We arrived Sat 18th at our happy winter place for 6 weeks after 4 days of driving from Cheshire to Nerja in Southern Spain. Car performed superbly as ever. Average mpg for the whole trip was 53mpg, so less than last year however I drove quicker and the temperature was seriously cold most of the time. Day 1 Cheshire to La Bouille near Rouen via Eurotunnel. Other than the usually busy British motorways and hitting the centre of Rouen in rush the day went well. Stayed in a lovely house overlooking The Seine although you couldn't see it as was dark and misty! Day 2 La Bouille to Angresse near Bayonne. Almost 500 miles and approximately three quarters of it done on the assisted driving mode of the radar cruise control. Emovis tag took care of the peages. Pretty boring scenery wise but clear roads. Day 3 Angresse to Segovia. Great journey climbing the mountains of North East Spain then headed South past Burgos and off the motorway onto fabulous driving roads to Segovia. Hardly saw a car for 60 kilometres. The Roman Acqueduct in the centre of the town and the cathedral were well worth the slight detour. Day 4 Segovia to Nerja. About 400 miles done in 6 hours plus stops. Round the western side of Madrid was easy on a Saturday morning then head South for the sun. Highlights are the mountains of the Jaen and Granada regions. Absolutely stunning scenery. Now to find a jet wash as the car is seriously crusted minging! Dog and wife happy to be in the warmth!
Good friend lives and works in Dubrovnik but comes home for Xmas for 4 or 5 weeks - with dog so has to drive. Just spend 6 days heading back from Harrogate via Coquelles, Beaune, Lake Garda, Opatija, and finally Dubrovnik. Makes me want to do that sort of drive - and head to the sun! Enjoy the warmth and safe travels back...
What a super road trip! Thanks for posting. I think we talked about La Bouille previously as I had stayed there over the summer on our way south. A lovely little gem on the Seine. I remember it well and would happily go back. Enjoy your time down there. We’re gearing up for summer road trips in the new motorhome and Spain has come up a number of times from the Wife. I think we’d probably do the Portsmouth-Santander route though to avoid too much driving with the kids. Have fun! Just what the 5er Touring was built for.
I'm not a million miles from Dubrovnik - the temperature there currently is 11°C but the forecast is for non-stop rain there tomorrow. I'm further inland, in Bosna i Hercegovina, where the temperature right now is -3°C with some more snow coming tomorrow.
The forecast for the next 3 days is 20 degrees and sun. We chose this area as it has the best winter climate on mainland Europe. I've brought my tennis rackets so off for a game tomorrow. Also have my walking boots as the Sierra Nevada is out the back door. Car was jet washed today at the local BP garage. Looks great again.
Sounds amazing! Hoping you enjoy every second of the time there. I did wish I was doing something similar as I was commuting up and down the M6/A14 today….!
The Head Up Display doesn't quite show the assisted driving mode very well although you can see it in the main dash display. Wife took the picture as I was driving....well the car was driving and I have to touch the wheel every 10 seconds or so. This was on day 4 as temps were above freezing!
Aware its not warm there now, its why all the hotels close for the winter.... but knowing what its like in the spring / summer / autumn got me thinking what if..... Enjoy the snow, its just above freezing in southern England, and nothing nice like snow, just a grey murkiness!
Yes, the snow here is nice and clean - it evaporates rather than melts. The Adriatic Coast in high Summer is not so pleasant as one might imagine. Very, very, very crowded, and often simply too hot - last Summer we had several weeks over 30°C. But we love going to the coast off-season - September time - hotels and restaurants are still all working but the crowds have gone. We've been here just over a month now and getting ready for the return trip next week. But we'll be back and do it all again at Eastertime. We've been coming here at least twice a year for the last 30 plus years - so I reckon we must like it. We vary the route home every time.
Your M2 would be the perfect car for Northern Spain's empty open A roads. I could only "hoof" the wagon so much when we got off the motorway before Mrs Mad started to complain
Yes La Bouille looked worthy of more time - we were there at the wrong time of year to fully appreciate it. Spain is a fabulous touring country - very few tolls in comparison with France; about 10 euro against 100 euros or so for France on our routes North to South in each country. Mountains and old towns abound, tunnels, bridges and great vistas. Certainly extremely quiet this time of year but it was as cold as the UK in the North. Would assume busier in the summer especially in August when people leave Madrid for a month to get to the coasts and away from the searing interior heat.
Both my boys spent time living in Spain as part of their degree, Ben in Madrid and Joe in Seville. The change in temps throughout the year was astonishing. I’ve only ever driven in the far north, flew into Bilbao and drove across to Potes. Stunning part of the world, shame the hire car wasn’t up to much!
Love Seville. Not done Madrid...yet. We are hoping to head North to Cordoba for the weekend with some friends. It was the capital before Madrid after the Moors were pushed out of Spain. Been before about 25 years ago and is an absolute gem of a city.
Looks a great trip, I'm hoping to do the same at some point this year. If you bend your leg a bit, you can rest your knee against the steering wheel and it stops the Driving Assistant from asking you to touch the wheel. I did about 40 miles down the A1 like that
Thanks for that. Tried this yesterday on our way back from the fabulous city of Cordoba. It'll be my new driving style!!
I recognised that aqueduct straight away. We used to visit Segovia regularly when I worked in Madrid in the 1970's. We would travel over the mountain pass - Puerta de Navacerrada ski resort and drop down to Segovia. There's a famous restaurant next to the aqueduct - Casa Candido, well worth a visit.