Over five years since I said farewell to the motorhome and since then, Covid apart,wanderlust has been restricted to Caminos, packages and self organised breaks abroad. Losing the “ bus” felt like a bereavement at the time and one of the biggest losses was driving in Europe, especially Spain.
So it was greed that the car would be the substitute and Brittany Ferries was booked as long ago as January for a driving holiday in Northern Spain.
From Plymouth to Santander and then a drive down to Tordesillas ( near Valladolid), a town visited on several occasions over the last thirty years,usually as a stopover enroute to Portugal or Southern Spain. Camping L’Astral – It’s a gem of a place by the river – not an all singing/ all dancing kind of site.. A pool, a garden,a bar and restaurant and only a walk over the nearby medieval bridge into town.
The second half of the trip is to be in A Coruna, a city I have long wanted to explore – this time in an Airbnb.
After five years non-motoring, you have to catch up with new requirements in Europe. One of the countless non- benefits of Brexit is the necessity for a UK sticker in the rear window, despite having a perfectly accessible GB sticker; at least it did not have the blemished St George’ s Cross on it.
Three high vis vests and two warning triangles makes sense.
After much fruitful research a list of “ things to do “ – “ SEE IT, SAY IT, DO IT” as they don’t say on the train – distances worked out, weather forecasts taken and books to read stored,it was time to go.
Wednesday 10 th September and the 15.45 crossing from Plymouth to Santander,after a 3 3/4 hours drive, the last hour in pouring rain , the maritime harbour was reached without incident. Although less hassle than Dover has become, there was still an hour and a half before embarking. There were a considerable number of Porsches of all types and sizes together with a range of classic sports cars – an interesting contrast – and I spotted my long time favourite….a yellow and black TR 4.
Once on board it was just a matter of locating the cabin from Deck 4 upto deck 8. Working out the bunks took a while then all was set – clever shower/ loo cubicle,too.
The only off-putting thing was the “ entertainment “ operating even At 14.30 in the main lounge – a screechy singer and long queue for the bar. Fortunately, the self service restaurant area had a pleasant sea view lounge attached and after a gang of Bristol Girls’ Bikers left, it was a tranquil enough spot to wind done and enjoy the seascapes.
THE INTERIOR
Overnight,the bunk beds and pillows were very comfortable and by 08.30 back to the self- serve lounge for breakfast. A full English, toast and two mugs of Earl Grey was great value at €09.00. The other early partakers of breakfast were mainly bikers which took me back to a previous Brittany Ferries crossing a few years back which coincided with Hannah’s birthday. As she opened her cards and presents a row of bikers adjacent to our table broke into a hearty rendition of “ Happy Birthday “ !
The only bugbear was the WiFi . You can have 90 minutes free once on the journey and then there were a number of packages you could pay for – Hannah paid for a spell this morning and found that it was as slow as the “ free” package.
There is no Roaming signal out here on the ocean and so time passed watching the waves – no whales spotted yet – and reading.
APPROACHING SANTANDER
Maybe it was because I only spotted one other ship in the mighty Bay of Biscay that I became interested in this unusual cargo ship.
Disembarkation took about an hour as deck levels were called one at a time to avoid congestion. Straightforward after that,if a little slow. In no time at all we were on the A67 heading south. The A-67 is the Cantabrian Motorway, Toll-Free,a key road running through Cantabria, Spain, and it’s the most direct way to travel by car from Santander to areas south, such as Tordesillas. Ten minutes out of Santander and it was that idyllic driving experience I mentioned earlier – traffic free,no hold ups regardless of minor road works.
Scenic,winding route through hills and mountains
una buena comida
ensuitepilgrim's Blog 
Pool, bar, restaurant all on same site sounds perfecto!
The yellow Porsche 2 seater, while beautiful, sounds sadly impractical now. I’d sit in it once and remain seated as I’d be unable to get out.