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Some people think that the best way of
travelling to England is by booking by
a cheap flight on a low cost airline...However,
more and more parents are taking their
children to England for a summer English
Language course and sometimes it's easier
to take the car.
The quickest way to drive from Spain
to England is the
ferry from Santander to Plymouth but
there are some people who prefer to drive
through France and, with the excuse of
travelling to England, spend the night
in a chateau, enjoy some French wine and
cheese and some delicious pastries and
cakes for breakfast...
How to organize a trip to England
by car via France.
First of all, take your car to have a
thorough revision before the trip and
get the mechanics to check oil, water
and tyre pressure. Check your car insurance
and consider taking out an extra travel
insurance for the duration to cover any
extra unforeseen problems.
 Pack
a cool bag with sandwiches, healthy snacks
and plenty of drinks because you may find
that it isn't convenient to stop when
you are hungry and, especially if you
are travelling with children, it is a
good idea to have food and drink handy.
Make sure your children have enough toys
and books to keep them occupied (the stunning
scenery on this route will impress them
from time to time, but isn't enough to
stop them from getting bored).
It is a good idea to get a very early
start so that they spend the first few
hours sleeping and the journey doesn't
seem as long for them.
Ther are of course many variations but
here is one proposal (which we have tried
out and can thoroughly recommend) step
by step:
1. First day: Setting off from Spain
towards France: First stop: Mirepoix.
If you are setting off from somewhere
in the South of Spain, Alicante for example,
this first stage of the journey is 788
kms in total. You need to take the Mediterranean
motorway and exit at Terrrasa taking the
road towards Puigcerdá. From there
you cross the French border via Bourg-Madame,
if you take the N-20 you'll see wonderful
scenery travelling through the Pyrenees
and small French-Catalan mountain villages.
For people who set off early enough you
could stop for some lunch in one of the
villages along the way. We recommend Aix
Les Bains.
.jpg) .jpg) You
will get to Mirepoix before it gets dark.
We recommend staying at the 'Hotel Relais
Royal', a great place to relax and enjoy
some French cuisine.
Mirepoix is a beautiful medieval village
and we recommend taking a walk round its
famous village square before having dinner
in the hotel restaurant or, if you are
very tired, early the next day before
setting off.
2. Second day: destination Chateau
de Locguénolé (Hennebont,
South Brittany).
.jpg) Leave
Mirepox taking the road towards Toulouse,
Bordeaux and Nantes until Hennebont. This
is a long journey - 809 kms - but definitely
worth it. Chateau de Locguénolé
is a wonderful place. If you arrive in
time to have dinner you'll have the chance
to dine in .jpg) the
restaurant in the castle and watch the
sun setting over the lake. The Chateau
is expensive but by travelling so far
you have probably saved a night staying
in a hotel and you have the added advantage
of being very near the port for catching
the ferry the following day. In the morning
before leaving the Chateau de Locguénolé,
enjoy their extraordinary breakfast and
following this take a stroll around the
lake and its extensive forest to recharge
your batteries...but don't leave any later
than 2pm.
3. Third day: destination Poole, via
the ferry at Saint -Malo
Leave Hennebont in the direction of Lorient,
Rennes until you get to the port of Saint-Malo.
The ferry crossing is about 211 kms long.
If you catch the 20.05 ferry with Condor
Ferries you'll be in England by midnight
(British time) after a 5 hour crossing.
When you arrive in Poole and drive off
the ferry you probably won't want to travel
much further. A good option is staying
overnight at the Harbour Heights Hotel
located very nearby in the Sandbanks area
so that you can do the last stage of your
journey feeling nice and fresh the next
morning.
Related:
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Road
travel in Spain
Travel
guides to Spain