After
crossing from Dover to Calais on the impressive new P&O ferry
Spirit of Britain we drove down to Vernon on the Seine and visited
Monet's garden at Giverny, a riot of colour with spring
flowers but no water lilies. Luckily we arrived early in the
morning before the crowds but it was worth a diversion. We then
continued to Versailles staying at the Huttopia campsite, quite
expensive but we
were able to travel into Paris easily on the RER train. We also
visited the gardens of Versaiiles but the queues for the palace
interior were so long we gave that a miss. Heading south we
stayed
at aires at Lôches, Brantôme and by the Canal du Midi, spending a
night at a campsite near St Jean de Luz before crossing the border into
Spain.
Again this year we ended up in the middle of San Sebastian at lunchtime
but managed to extricate ourselves on a new road (not on the satnav)
and
headed south over the mountains to Soria then via the gorge at Rio
de Lobos ending up at Segovia. After visiting the city centre
and looking at the Alcazar, cathedral and Roman aquaduct we continued
southwest to Avila then across to the preserved mountain village of La
Alberça where there was a free aire. We drove south through
interesting hilly countryside then grassy plains to Caceres
and across the border into Portugal visiting the fortified
hilltop
town of Marvão. We continued south across the Alentejo plains to the
attractive
historic city of Evora staying free at a couple of baragems (reservoir
dams) and then stopping at an empty new campsite at Castro Verde, an
interesting
small town and a good centre for birdwatching. From there we approached
the Algarve across the hills on an rough road to Monchique and down to
Alvor on the coast near Portimão. It was far too busy for us there so
we turned west and found a delightful remote beach for a nightstop
before
reaching Sagres and Cabo St Vicente, the south western tip of Europe
where we watched intrepid anglers fishing from the top of the high
cliffs. We continued up the west coast stopping overnight by the small
resort of Odeceixe then the larger traditional Portugese resort of Vila
Nova de Milfontes. We decided to head inland to avoid Lisbon returning
to the coast at Peniche and Nazaré then inland again to the
shrine at
Fatima. Heading north we
returned to the coast at the pretty seaside town of Costa Nova with
it's striped houses. We took another circuit inland to the Douro Valley
and Vila Real before reaching the small city of Guimarães which we
visited by taking
the cable car
down from the campsite situated on the hill of Penha. After visiting
the coast at Vila do Conde and Viano do Castelo we
turned inland again to Ponte de Lima visiting their annual garden
festival for an amazing entry fee of €1 !
Our last stop in Portugal was the border town of Valençia de Minha
where the many shops were all seemed to be selling the same ranges
of bed linen,
towels and baby
clothes.
Back in Spain we drove along to the coast road to the resort
of
Baiona stopping to look at the old monastery by the sea at Oia, and took the
autoroute to avoid the large port of Vigo and on to Santiago de
Compostela where the campsite was within walking distance of the city
centre. As it was Ascension Day the museums and art galleries were
closed but there was a street festival with jazz bands, a classical
orchestra and lively traditional Galician folk dance troupes to
entertain us (and the many pilgrims who had followed the
Caminos of St James) on a rare warm and sunny day as it's reputedly one
of the dampest places in Spain. Definitely an interesting place to
visit.

Our 2011 route through France

Our route through Spain and Portugal

Monet's garden at Giverny
Segovia Alcazar

Costa
Nova striped houses
Cudillero in Asturias
From
there we headed to the northern coast via Betanzos a
small town with typical glazed balconies on the old
buildings, and a circuit of Ferrol to find a supermarket (which had a
height barrier!). We then continued along the coast via small resorts
with
Cudillero being the most picturesque with its colourful houses on the
hillside overlooking the harbour. A final highlight of the trip was the
drive around the Picos de Europa taking the winding road through the
narrow gorges to Riaño and the spectacular drive across the mountains
to Potes. From there we visited
Fuente Dé and took the cable car up 750 metres to the mountain ridge, luckily the
clouds clearing briefly whilst we were at the top.
We continued along the coast to Comillas where we visited the amazing Gaudi
designed house of El Capricho and stopped in Santillana
del
Mar before our last night in Spain and the ferry home from Bilbao to
Portsmouth.
Costs
Ferry :
Dover - Calais £52 single with P & O
booked
through Camping & Caravanning Club
Bibao - Portsmouth £419 single with outside cabin
Fuel : £870 for 4370 miles about
28 mpg
Gas: Gaslow LPG Initial fill in UK
11.75 Litres £9; three refills in France and Portugal 22 litres €18
Sites
€580 total fees
Campsites 37 nights
€6.00 to €32.50
(11 using ACSI discount Camping card mostly €15)
Aires and wildcamping
19 nights: 1
paying €3.50; 18 nights free