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Pyrenees road trip

........ my juices are flowing in more ways than one ....... viva Espana ...... :)
 
Thanks for sharing, looks like you crossed some of the same sections we did back in 2016 on our Spain road trip, awesome clear sections of road for most of the trip. The thing I did miss was the views aren't as great as in the Alps, the scenery is a little too brown for my liking in Spain.
 
infrasilver said:
the scenery is a little too brown for my liking in Spain.

Are you sure it wasn't your vision misted by all the fumes puffing out the back of Jackal's 993? :grin:
 
Day Four

On to Day four.....

The plan for this days driving was to retrace our steps from yesterday back along the N-420 until we crossed the River Ebro again, then a different variation of the same C roads across the Sierra De Montsant, then cut across the plain towards Tarrega, The C-63 to Balaguer and then we were well and truly back in the good stuff of the foothills of the Pyrenees.





I say good stuff, as if the first bit was not good, but that would be doing it a grave disservice. The N420 as mentioned is a stunning bit of fast snaking well surfaced main road that flows over the plains over some gentle hills and more open stretches. We were blatting along at a decent cruise of around 90 - 120 which felt perfectly safe and very easy and relaxed, with just the occasional car in front to dispatch, which the GT3 relished with a howl from the Mezger and the Kline exhaust. Once back in the Sierra de Montsant, on the smaller Croads, the roads were almost eerily deserted, sometimes we would go 10 or 15 minutes without seeing another car...The countryside was vineyards and olive trees, the sun blazing down from a clear blue sky. The mountains, although not very high meant there was a constant flow of corners, so it was second and third gear most of the time, and an occasional foray into fourth. This I think is really the cars sweet spot, 3rd gear with awesome acceleration right on tap and a good long spread of speed meaning you could run up to 6 or 7,000 RPM then roll off for the corner, with a dab of brakes. It was constant cornering and accelerating and beautifully enjoyable. Up in the sierras, we turned off onto the TV-7004 which started off great then about 2 k in, covered in freshly laid gravel.....We kind of thought it might be just a section and slowed to about 15 - 20 MPH, to save the paintwork and suspension components from a peppering but it just went on and on....in the end we drove about 20 miles and I was getting pretty pissed off when it suddenly went back to old tarmac. The next village we stopped for coffee.



The car as usual everywhere we went caused a stir as we parked up, bet they dont see many cars like that up in the mountain villages.

From there it was more open normal main roads as we headed north west towards Tarrega and Balaguer, where we refueled. The road out of Balaguer north is the awesome C13 which snakes due north following the course of a river which is dammed in several places forming some beautiful lakes. The C-13 is one of those super fast, wide sweeping roads up the river valley, with great visibilty, plenty of overtaking opportunities if needed, stunning scenery (which I was having difficulty enjoying, (having to keep my eyes firmly on what I was doing most of the time) and some great up and downhill sections. There are tunnels, dams to drive over and all the while the Pyrenees beckon from the north, getting ever closer...Driving heaven!! We were heading to the town of Tremp, and from there would cut due west up into the mountains on the C-1311, via the Col de Figols and pick up the N230 / N123 west before we again turned north to our destination for the night of Bielsa.

At the top of the Col de Figols we stopped to admire the view of Tremp and the surrounding hills and mountains.





The twisty road up the mountain was several miles of non stop hairpins and switchbacks and was hard work, but the GT3 lapped it up! You really appreciate the way it steers and turns in on roads like that. After that treat it was back to some more fast sweeping stuff on the N123 which was great for the variety, meaning I was never bored. At Estada, we picked up the A138 due north up into the Pyrenees proper. We could see jagged snow capped mountains looming ahead, the A138 was running through some amazing scenery, but was a little busier, although, busy for most of Spain compares to what you might find on a Sunday morning fairly early in England....We never got held up, Yellowbird blasts past in a matter of seconds.



A quick stop to snap the scenery and although we were making good time, Lesley was getting impatient to get there and kick back a bit, so we pressed on. Bielsa, our destination is a small village right in the middle of the Pyrenees, near the french border and the Parador there is built in the style of an old mountain hunting lodge, tucked away at the head of an amazing mountain valley with stunning peaks either side and Monte Perdido, or " The lost mountain" at its head. You turn off the main road into this valley up a small road which you could easily miss and the drive 16 kilometers right up the valley, which has alpine meadows and flowers either side of clear river, lovely alpine style buildings and the mountains all around. It was one of the most beautiful bits of scenery of the whole trip and it just kept getting better and better the nearer we got to the end, where the road stopped at the Parador.



Melt water streams from the glacier on the mountain feed scores of waterfalls that tumble down the almost sheer rock and scree faces to feed the river below. Amazing....I will let the pictures do the talking:











And here is a mix of the best bits of the days Go Pro footage so you can share the enjoyment of the roads.



Once we had arrived we hiked into the forest along the valley floor for about 30 minutes, alongside the river and enjoyed the scenery. Then it was time to freshen up and hit the terrace to watch the sun disappear behind the mountains with a couple of large Spanish measure VaT's, beautiful......After that, some dinner and a nice wine before bed. What an awesome day.
 
Fabulous ........ just fabulous ...... I am loving this ....... :)
 
Apologies for the absence from finishing the next installment, it takes a fair bit of time sorting and editing videos, pictures and writing it all up, its been pretty busy work wise and another holiday squeezed in as well, a Bookatrack iberian adventure, 3 trackdays in a week in Spain & Portugal. ....

Day 5 the plan was to head into France via the Bielsa tunnel just a few miles up the road from the Parador, then down into the foothills and then into the passes and cols of the french side as we worked our way back easterly across the Pic du midi then south back into Spain towards the next nights stop at Sos Del Rey Catolico. The roads we followed were:

Leaving the valley of the Parador, onto the A138 North into France.

From the border the D173 south to Arreau - another lovely mountain road, pretty well surfaced, medium speed winding through some lovely countryside and small towns and villages as it got lower and we reached the lower valleys and plains.

From Arreau the D918, which snakes back into the mountains part of the tour de France route, not far from Arreua you hit the first of the famous cols, the Col D'Aspin.



This was about 12 km of switchbacks and hairpins with some wider corners, pretty narrow in places, that winds up over the first pass and then back down, with the obligatory amazing views everywhere as the sun beat down from a clear blue sky....It then doubled back up into the mountains for the Col De Tourmalet. These are ski towns in the winter with lifts and chalets but in the summer, its cyclists and fellow driving enthusiast who fill the roads. 2 weeks before the tour de France, the roads were busy with cyclists pounding up the mountain, many of them over our age and going like the clappers, amazing.....unlike in England we did not seem to get held up unduly and the car was in its element snarling up and down the gearbox and attacking the corners gleefully. It was pretty hard work, so we stopped to admire the view and have a coffee in Tourmalet.




I had come this way on the motorbikes around 14 years previously and it was just as good then.

From Tourmalet, more of the D918 and another col as we headed up again to the Col D'Aubisque... yet more staggering views, however, here, we hit some low cloud right up high and the road became quite scary at times, with some sheer drops and lots of places with no barriers to the valley floor several hundred feet below. If you got it wrong here, it would be messy for sure......



So I knocked it back a few notches and took it a little easier. We headed down towards laruns then picked up the D934 south back towards Spain. This was a really lovely bit of fast road sweeping up the mountain, through avalanche shelters with colunnaded sides, the exhaust booming off the walls the out into the sunshine again as we raced upwards.

This turns into the A-136 at the border and runs due south to pick up the N 260 in the foothills of the Pyrenees, from which it was a shortish drive to Jaca and then back along the N 240 in the opposite direction we had come a few days earlier and interesting to drive the other way.

We had a bit of an "interesting" end to the days driving when I decided to turn off the main road and cut across country towards Sos Del Rey on the A -1601. The road started off great, with approx 5K of freshly laid tarmac then abruptly became extremely bumpy, in fact so bumpy, I could only drive at approx 15mph maximum. We kept thinking we would come to another section of well paved road, but oh no.....on and on it went, and it really was completely deserted and really lovely, with some great countryside. We passed an amazing old abandoned castle where we stopped for a rest and some pictures.




Then pressed on towards Sos Del Rey. After approx 45 minutes of this, we came out on a decent road and could see Sos on top of the hill not far away. It was a relief to pull in to the car park in front of the Parador and check in, after a long hard day of driving.



We washed and got changed and headed out for a well deserved cold beer and a walk around the lovely old town, perched on top of the hill overlooking the surrounding plains, it had some great views. We ate in the Parador that evening, tomorrow we were headed North again back into the mountains.



 
So now we come to day 6 of the tour, which saw us leave Sos del Rey, to head once more northwards back into the mountains, in search of more mountain passes and spectacular scenery. The weather was gorgeous again, blue skies and the sun shining fiercely.

I had looked at the map the night before and worked out a route that should deliver. No pre printed routes this time, so I will list it for you:

Sos del Rey to Sanguesa, then after a quick few miles on the motorway, we turn off to pick up the NA178. This bit of road is another gem, in fact there is a circular route you can do which involves heading north on the NA178 until nearly the border, then going back south on the NA137, west on the NA124 until you pick up the NA178 going north....I can see why you would, as it was perfect Porsche roads, fast sweeping sections flowing through beautiful forested countryside, with plenty of elevation changes and very little traffic, as well as the almost obligatory great tarmac. Alas time dictated we should instead leave the 178 and turn off onto the NA 2011. This snakes up into the mountains to Larrau and at the border turns into the D26.

The Col De Larrau was a stunner, breathtaking views at the summit in all directions, we could see our road down the other side twisting sinuously along the side of the mountain as it dove away into the valley. A few pictures and we were off again.





From here, it was the D19 downhill, twisting through the green country side, a decent fast descent, with plenty of faster corners as well as hairpins. After approx 5 miles we came to a junction and turned onto the D18 towards Iraty and over the Col D'Haritzcurutche. Downhill again towards the foothills and more open valleys , we headed to St Jean pied de Port for a some lunch at a charming little restaurant in the town square.

Feeling rested and refreshed, it was the D15 heading west and back up into the mountains then, at St Ettiene de Baigorry we turned off onto the D949 for the Col D'Izpegi. These roads were not so open and could be narrow in places, but you pretty much see well ahead most places making it easy to anticipate getting past an oncoming car. I could get into a nice rhythm of the driving, just using third and occasionally second, modulating the speed on the throttle. For me, roads like this where you working the gearbox, leaning on the front tyre grip and feeling the feedback through the narrow alcantara lined cup steering wheel are where the real enjoyment of the car peaks, sure, the faster stuff is good, but this feels so involved, there were some stretches on the D19 / D18, where the car and I were really dancing together, it was fantastic......

That was the last of the proper mountain passes, from there, we got onto the N121 heading downhill west and north towards the Atlantic coast. This was another of those great fast Spanish N roads, but quite busy with traffic, however, we had had a pretty intense day of blasting up and down the passes, so I relaxed into it and we looked forwards eagerly to the Parador awaiting us in Hondarribia. This was an old castle right in the town centre and we had some trouble navigating there through some very narrow streets and tight corners, finally resulting in my front spoiler crying enough ( There are often some pretty savage speedbumps at the entrance to the centre of many towns that despite crawling over at a dead slow pace, would still scrape the front lip) and coming loose, necessitating a hasty repair with gaffer tape ( always carry some...) before we pulled up at the hotel.

Once I had spent some time repairing it properly ( I mean gaffer taping it securely on...) we were able to freshen up and hit the town for some well deserved drinks and food. The shops and bars area was lovely and full of locals enjoying the last of the days sun. We had some lovely Tapas in a little bar, several V&T's and headed back to the hotel for some brandies on the terrace while the sun went down.......Magic.....








 
:?: Food for thought as I need to plan a trip home from Costa Blanca region to Bilbao ferry after the 911uk Monte jolly in May.
 
You wont regret a single minute my friend, amazing country to travel through and such fantastic roads......

Although, I did another trip after this one, to Venice via the Dolomites, which I have to say maybe edged the Pyrenees into second place on my list......

But that's another story, stay tuned.....
 
Great reading, thanks for taking the time.

Very well written too.

I wish my wife would be up for such road trips. (She's the type that tells me to change gear at 3000rpm).

James
 
Hi Mark :bye:

I hope you're well mate. I cannot believe I missed this topic when you first started it in July! I've read it all this morning - what a superb trip.

Looking forward to seeing you again at the Spa Classic in May if not before :thumb:

Cheers,
L'rs
 
Cracking write up and an epic trip :thumbs:

Tempted to make the drive to Madrid at some point next year on the back of this thread :chin:
 
Great write up and detailed thread. Plus a Speed Yellow car in some great scenery, top draw.

Prompted me to get on with the detail planning for some 2018 trips. :thumb:
 
markturner1960 said:
Although, I did another trip after this one, to Venice via the Dolomites, which I have to say maybe edged the Pyrenees into second place on my list......

Totally agree, I have done most of the best roads in Europe and while the Pyrenees roads are great the views are lacking (dry and barren) compared to the Alps and the views around the Dolomites are some of the best you will find. I've done Spain and Pyrenees two or three times and I have probably seen enough of them to know I just want the Alps from now on.
 

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