Just a pointer please guys

Davel

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Having done the France to Santander route a few times - and briefly toured in the Pyrenees and Picos areas, we thought that this year we would take a route from Santander down to Gibralta.

So we had thought about heading to Burgos, Valladolid, Salamaca, Caceres to Badajoz and apparently there is a road inside the Portuguese border and alongside the river running along the border to Vila Real de Santo Antonio - although I can't see the road on the map - and then nip across to the Rock.

But we quite like the idea of pretty sleepy fishing villages or small towns as stopovers and so wonder if we'd be better heading down the Portuguese coast.

I'm not asking for a route but would just like anyone's thoughts on the two suggestions please.

I know there won't be pretty fishing villages along the border but the priority is the ride rather than major roads or towns.

Interesting stop-overs would be great.
 
Having bimbled down that coast with time on my hands I didn't come across lots of sleepy/pretty villages down that coastline. I've stayed in places such as Viano do Costelo, Nazare, Aveiro, Figuera da Foz, Setubal. You'll notice they are not small towns, but they were destinations ended up in when there was no particular destination set, and reached on the day; if I'd have found the sort of places you're thinking of I'm sure I would have indulged as I like those sort of stops, I just didn't. (Of course it's quite possible I did it wrong, and would be happy to be corrected and put something in the book for the future) :thumb

Probably the nicest place I've stopped on that coastline was actually Baiona in Spain, which I really did enjoy.

Even though cities on bikes aren't everyone's cuppa I'd probably take the opportunity to do a stop in Porto doing that route again.
 
Stroll into Waterstones or your local library and have a look at any half decent guide book from the likes of Michelin (Green Guide) Rough Guide or Lonely Planet.

Google something like, 10 nicest coast towns Portugal or wherever.

Go on Streetview or Google Earth, to scope ‘em out.
 
Doing some of that already.

Got the Michelin map for Portugal & Spain and googling towns etc.

Looking on street view too.

Just don't want to choose the 'wrong' route.

Cheers
 
A pointer

The coastal route will be slower with more traffic and personally, not good as good motorcycling as a trip through the interior. But it will be cooler if your travelling in the summer and offer some great sea food along the way. There is a recent tread in this section about the historic road which runs north south through the west of Spain and some route suggestions. You could do worse than start here. One of the links provided by Wapping - many thanks mate. http://www.rutadelaplata.com/moto/en/ This route was used by the Romans to move minerals south and by pilgrims heading for Santiago. The roads are quiet and some excellent motorcycling. If you have any particular interests or want more specific recommendations as to where to visit let me know.
 
That looks great thank you - and Wapping of course !

Cheers
 
Take some time to explore the wetern end of the 'Sistema Central', which is a series of mountain ranges that runs from north-east of madrid right into Portugal and almost within sight of the Atlantic. Start from Avila.

Unmissable would be the Sierra de Gredos, south of Barco de Avila, the Xerta vallet, east of Palencia and the Sierra de Peña de Francia, east of Ciudad Rodrigo (whch sounds like the kind of ville you may have in mind).

franca-portugal.jpg


From the top of the Sierra Peña de Francia there's a whole lot of nothig all the way to Guarda in Portugal but from Cuidad de Rodrigo there is a long motorway that is pretty much the only way into Portugal from there.

Enjoy!

Simon
 
Portugal, coastal, minor roads - I think the lack of progress south will get annoying before lunch on day one. The infrastructure just isn't there &, away from the tourist hotspots, you will soon get to realise how poor much of backwoods PT really is. The folk welcome Brits nonetheless, just be respectful & take care not to be 'flash'.

Personally I don't really see the attraction of Gib, but that's your decision. Tarifa is far more rewarding, so I would set a route down the historic centre of Spain, maybe stop at the Hotel Hurricane near Tarifa, maybe a quick day trip to Morocco sans bike. Then bimble along the coast west to Vejar, Cadiz, Jerez. north to Seville, then west on the A40 to J50. Then south to El Rocio (cowboy country), down to the coast & west along to Huelva & Ayamonte (an old sardine town). Over the PT border, cut north at Castro Marim onto a lovely quiet road through the Vale Do Gadiana NP & onwards back to Santander via PT or ES as you choose.

Have a good trip whatever you decide. Just make sure you take sufficient time to explore & not end up flogging the boring slab.
 
Portugal, coastal, minor roads - I think the lack of progress south will get annoying before lunch on day one. The infrastructure just isn't there &, away from the tourist hotspots, you will soon get to realise how poor much of backwoods PT really is. The folk welcome Brits nonetheless, just be respectful & take care not to be 'flash'.

Personally I don't really see the attraction of Gib, but that's your decision. Tarifa is far more rewarding, so I would set a route down the historic centre of Spain, maybe stop at the Hotel Hurricane near Tarifa, maybe a quick day trip to Morocco sans bike. Then bimble along the coast west to Vejar, Cadiz, Jerez. north to Seville, then west on the A40 to J50. Then south to El Rocio (cowboy country), down to the coast & west along to Huelva & Ayamonte (an old sardine town). Over the PT border, cut north at Castro Marim onto a lovely quiet road through the Vale Do Gadiana NP & onwards back to Santander via PT or ES as you choose.

Have a good trip whatever you decide. Just make sure you take sufficient time to explore & not end up flogging the boring slab.

I went down to Tarifa specifically to be at the southernmost point of mainland Spain. It's certainly worth it although sad that the castle on the actual cape is out of bounds ... the town itself is dead grotty and is just a shopping mall and disco scene for surfers ... after that I went a stayed at a camp site next to Cape Trafalgar, f***ing rip-off, no shattered timbers, cannons, corpses washed on the strand ... :)

But Vejer de la Frontera, just inland, is fantastically lovely and that's where I should have stayed! Note also that the landsca0e around there is very 'English' with iron fences surrounding what looks like parkland. I rememebr reading somewhere that the grateful Spanish granted the Duke of Wellington* an estate there in gratitude for his kicking out the French in the Peninsular War - the War of Independednce to the Spanish - and after he 'landscaped it to his own taste the fashion caught on. True? No idea but the area is lovely.

dehesa-rodrigo.jpg


Meanwhile further inland you'll find the 'dehesa' which goes of forever, and forever, and forever. If youn wander off road onto trails - a lot are fenced off - you could come across hered of black pigs eating the acorns and hence thier hams can be worth over €400 - yes, four hundred Euros! - each. If you are unlucky you could ride into a hered of these:

hoss.jpg


Black bulls selected down the centuries to be mindlessly agressive to anythng on two legs ...

Regs

Simon

* naturally there weren't so keen on Nelson!
 
Really useful stuff - thank you all.

Gibralta wasn't my idea and was only going to be an end point before heading back up to Santander, so we thought we'd have a quick look.

May reconsider now.
 
Take some time to explore the wetern end of the 'Sistema Central', which is a series of mountain ranges that runs from north-east of madrid right into Portugal and almost within sight of the Atlantic. Start from Avila.

Unmissable would be the Sierra de Gredos, south of Barco de Avila, the Xerta vallet, east of Palencia and the Sierra de Peña de Francia, east of Ciudad Rodrigo (whch sounds like the kind of ville you may have in mind).
+1 :thumb2

Just south of here is Extramadura, one of our favourite parts of Spain - not sure why, it just has an amazing atmosphere. Caceres is definitely worth a look.
 
Take some time to explore the wetern end of the 'Sistema Central', which is a series of mountain ranges that runs from north-east of madrid right into Portugal and almost within sight of the Atlantic. Start from Avila.

Unmissable would be the Sierra de Gredos, south of Barco de Avila, the Xerta vallet, east of Palencia and the Sierra de Peña de Francia, east of Ciudad Rodrigo (whch sounds like the kind of ville you may have in mind).
+1 :thumb2

Just south of here is Extramadura, one of our favourite parts of Spain - not sure why, it just has an amazing atmosphere. Caceres is definitely worth a look.

Ha ha, hello Dermot, thought you might pop up here. Definiteky +1 about Caceres although I gace it a miss on my tour down there as I wasnt in to doing cities - NB most Spanish 'cities', including Caceres, would hardly be town in the UK. - and now it's used as a location in Game of Thrones (along with just about everywhere else in Spain or s it seems!


Off topic, I'd never heard of G o T until we adopted Balto - you'll remember Lucky Dermot, she dies¡d in 2014 :( - and strangers kept coming up asking for phtos and many saying - in Spainish, Italien, Fench, Japanese ... - "Look, daddy, there's a Game of Thrones dog!"

imgp1191.jpg


Back on topic, the aptly named US air base at Moron de la Frontera ...

dmoron.jpg


Regs

Simon
 


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