Quick bit of background then onto my query. I'm based in Teesside. My three touring buddies are based in Cumbria, London and Gloucestershire. Basically we've got the four corners of England covered. Our touring is predominantly up in Scotland but this means the two southern lads have a very lengthy trek before any of the fun starts. Therefore, the intention next year is to head south. However, the congestion doesn't appeal at all so I've been wondering if a continental trip via the tunnel might be our best option. Our Scotland trips have always been three nighters - I personally think we'd need four nights minimum for a Europe trip. My first thought was as follows: Day 1: Early start for the northern pair. All meet at London then head to the tunnel and get 20 - 30 miles away from Calais. Day 2: Head along France/Belgium border through Ardennes. Possibly get as far as somewhere like Metz. Day 3: Out and back run to somewhere like the Ballons des Voges National Park near Strasbourg. Day 4: Back towards Calais. Day 5: Calais to Blighty via the tunnel and them a long slog home. My question basically is - Has anyone done a similar run? Will the slog on days 1 & 5 be worth it for days 2, 3 & 4? Has anyone got alternative routes for such a relatively short tour? Or is Scotland still our best bet for short duration trips? Any thoughts gratefully received. Cheers.
Welcome @Teestyke, please join the map linked below. Try touring europe if you think journeying up england is a longway, yes chunnel (take clothes peg) & get exploring. https://www.zeemaps.com/map?group=1768775
Perhaps I might make a few comments and suggestions. Day 1: Early start for the northern pair. All meet at London then head to the tunnel and get 20 - 30 miles away from Calais. Cumbria - London - Tunnel - Calais (losing an hour on the clocks) - say to Lille. That's about right for day 1. Day 2: Head along France/Belgium border through Ardennes. Possibly get as far as somewhere like Metz. You can do better than that. Lille - Namur - Spa - Stadtkyll - Cochem would only take the morning if you get a move on. Check in to a hotel (plenty of choice in Cochem) and pop up to the Nurburgring in the afternoon. Tour Cochem bars in the evening. Day 3: Out and back run to somewhere like the Ballons des Voges National Park near Strasbourg. Vosges is too far for your timescale. Head west over the Hunsruck to the Rhine. Cross the Rhine, tour the Taunus (Nassau), north into the Westerwald, east back over the Rhine into the Eifel, return to Cochem. A good day's riding, fantastic roads all over. Day 4: Back towards Calais. Cochem - Prum - Clervaux (north Luxembourg) - Bastogne - Namur - Calais - Tunnel (gaining an hour on the clocks). Hotel in Folkestone. Another good day's riding. Day 5: Calais to Blighty via the tunnel and them a long slog home. Long slog home to Cumbria. The going is slower in England than over there! If you do this over the May Bank Holiday weekend, I might be tempted to join you.
Welcome to the forum, have you considered blasting down to Pompey and catching the ferry to Santander, and blasting round the Pico's or Pyranees for a couple of days ??
Have the northern lads considered the Newcastle or Hull to Zebrugge ferries the southern group go to Calais. I use Hull Zebrugge regularly on my bike. I ring P and O and barter a price if you just book through the web site it's dear. Having said that I would rather pay an extra £100 than ride to Dover it's a miserable journey. Once on the other side you will be 90 mins apart you could meet at the Cloth house in Ypres and venture on from there
Have you considered touring Ireland? You can get a ferry from Liverpool, or after some riding through Snowdonia, a ferry from Holyhead - makes it almost equidistant for all concerned
Ferry and meet up Holland could be a good call. It’s only couple hours north from Calais by bike, or meet part way to Belgium. Save hours in the saddle for northern boys
The Newcastle ferry actually sails to Ijmuiden (Amsterdam). I've used it quite few times because, depending on where you headed for, it beats the lug down to the south coast of England and as I'd need an overnight stay in Englandshire it's not that much more expensive to use the ferry. And I'd rather do the miles on the other side of the North Sea than on English motorways. On a trip to the Dolomites a couple of years ago, most of the group were from England and two of us from Scotland. We Scots got the Newcastle - Ijmuiden ferry and the English contingent used the tunnel. We met up at on the second day at Füssen in Bavaria. So Higgy's idea would be a good one from my point of view.
Bear in mind that the EuroTunnel runs every 20 minutes or so and Dover-Calais ferries run roughly hourly, so there are lots of options. If you turn up earlier or later than you planned, it's not a big problem. Other ferries (from Hull, Harwich, Portsmouth, etc) run only once per day or even less frequently; miss your sailing and you have a long wait for the next one. So to avoid that you have to arrive really early to allow a margin for problems, which means that the whole trip takes more time. If you have plenty of time for your trip this doesn't matter, but if you are trying to cram the whole expedition into four of five days you won't be wanting to spend a big chunk of it waiting on the quayside or sitting around on a ship for 12 or 24 hours. Or worrying whether you are going to catch your sailing.
The Newcastle ferries sail at 5.00pm, the Hull ferries sail at a similar time, boarding starts about 2.30pm. I usually plan to arrive about then which will allow me about 2 1/2 hours for delays. Yes, if I get a breakdown or even a puncture I might miss the boat - but there's always one the next day.
The tunnel is the absolute nuts! I used to cross from Calais or Dunkerque with those pirates at DFDS until one of my neighbours here in the Alps suggested using the tunnel and I still can't quite believe the convenience and value of the whole thing. I wouldn't be keen to ride around northern Europe though, the roads are mostly flat, straight and boring for what I've seen of them and the climate seems much like you have in the UK!
The roads in (for example) the Ardennes, Eifel, Taunus, Hunsruck, Westerwald, Vosges, and Black Forest areas are mostly not flat, not straight, and not boring, although they are better maintained than typical UK roads. I would agree that a lot of roads in the Netherlands, Northern Germany, Poland, and Denmark are fairly flat. The climate is only slightly warmer in summer and slightly colder in winter.
Plus 1 for Newcastle or Hull ferry option. Then around two and a half hours you can be on great roads in Eifel national park. Simmerath biker cafe is an easy 3 hours, around 150miles from Ijmuiden. IMO better roads sooner than Calais option?
Thanks for all the replies folks. Plenty to think about and chew over with the guys. Hadn't given any thought to Germany but it sounds like it could be worth it for this trip. Will let everyone know what finally gets sorted.
Just one more thing. While you are in Germany put in some Kilometers on autobahns. Pick the ones with no speed limit, and you can sample the top speed of your bike without going to prison.
Tunnel if going east or south from Calais, but boat if heading down west side past Paris etc, as it takes a fair time to ride from the tunnel to the western side of France, but for a great trip, I'd still head to Spain.
