Day 14: Santander-Laredo, 54 km

I did manage to find me a campsite and a very good one as well. Only that camping costs €14 and staying at their hostel only €10. So tonight I'll have a real bed!

Hello Santander! 

Otherwise not too exiting a day. Didn't sleep very well in my pre-booked reclining lounge seat. And although they helped falling asleep, one too many Beck's last night didn't do much to make me feel more awake this morning. Unloading (on time!) in Santander did though. Come down to bike deck and there are at least twice as many bikes as when I left it during loading in Plymouth. Four rows of bikes with everything from brand new BMWs (lots of those) to a Velocette. Takes a strong heart to go touring on that one! Glad I had my earplugs in when all of us started the engines at the same time to get off.

Sort of waiting...

Very easy to get out of Santander and onto the right road, but didn't go very far, to get some rest before crossing the pyrenees.

Day 12-14: Plymouth-Santander, 2 km

Been strolling around, looking at Plymouth today. The must-sees, Hoe and Barbican, and such. Very nice city that doesn't feel as big as it probably is. No photos today due to flat battery in the pad. Sorry for that!
All about the sea here though. Royal Marines commandos have a regiment, Sir Francis Drake awaited the spanish armada here (lawn bowling at the hoe) and this is where the Mayflower set sail for the new world. Popular resort with the victorians apparently and still is for british families. Lots of things to see all over Cornwall.
Come to meet some of the local RNLI volunteers, as I happened to stumble on "their" pub last night. Very nice bunch of guys and I do admire the work they do to keep us all safe at sea (RNLI is the british equivalent of swedish SSRS, sjöräddningssällskapet).
Had a nice stay at the Firs guest house for a couple of days. Sis, you might absolutely book your guests here if they go to Plymouth! Clean, well serviced and a nice landlady.
Time to hit the roads again though, as tomorrow I'm finally bound for Spain and Santander. Ferry departs a little before four in the afternoon, with eta at noon on monday. As I don't know the availability of wifi at spanish campsites, this might be the last blog until I reach Alicante sometime in the week to come. Indeed I don't even know about availability of spanish campsites...
Should this be the case, I hope you've enjoyed the blog so far and that we'll meet again in Spain!

Update 2015-09-07:
There actually is wifi on the ferry, so pics provided!

A cousin!

Lots of bikes (100+) going to Spain.

Bye bye Plymouth. 

Des and Emma, off to "the desert"

Good morning Spain!

Day 11: Lost gardens of Heligan, 153 km

A bit of a drive, but this is something I've wanted to see ever since the BBC-series was on swedish telly.
15th century the family Tremayne buys an estate in south Cornwall. Up until beginning of 20th century they, over a number of generations, built an almost completely self sustaining household.
Come 1914 and outbreak of WW I. Most of the workforce, at that time some 25 people, get drafted and ships to France. One third of them never gets back home again. The Tremaynes get other priorities during the depression and the gardens fall into neglect.
At the beginning of the 1990-ies the most recent decendant of the family, together with a friend, grabs machetes to start exploring his newly inherited property. There had just been a great storm in the area and something had to be done about all the trees that had fallen.
What they found turned out to be the remains of one of the premier Edwardian gardens of all England. Among other things a famed "jungle" having plants from all over the world, flower gardens, bee boles, vegetable gardens, melon yard and any number of rare plants. Also, none of the buildings are newly built. It was all there, only overgrown to the extent of not being visible anymore.
Still owned by the Tremaynes, it is nowadays taken care of by a trust, being restored to it's former glory and all done by hand "in the spirit of the original garderners". Enjoy!

The sundial garden

The rope bridge in the "jungle"

Some vegetables

Flower garden

More flowers and melon greenhouse

Pond in the jungle

Artwork

Someone's watching you!

Ssschh...

Hobbits anyone?

Stylish bbq house

Day 10: St Brieuc - Plymoth, 123 km

Crossed the channel. The english one. Started early, as to be in good time for the ferry. Noone at the campsite in the morning either, so packed up my gear and left...
Did the biggest part of the driving yesterday, so only had to go some boring 120 km on (admittedly good) dual carrige ways. Got to Roscoff with some hours to spare. Eight and a half to be precise.
Now, Roscoff isn't exactly the center of the world. Took some shots with the camera, had a coffee, updated the blog and spent the remaining seven hours staring intensely at the watch. Not the most uplifting of activities.

Lined up for England

Things got better on the ferry though. Through some advanced gps navigation by english bikers Richard and Jane, I found out that my b&b lies in sight of the ferry terminal. Couldn't have been better!
It's been a long day, so straight to bed and then we'll go left hand driving tomorrow. As an english gentleman I met put it: "Should be easy, you Swedes used to do it to!" Only that I was just about born when we ceased doing it...

Day 9: Isigny-sur-Mer - St-Brieuc & Mont-St-Michel, 273 km

Time to move on to England. Primarily to catch the ferry to Santander, sort of bouncing Plymoth. But, already there I will also visit Heligan and the Eden project. Originally the plan was for a ferry to Poole and from there go to Stonehenge as well. That'll have to wait though.
This means today has been a day of transport, to get to the ferry on time. Not solely though, as one of the real highlights of this trip was on the way to Roscoff,  le Mont - St - Michel.
What a sight, turning around a corner and there it suddenly was, materialized as out of nowhere. Or out of the sea if you like.

Impressive

It looks a bit like a gigantic version of these old german helmets with a spike on top, planted in the middle of the sea. Not that you should ever say that to a frenchman or you'll probably be beaten up or something.

"The helmet"

Never conquered during the hundred years war the abbey and fortified village has become a strong symbol for France and french independence. It also showed in the number of tourists on site! Still a most impressive place and as said, the three hours spent there a real highlight so far.

Toursts...

Cosy fireplace, sort of.

Hall of the knights

Closed the day by driving to St Brieuc to find a campsite, not having to much of a drive left for the ferry. Finding the town was easy enough, just follow the highway. Not so finding the campsite. Eventually got there after asking around and some serious french sign language sessions. The sign at the gate said "Ouvert" but noone around and water shut off. Raised the tent anyhow, but really could do with a shower and a toothbrush now...

Day 8: Bayeux, 112 km

Back blogging again. Have stayed at a decent enough campsite for a couple of nights, which charged €7 for 3 lousy hours of wifi. All other places I've been so far wifi was included, no charge...
Now I've found another McDonalds and is back in business.

Typical country road

In here somewhere is a famous tapestry

Yesterday was Bayeux and the tapestry. Understandably no photo allowed, as it is nearly 1000 years old and still in good shape. One of the best cartoons I've seen though and a very good narrative in the audioguide. Go there!

Impressive cathederal in Bayeux too

Also finally met some other bikers, albeit going by camper with the bikes on a trailer behind. Some good chats and laughs in the evenings though, as we stayed at the same campsite.

It has been a bit of a nervous game last day as well, as I suddenly realized I'll be getting into Plymoth quite late and probably ought to pre-arrange for somewhere to sleep. All taken care of now though. Big thanks to John and Annette for tip on how to do it!

So, off to England day after tomorrow and hopefully both Heligan and the Eden project. But first, Mont-St-Michel.

Day 8: Landings at Normandy