If you only had 7 days, where would you go?
 

The title says it all, you've got 7 days to get there and back from anywhere on the south coast of England, where would you go....?

Ride to Harwich over ferry through Hoek Van Holland
Hage to Düsseldorf (Germany) then across to Belgium to Calais
then Dover.

you could of course cut it short, or go out in from Dover.

It all depends on what you want to see / do really, also if you want, a leisurely ride or a bit of a zoom.

Or get map pair of dividers work out how far you ride in a day mark from home to 2 and half days, see where it takes you, then then give you 5 days riding to & from 2 days sight seeing.

If I was going in the summer I'd spend a day each way getting to the Alps and the other five days in them.

This time of year I'd probably head down into some part of Spain - Costa Brava, Barcelona.

In the depths of winter I'd either head for the Passau region of Germany (for the Elephant rally) or Stanstead (to see if EasyJet has a seat on a flight to somewhere warm) :biggrin3:

No question about it - Portsmouth to Santander and then 3 days messing about in northern Spain, maybe the Sierra de la Demanda or southern Picos.

Either that or fly back to Chernobyl...

I would avoid the Alps this time of year in case you get caught in a cold snap and get stuck somewhere with snow on the roads. There is a real risk of snow down to 1000m with any precipitation and ill equiped it could be dangerous.

Head for Spain.

That gets my vote

The Picos would also get my vote but for having to spend 36hrs in the floating version of motorway services to get there. Too much if you've only got 7 days.

Coast to coast South to North
 

I just got back from a quick trip up to the North of Scotland, leaving Thursday afternoon and back on the South Coast Monday evening. Fantastic roads and scenery on the West Coast - Kyle of Lochalsh, Applecross, Ullapool, Lochinver, Durness. Totally stunning and empty roads with good surfaces. Should still be OK but will start getting colder now. About 1800 miles, loved it!

I take it you're referring to the Pride of Bilbao, P&O's rusty old tub, in which case I'd have to agree. I took that one back in 2001 and it was showing it's age back then, christ knows what it must be like now that they're retiring it and stopping the route.

I went with Britanny on the Pont Aven these last two years, and have to say it's brilliant by comparison to P&O. Clean, spacious, and everything seems to be quite reasonably priced: 3 course meal plus half a bottle of drinkable red for 13 Euros, and, being a French crew, the food is actually pretty good.

Forgot to say - it only takes 24 hours on the Pont Aven too, so you'd actually get 5 days riding. I don't think you can get to Spain faster or cheaper, not it you plan to be able to walk the next day. :)

Yes it was the Pride I was thinking of - last on it three yrs ago. It'd be ok for cross channel, Dover to Calais or something but 36hrs of burgers and Hi de Hi entertainment is more than I thought I could take again.

What amazed me was that some of the passengers didn't get off in Spain, they went straight back to the UK, treating it as a 3 day mini cruise. Not for me even if it was free jeiger

after reading this thread and being that Im off to the pyrenees / Barcelona end of next week for 9 days, I dont suddenley feel so much like a looney :).. Bugger to find campsites open that way though...

It's only about 18 hours if you take the Brittany ferries crossing from Plymouth

We took the Port Avent out of Plymouth in May. It's got pretty good sailing times, but Santander is a nightmmare to clear and the port of Plymouth is pretty awfull to get out of when you return.

The Pride of Bilbao is a longer sailing, and yes it's pretty soul destroying, but at least you get in and out fairly painlessly, as is Bilbao. When you add the extra time it takes to get between Plymouth and Portsmouth the difference gets much closer.

Sailing is much better than the French motorways though, whichever one you take.


7 days..... where would I go...... Warmer places are nice, but in 7 days it's a little short, and the north west of Spain / Portugal gets the westerly weather just like we do (in the UK that is) at this time of year. Inland is getting colder so Germany, Austria etc doesn't float my boat.

Nope, if I had 7 days, I'd head north into Scotland, takin in the Dales, Northumbria, the Lakes, maybe Wales on the way. It's still going to be cold and wet, but the money you save on the ferry woud pay for some guest houses/B&B/hotels along the way.

Or... I'd save them up and take next year in the spring and make it a 10 or 14 day trip and get into Andalucia

Scotland
 

did a very similar trip in September :funmeteryes: belive they have had a snow fall this weekend doh, so go to Spain and go to Scotland in May cheers Spud:wink3:

I'd go to Provence, southern France. Many "gorge"ous roads over there :)

Many of them have been o"verdun" in the past. :innocent:

7 day's is the middle kind of time. Not long enough to go a great distance and enough to make it tantalising to try and go too far. Me I would do the Dover crossing and just stay in one country. France would be my choice. Try and make your way down to Montpellier. Go down one side and up the other. Once you get there you can work out how long it took and then you will know how much time you have to get back and do what you want. Weather will be good and the road's are ok.
John933

condor fast ferry poole to st malo, then 3 days down through bordeaux and into northern spain then back up again.

from memory depending on the stopeover time in guernsey/jersey, the condor ferry should get you there in about 8-10 hours...

Two possibilities at the other end of the 'mileage spectrum'.

Staying in England, try Margate. A traditional motorbike destination, and being smartened up nicely.

Or across the channel, the sleepy French coastal villages between Calais and Boulogne. If you go outside of main holiday times, not only will you be the only English person in most of the towns, there won't be many French people there either. All very empty outside of 'the season'.

With 7 days, probably time to do both.

Subscribed to this thread..... :thumbup1:

Vegas