Spain via Cherbourg

JonMac

We are thinking of taking Celtic Link when we go to Spain in November.
Does anyone have recommendations of stopovers at that time of year?
We'll be heading towards Bilbao/Santander initially.
Thanks.

Moomat

Plenty to see on the west coast of France. Omaha beach and the American war memorial are very close to Cherbourg but most of the centres close around 6pm, might be better to do it on the way back to the boat. Mont St Michel is close too. I'd recommend Dune du Pyla and Oradour Sur Glane as must see places on your way down too. Further down, Lourdes is well worth the trip away from your route to see. I'm not religious but still a fascinating place to see. There's a mountain overlooking Lourdes called Pic du Jer with a Funicular(like a staggered train) to bring you up to the top, if the weather's good you must take a trip up and when you get off the train at the top follow the paths to the peak for amazing 360 views!

Are you familiar with the Aires in France and France Passion?

JonMac

This is our first venture abroad, was going to do Portsmouth to Santander but thought Celtic Link might be less hassle.
Am all prep'd for Spain but not much research yet on France.

JonMac

JonMac wrote: »

This is our first venture abroad, was going to do Portsmouth to Santander but thought Celtic Link might be less hassle.
Am all prep'd for Spain but not much research yet on France.

First up - it's a long way! To Bilbao you've got to allow at least 3 days good driving, and that's without seeing much. If you want to stop then longer again.

The Celtic Link gets in late enough so on the first night you won't get far.

On the plus side, if you want to stop then there are loads of great places along the way. A little out of the way but Mont St. Michel is just about reachable on the first night. South Brittany is nice, good beaches and seaside resorts.

Nantes is worth a stop. There's a great Jules Verne style museum there and the old town is nice enough

Good beaches all the way down the Vendee. La Rochelle is a lovely town on the coast, and (another detour) the islands are good. If you are going inland there's the Cognac area, Angouleme - all interesting

South of Bordeaux the coast is isolated from the main roads so more of a detour. I don't really know the area inland there. If you go further inland again you could hit Toulouse and Carcassone.

St Jean de Luz close to the spanish border is also a nice seaside resort.

to be honest, unless you've got a real reason to go all the way to santander I wonder why you would bother - the weather won't be any better.

Moomat

France is fantastic, very campervan friendly, you'll have a ball. Many towns have designated motorhome parking called aires. The parking is usually free or at most a few euro. They generally have somewhere to empty your waste and top up your water, some even have toilets and showers. We found the aires very safe and well located. There is a book called "All the Aires France" which lists all the aires by district and includes pictures and descriptions. There's thousands of aires so you're never more than a few km from 1.
https://www.vicarious-shop.com/All-the-Aires-France-edition-4.html This will be your bible in France!

There is also another Europe wide guide called "Camperstop Europe" but I would prefer "All the Aires"

France Passion is a collective of vineyards, farmers, small family run restuarants etc who will allow you to park your motorhome on their premises for free. The only fee is to register on the France Passion website(about €30) and get your guide book and identity card sent out. These places are off the beaten track but if you're looking to experience genuine French hospitality/lifestyle and mingle with the locals you won't be disapointed.
http://www.france-passion.com/ Well worth the fee, even if only used a couple of times. Some really fantastic food and wine is available at some places also.



There are plenty of toll roads in France but we managed to get around the whole country without using any. Very often there is a standard road running relatively parrelel to the toll road

JonMac

Thanks a lot!
Actually original plan was to start in Santander and spend December to February slowly touring Spain in an anti-clockwise direction.
So just pondering if a few days at that time of year [November] in France would be fun, besides being simpler ferry travel.