plenty of good roads through the Pyrenees. My advice would be to avoid Andora which is a dump.
 
Day three - Salles to a Camp site called Torre De La Mora just south of Tarragona via Pau, Laruns, Formigal, Huesca, Lleida then Costa Daurada. The campsite overlooked the sea and although for families treat us very well with a warm welcome and great facilities.

Er, that's north, or rather WNW, of Tarragona ... :D

Have a great time in the cool - it's much hotter inland! - and think about Camping Collegats in the Pyrenees, cool pool, cold beers, warm welcomes! :)
 
As you say Simon,the campsite in Torla is v good,
Only downside is in the morning it’s in the shade till @10am as the hills are very high .
Not good for drying tents etc prior to packing up if it’s damp.(minor consideration i know but a pain if it’s rained in the night,and an early start is on the cards)

Camping? It’s £49 for a lovely room with breakfast at the Edelweiss Hotel

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Er, that's north, or rather WNW, of Tarragona ... :D

Have a great time in the cool - it's much hotter inland! - and think about Camping Collegats in the Pyrenees, cool pool, cold beers, warm welcomes! :)

Thanks for the directional advice and we are both looking at the campsite online now! We may just fit this into our trip. SMUG mentioned above about Andorra being a dump but this was a place we would of liked to see. Any advice on Andorra? Is it worth a look or is Smug right to miss
 
You have been given a good suggestion of Torla, as an attractive place, with a nice restaurant (name unknown but apparently obvious) and hotels. Torla is a large village / small town, about 120 km south southeast of Pau. I said Pau only as it’s the place you mentioned as entering the Pyreneees.

Torla is a very pretty village with a good selection of restaurants and spectacular views. It’s one of the nicest places I’ve ever visited.

The restaurant may be the pizzeria El Taillon which is great value for money and has great views of the mountains from the terrace. €3 for a pint of Estrella and about €10 for a very nice pizza.

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A couple of photos of the two steeds and our camping so far.
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Apparently rubbing yourself in the local mud soothes the mind and body of a weary GS rider. Sorry if youve just eaten
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As you say Simon,the campsite in Torla is v good,
Only downside is in the morning it’s in the shade till @10am as the hills are very high .
Not good for drying tents etc prior to packing up if it’s damp.(minor consideration i know but a pain if it’s rained in the night,and an early start is on the cards)

Ha ha, you're telling me! :)
 
Thanks for the directional advice and we are both looking at the campsite online now! We may just fit this into our trip. SMUG mentioned above about Andorra being a dump but this was a place we would of liked to see. Any advice on Andorra? Is it worth a look or is Smug right to miss

Tell me if - and when! - you are going to stay there and we can have a few beers, talk shite, kick tyres ... :)

PS the C-12 is closed near Flix due to the terrible forest fire that's raging there, otherwise that's a great road to get from the Ebro delta area up to the Pyrenees :(
 
Mikeyboy and Wapping are absolutely right about Torla. Gorgeous but we are staying at the Campsite de valle Bujaruelo just a couple of Kilometres along from torla with a little bit of dirt track to get to it. Absolutely gorgeous. Thanks guys for the info
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Just got back from my first trip to the Pyrenees, Rode most of the N260 and had a great time. As for Andorra, very busy and overated but if you do go there it might be worth filling with fuel, £1.00 per litre.
 
Leaving the campsite and heading to Broto 2km away for some Tabacos.
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Right now in Puenta de la Reina de Jaca
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