Toulouse - July 2021

[Alan PBTD]

Long story but me and the missus have a week booked in a farmhouse 30 odd mins from Toulouse. Despite all the COVID crap - Bo**ocks to it all - we're going.
Have been looking a few options on getting there and fortunately not too restricted on timescale so if we have to go longer then cool.

Ferry to Bilbao ( ish ) and travel / up across ( have u seen the prices of the ferries !!! )
Ferry over ( ?) and then which way - I'd prefer to stay well clear of Paris.
Fly to Toulouse then car / bike hire ( Bike hire ? )
Drive / ride all the way

Missus isn't too experienced on the back of the bike ( but plenty of time to practice...) hence the other options.

Last time I down that way was 2000 / 2002 so any ideas welcome. Or even places to call in / stay on the way down.

And where's that place from WW2 where the Germans massacred the village and it's been left - they made a new village close to ?

At last - something to look forward to.. anyone want to throw in their 2p's worth ?

ta

Alan.

[Yorick]

I always think of that as the place with a pair of toilets.

Childish? Oh yes

[Tricky]

Have to say, having done it once, I avoid the Bilbao ferry like the plague - it' sticks in my memory as the roughest, and also, unfortunately, roughest ferry ever, and I honestly was wishing I was dead on it at one point

So for me, it would have to be either fly and hire when you get there, or ride/drive down all the way depending upon how hardy / up for spending that amount of time on the back of the bike she is, as thats 1000km or so from the usual ferry ports, and of course no guarantees on the weather.

It's a shame that they stopped running the Motorail from Paris, as that cuts out 700ish km of not particularly interesting stuff , and would have been the ideal for you I reckon- nice leisurely ride to Paris, overnight on the train with a few vinos etc and wake up in Tolouse.
I've also done that before and was great, from memory it was not much more than 100 euros each way, which was decent value IMO.
Having said that, being the french and SNCF, you could never completely rely on it- we turned up once at approx 6pm, and they'd decided to go on strike a couple of hours before, so nothing was running and we ended up riding through the night as we had to be in Italy the next day, but that's another story

Anyway, good luck whatever you do Alan

[Horse]

Can you turn it into a fortnight away, do touristy stuff there and back?

Rocamadour, Gouffre de Padirac, etc.

[Alan PBTD]

Cheers Guys.

The Spanish link was a bit off the wall and I know a few who use it when going to TD's but fell over when they want all but £800 / £900 for next July return ferries. So that can sit on the back burner - but might talk to some people who spanner for BSB and see if there's any ''ACU'' type deals about.

I've done the ''Motorail'' thing when we were short of time and went to WDW. Collected the train in then Denderlueu in Belgium and got off in St Tropez the following morning and then off to Italy. Was brill - took that big lump out and relatively not that more expensive than riding. Was quite funny on the way back as we sat and drank with some boys from HA in the station @ St Tropez...And got pulled by the Old Bill on the Severn Bridge (alleged speeding ) on the final leg. Nearly got arrested as when they asked where we'd been and we said ''Belgium this morning'' they thought we were talking the p*ss.. I'll have a look further but points are noted.

Flying is relatively cheap but obviously there's Car/ Bike hire on top. Not done much foreign car hire b 4 - and when I have they've had my pants down and the bill never came close to what was quoted so am a bit weary of them. Need to find a bike hire firm ( ???? ) - have dropped the local HD dealer a line to see what they say but bet anything decent will be 120 euro's a day odd. Mind u fancy something different as I can ride a Harley anytime. Did like reading about Gremlin's time on the BMW and I do like the ''going everywhere and nowhere, for no reason other than it looks like it might be interesting'' attitude.

Horse - could make it a bit longer ( am self employed ) and love the idea of more time either side of the week's stay. Would be a brill trip just touring down and then back . I've got some friends in Rouen so they would be on the list as well. Would like the missus to experience The Last Post @ Ypres / Mametz Woods but it's too far and we'll save that for another time. Am supposed to be in Ireland in May / June tho'.

By the time next July comes and all this COVID crap I'll be ready for a month away..starting tomorrow..

ta !

[Alan PBTD]

This has come up tonight - The Pyrenees. Seems a place called Vielha ( quite high up ) is about 4 1/2 hours from out stay - anyone been there / close ?

ta

[Wossname]

Last time we went across, Mrs W flew down to Bergerac and I took the bike down and met her there. Same on the way back. Pillion all the way down through France, unless you're sightseeing on the way, isn't fun on the back - you'll put her off before you get there. We had a brilliant 2 weeks there.

And +1 for Rocamadour, also St Circ Lapopie, river Lot valley.

[ninja]

Toulouse is a long way for a pillion to endure. If I was doing it (with a pillion) I'd get the ferry to St Malo and have an overnight stop on the way.

Vielha is in a fabulous region, just a stones throw away from the awesome, amazing N260.

[Alan PBTD]

Board meeting this evening. Latest plan is Portsmouth / Caen overnight ferry landing early in France on the Wednesday 21st . We can't be at the Farm until after 4 on the Saturday so that's 4 days / 3 nights to get there. Google maps say 533 miles direct so plenty of time to explore. Coming back have to be gone by 10.00 am Sat morning 31st so will turn on the afterburners and be in Caen for the morning of the 2nd catch day ferry and be home for supper. Ta for the recommended places - Vielha looks amazing and Rocamadour and St Circ Lapopie. Need Toulouse HD to answer my bike hire enquiry and I'll be happy. Onwards and Upwards from now on - or in our case Downwards..Piggin France better be open by July...

[Rockburner]

And where's that place from WW2 where the Germans massacred the village and it's been left - they made a new village close to ?

Oradour sur Glane is about 50m north west of Limoges (ish), so not close to Toulouse. But if you're travelling down, then it's worth a good few hours stop if you have time. (Personally i think it should be mandatory visiting for everyone). Haunting place.

[Beancounter]

And where's that place from WW2 where the Germans massacred the village and it's been left - they made a new village close to ?

Oradour sur Glane is about 50m north west of Limoges (ish), so not close to Toulouse. But if you're travelling down, then it's worth a good few hours stop if you have time. (Personally i think it should be mandatory visiting for everyone). Haunting place.

Agreed, very haunting place. I was trying to explain it to the missus and failed miserably. Hoping we can include it in a trip soon.

[Alan PBTD]

Cheers Beancounter - it's on the list and conveniently on our route. Might be a bit like when we went to Auschwitz - dunno why we went but had to go - and was glad we did. FYI The ''Tattooist of Auschwitz'' is a very good heart warming read. I did fancy Guedelon - where they are building a castle using traditional methods - but alas it's a bit off our route.

[Rockburner]

I did fancy Guedelon - where they are building a castle using traditional methods - but alas it's a bit off our route.

I've been there - but idiotically we got there late in the afternoon and they wouldn't let us in, then we couldn't camp* in the car park (we thought we could, but they threw us out), so we went elsewhere overnight, and didn't go back the next day! Still a tad miffed about that.



* in the campervan

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

If you hire a car abroad pre book it with Hertz, what you've paid in advance is the total you pay, you can collect and drop the car at most airports, not the cheapest car hire, but I've never had a bad experience hiring from Hertz and I've been using them since 1997.

[mangocrazy]

We have a place in the South of France and I tend to leave a bike there just so there's transport available if we fly down. We're about 30kms north of the Med, nearest large town is Beziers (where we often fly to). I've done the ovenight Portsmouth to Caen route on both bike and van and done the 650/700 odd miles down to the gaff in one day, but I really wouldn't recommend it unless you have strong masochistic tendencies. Doing it in 4 days/3 nights will be a breeze. Pick spots you want to visit on the way down and plan around that. I'd definitely suggest you either visit or traverse the Viaduc du Millau and from there ISTR there's a very good road to Toulouse. I find B&B Hotels are a good trade off between cheapness and comfort, although they do tend to be situated close to Autoroutes and you'll probably be thinking more of the D roads.

Never been to Oradour, but it's definitely on the 'must see' list.

[Alan PBTD]

Well, the trip could be still on. Macron's on about opening the gates around mid June so, after binning the trip have started looking again.

Not going on the Harley - for a number of reasons - so it'll be by car. Looked at flying down and hiring something for a week but that's all but £1500 return from Bristol.Ferry wise it's Portsmouth / Caen return - with cabins comes in about £600.00. There's a bit of price flexibility on departure / return dates so might add on a a couple of extra days..

Have friends in Legends 76 Harley in Rouen so might have a day or so with them.

Jersey Harley Rally is on in September so going to put that in the melting pot as well..

Have read thro the Ferry T&C's so it's a throw of the dice when we book !

[KungFooBob]

I like Tours.

There's fuck all in St Nazaire unless you like WW2 sub pens.

Flippin love Nantes, tho to be fair I love everywhere in the Loire.



Saying that, I was involved in a horrific Noddy Train crash in Nantes

[KungFooBob]

You want to get yourself down to the Camargue.

We went to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, it was touristy busy, but they were French tourists, not an English menu in sight. Beautiful place, especially if you like dobbins.

[Demannu]

You want to get yourself down to the Camargue.

We went to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, it was touristy busy, but they were French tourists, not an English menu in sight. Beautiful place, especially if you like dobbins.

Notice you don't mention the bugs!
I've seen them carry off small children and feast on their flesh.
If you drive down/back you'll need 2 days either side to recover, which is a waste
Bilbao ferry and then a short hop across to Toulouse.

[KungFooBob]

You want to get yourself down to the Camargue.

We went to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, it was touristy busy, but they were French tourists, not an English menu in sight. Beautiful place, especially if you like dobbins.

Notice you don't mention the bugs!
I've seen them carry off small children and feast on their flesh.
If you drive down/back you'll need 2 days either side to recover, which is a waste
Bilbao ferry and then a short hop across to Toulouse.

It wasn't that bad.

The camp site we stayed on had massive bug zapping towers every hundred meters and I didn't really notice them in town, maybe it was just the time of year we went.