Driving to Sunny Spain

[Wighty]

Mrs Wighty and I are taking the Clk on a trip to down near Malaga tomorrow , getting the ferry from Dover to Calais and planning on 4 to 5 nights getting down there . I've booked our accommodation for the way down there so we are all fixed on the route (never done it before ) . We haven't booked a return ferry yet or return accommodation , we will wing it in the way back and book stuff daily .
My parents are staying down there for 2 weeks so we get a free weeks accommodation down there before driving back again .
The car has all been prepped , with oil and filter change , spark plugs , air filter , rear diff oil , ATF and filter , new tyres front discs and pads , and rear pads all in the last few months . Fingers crossed .
I may not be posting much , so hopefully some of the rest of you can step in and answer some of the real technical stuff that I would usually answer .

 

[Headhurts]

Driving on the continent is awesome and you will come to realise how bad our roads are.

Have a lovely time and maybe give some feedback on your return.

Robin


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[Wighty]

Driving on the continent is awesome and you will come to realise how bad our roads are.

Have a lovely time and maybe give some feedback on your return.

Robin


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I've done a lot in France the last few years , but never in Spain ( can't speak a word of Spanish ) Hopefully they will admit to a little French to smooth the way . I'm sure the next bad roads will be back at Dover in 3 weeks .

 

[Cole@MBS]

Your love the drive, i did it once with Nick and some lads on here and been hooked ever since, done 3 trips this year with another two planned yet.......

 

[Cole@MBS]

A few picts aboard are always welcome as you no Mr W......

 

[Wighty]

Your love the drive, i did it once with Nick and some lads on here and been hooked ever since, done 3 trips this year with another two planned yet.......

Thanks Cole , I may even manage a little pic of the old girl (the car ) on foreign soil .

 

[Cole@MBS]

We keep our words on here dont we

 

[Wighty]

That's going to be awkward if I forget

 

[Vangogh]

Hi Wighty. Wife and I have driven down to Spain many times. Fairly quite roads interesting countryside. We took in the Millau Bridge last time on the way home, it is awesome. 1000 ft up across The Tarn, designed by Norman Foster. There is a rest area off the motorway there, so that you can get the full aspect of it.

 

[Wighty]

Hi Wighty. Wife and I have driven down to Spain many times. Fairly quite roads interesting countryside. We took in the Millau Bridge last time on the way home, it is awesome. 1000 ft up across The Tarn, designed by Norman Foster. There is a rest area off the motorway there, so that you can get the full aspect of it.

Millau does look like a possibility for the return , so does Carcassonne , I've got both on my list for some point in time .

 

[LostKiwi]

Carcassonne is a great way to spend an afternoon. We were there early June and it was great to be back there.

 

[gianton]

San Sebastian is worth staying a night or two, been there on a road trip from Greece in 2011. Really beautiful place the Basque Country.

 

[Wighty]

San Sebastian is worth staying a night or two, been there on a road trip from Greece in 2011. Really beautiful place the Basque Country.

I've out a mark on the map thanks just in case .

 

[AMGeed]

Something I've never done and I'm slightly envious.

Hope you have a great trip.

 

[Ken_R]

+1 for envious. I'd have always liked to get the ferry to Santander and then spend a week or two in a Villa that I know just outside of Nerja at Los Capistranos, which is owned by a Club that I am 'technically' still a member of. And then casually drive back up the west side of France.

I'm going back decades but, a restaurant in Nerja, Paco y Eva, did a fish stew. It came with a side plate for the bones/shells. One of the best meals (I went more than once) that I have ever tasted.

 

[daibevan]

Jealous as, driving in Spain and France are always a treat. I won't start going on about it, as I'll go on for ages and not say nothing that's not already been said on here somewhere.

ENJOY

 

[jp williams]

Hope all goes/has/gone well Wighty.
I`ve drove down here at the beginning of the month and will stay until mid November.
Been driving down twice each year for the past 12 years...you will love it.
Am near Lake Vinuela.
Regards
John

 

[Submariner1]

I've done a lot in France the last few years , but never in Spain ( can't speak a word of Spanish ) Hopefully they will admit to a little French to smooth the way . I'm sure the next bad roads will be back at Dover in 3 weeks .

Have a great trip, weather is nicer in September down there. The sea is defo much warmer
Not sure about their french .... English will do you just fine

Have a great time, sure you will

 

[Wighty]

Well , we made it back the other day , it was a great trip , 3300 miles 65 hours drive time . Went from Calais down past Bordeaux and then over into Spain past Pamplona,Zaragosa , Teruel and stopped outside Malaga for the week . On the way back it was back by Albacete , Lleida ( I know , I've never heard of them either ! ) over through Andorra and back through France by Carcassonne , Rocamadour (Dordogne) ,Limoges ,Chartres ,Rouen then Calais again .
We took 5 days getting down there and 6 days coming back . On the way South we pre booked our accommodation before leaving home , but on the way back we used Booking.com to book day by day (other holiday sites are available) .
There were some rough roads in rural Spain , which broke the central exhaust bracket . Local garage is going to weld it tomorrow .
On the whole amazing Tarmac and views , some of the best were the Pyrenees and the area in Spain around Teruel on the small roads .
I was amazed how different central Spain was to France , it was one hot dry place and looked a pretty tough life for the small villages .
Here is a few pics of the trip .

 

[Wighty]

Broken exhaust bracket for the more technically minded