I'm so pleased I clicked on this video. It was so chilled and was the definition of escapism for me, I felt like I was there. It was just the right amount of everything - talking, music, driving, sight seeing - perfect blend. So simple and enjoyable. Thanks mate!
Glad you enjoyed it. It was a great drive but anyone could do it - pick a place to go and some friends/family and maybe choose a date next summer with the light evenings. I’m releasing a video on the planning/costs this week, this might give you the confidence to do something like this!
Did el berro in Murcia to the toon once was a nice drive stopped in bcn stoped in clemount then got stopped by French customs at euro tunnel and pulled into the white tent then British police 100 meter down road at British check pulled us aside that’s when I said never again will I drive over the channel
I remember i had been driving for a couple of years and declined to go on holiday to Alicante from Manchester which i did it on both holidays and the view coming back into france was a memory that i won't forget great video
Mate I've done that journey, family had a house in Almeria, drove from Staffordshire to Almeria, 1,600ish miles if my memory serves correct, took 2/3 days with 3/4 hour sleep stops and other rest breaks.. I was 13 at the time, did it every summer for 3 years to resupply the house, the pain of sitting in the back of a rammed Crysler Voyager for that long! Your vid brought back memories haha
My family would travel by coach to spain alot when i was a child.. coach would pick us up at out local bus station in the West Midlands and take us all the way to the Costa del sol in 24 hours..only stopping for small breaks at service stations. Was always good fun.
I can't believe it. Your video randomly came up in my recommendations and I watched it for several reasons. One I live in Manchester, two my parents lived for many years near Valencia but also I wondered if you'd go to Poitiers. I didn't expect a dedicated section about it. Lovely surprise. I did French at university and we all had to do a year in a French speaking country and I was sent to Poitiers. This was way back in 1980. Poitiers was, and obviously still is, on the route from England down to Spain so we used to get quite a few British travellers. I ended up working in a bar opposite the railway station. It's a pizzeria now. That main town square had traffic going round it at the time but I can see it's all pedestrianised now. I did a couple of weeks helping out in a café there and I saw in your film there were still chairs and tables there so that hasn't changed! Except the waiters don't have to cross the road anymore to reach them! Great film. Glad you liked Poitiers.
Thank you and I’m glad the video resonated with you! Quite a coincidence - or RU-vid simply knows you very well! Yes I loved Poitiers, really nice to hear your own story about the town. It was so nice that on the drive back I stopped there with my wife and son for 3 nights.
Good clip, I live in Scunthorpe. I am planning a road trip from Hull on motorcycle to Valencia, I'll then continue to Gibralter. I found this clip helpful, thanks.
Great video-made me happy just to see someone following their dream. This is a journey I hope to make later this year and the content and commentary has been really informative. Thank you
I took the train from London to Barcelona last year. Overnight in Paris and overnight in Nimes, south of France before an afternoon arrival. Relaxing and stress-free way to driving. I've driven in both countries before but could never contemplate a road journey that long. Good stuff.
Thanks for letting us tag along on your adventure. Keep up the good work. Road trips aren't really covered that much. Lots of plane and train vids, very few roadies.
So pleased this popped up for me , it’s a journey I want to do myself , same from Manchester to Valencia .. really chilled video and some of the scenery you captured was stunning
Like most people here, this just popped up on my feed and I’m very happy it did, nice to see someone else enjoying the journey. Have done a few times the route of England to/from Portugal and France I think is one of my favourite scenic routes. Have missed the long drives and managed to do a ski trip to south of France a couple of months ago but as was in a convoy, we mainly stayed on motorway so not as scenic and a bit more expensive. I always seem to get very stuck in traffic in Bordeaux though, no matter what time of the day it is…
Good for you.l when I moved here I drove from Cornwall to Plymouth and from Santander to Torrevieja in a Land Rover discovery 1998. With my dog .. loved it.. 🥰
We are in France for 11 weeks, lived in France for 12 years, toured on and off for 20 years, a stunning Country and many people go over and above to be helpful.
Really enjoyed this and I’m impressed that you did this solo especially as you did not appear to go on motorways; I’m OK in. British car on an European motorway but not sure I can do driving in small towns etc. Can’t wait for your next trip.
hi mate i travel to valencia 4 times a year and have family in campanar close to the football stadium they never finished.Drove down twice using somport tunnel.i never stopped in accomodation cat nap every 140 miles or so. Well done on your journey france is very clean in the urban areas.But spain is a lovely place to drive in.You see more avoiding the tolls.
Great video, went over to France and Belgium in April, make you realise what dumps English town centres have become compared to most the continent. and also how bad our roads are too!!
I think if I travelled through English A roads and stopped at English villages and market towns it would show off England’s best side. But yes so many of our towns have become quite generic looking and ugly.
Was hoping to see more of Valençia …I have friends in Sueca but haven’t been there since the 90’s. I took my sons to a giant Gulliver park there. Not sure if it’s still there. Also went to the Fallas there around MarchApril 1994 I think …spectacular, lasts for weeks. Thanks for the upload x x x
Im Thinking of Doing Something Similar from Stafford To Italy Sometime in the new year (Save money for All LOL) , Was awesome to see this video, Thanks for it seemed pretty cool to do !!
One of our best holidays was fly/drive to Spain, with hotels pre-booked along our intended tour route. You get to see the real Spain and driving through the Sierra Nevada was just stunning. The tourist spots on the Costa Brava etc are not for me, you might as well just buy a sun-bed and stay at home. Foreign holidays should be an experience, such as yours was, and even the driving was lovely because the roads are empty outside of the main cities. True enough driving can be tedious for some but you are free to linger anywhere as long as you make it to your hotel in good time. Done the same thing in Portugal, and also France (twice) including Poitiers; Rocamador and Carcassonne. same lovely experience. Love your video and will look out for more of the same. I'm envious of you because i'm a senior person now and I miss driving so much.
Mate, what a road trip and thanks for sharing this! I so wanna do this, I live in Manchester too and going to Valencia this Dec but running the marathon so probably not a good idea to drive 1300 miles before running a 26.2 miles 😅
My old man had a place in a little town called Montagnac near the south coast. I took the Chunnel. I remember the drive from the North to the South of France taking 13 hours with a couple of stops. If I ever do anything like that again I'll do an overnight somewhere. I'd like to drive to Crete.
Thanks! This was actually last year, however I will be back in Valencia in July for a few weeks visiting my wife’s family (all from Valencia/Alicante region). One question, I like long distance running, would you recommend any routes that are next to the sea?
I done London to south coast of Sicily..long drive..done that journey 20 times in different cars all different routes..amazing oh it was done non stop sleep over in service station it took on average 35 hrs
I enjoyed watching this! Would love to do this journey one day. I recently drove through Spain and the drivers there are a bit crazy as they drive too fast on motorways 😂 😂
Great video, 1st time on your channel, I loved how as you were just leaving France the weather was “rainy-fied “ 😂 that’s a me comment right there, and a Manc ! The roads looked pretty quiet, I even think I could do that 👍🏻 never driven abroad. Hope you had a great holiday 🏝
I have always thought of doing this on my long drives here in Australia. (Yep, the algorithm is recommending your video down here in Oz!) Nice job, I enjoyed that!!
(The music on your videos will result in them being de-monetized if Google picks up the tune, it then pays the artist(s) - kinda fyi !!!) (Swearing also can restrict how your video is served up and can also affect monetization.) - Have a read up of the terms and conditions, because if you keep creating good content and it goes viral you deserve your pay day!!!
When you do trips like that, (unless you’re in a hurry) turn motorways off on your GPS. You will see a lot more interesting small little villages and nature etc, but it will ofcourse take a lot longer.
Been thinking about making this trip by car, I live 20 minutes from Dover, toying with the idea for a while as I don’t Fly….1 step closer to booking that ferry ticket after watching your video . A bit more planning then il be there 🎉
So glad I've been recommended this, I'll be driving all the way to Romania next week and am a bit anxious about driving on the wrong side of the road haha
Just a question, did you end up booking hotels in cities you planned on stopping or just kind of stopped and checked them out towards the end of the day?
Sounds like an epic trip, you get used to the other side quite quickly. With Poitiers I just turned up as wasn’t sure if I’d make it there or not, second one in Jaca I booked up in the morning
Car is a Hyundai Tucson Diesel (manual) .........It took me AGES to find this buried in the comments and replies....(my only gripe)......but otherwise a very enjoyable video which was great to watch !! Bravo !!
Cheers Bombay, I drove only on non-toll roads which saved me about €150, but took 2-3 hours longer. Fuel costs (Hyundai Tucson Diesel 66 reg) was around 200 quid from Manchester to Valencia. Ferry is about £70 cheaper than the Eurotunnel, takes 1 hour longer.
For a better journey always go Newhaven /Dieppe.... Longer crossing by knocks off hours of driving .. Better route to the Pyrenees ... Newhaven much quicker from Ewell too...
Fantastic. I have friends living in Valencia and I was thinking of doing this drive from London. Now I’ve seen you do it, I realise that it’s possible. The rain was something else though.
I really enjoyed your trip.soo relaxing to watch.Thank you for that! Enjoy your holiday !!if possible for the future to say about prices aswell:like fuel,accommodation,motorway fees ,ferry?Thanks again
I live 15mins from where you set off. I’ve wanted to do a European road trip in my car for years…this video has got the brain cells ticking over. The cost of the trip was a shock as in expected it to be more .maybe would be for me as I have a petrol car
Yes there’s way to make the trip cheaper/more expensive. For another idea, I once flew to Venice and hired a car for 5 days, driving around Slovenia, Croatia and Austria.
Drove from Newcastle to Moraira more than 30 times, lots of different routes (including the route you have taken) but always close to 1500 miles, fantastic journey/adventure.. great memories.. (storm near Zaragoza of similar intensity) doing the journey again soon…..can’t wait …
Drove leeds to alicante last year, in your vid in france its looks like u are not using toll rds which is what i did to start with, the rds are lovely with small villages, vineyards and beautifully alined trees on each side! Personally i prefer mid/southern france where the mountains start with a bit of the med look gradually forming, once your out of france onto whats called the AP7 motorway its a straight rd down with now no tolls to pay! Once you go south of valencia then the barron landscapes of south east spain form!
@@CalleSanc Yes, 6.4% I think & that's very strong stuff. You did well to carry on filming, doing your commentary & making an altogether good video. I go wild when I driink & wouldn't even have been able to pick up the camera!
I did manchester to barcelona few years ago pre covid. It was supposed to take 12 hrs but altogether took 24 hours of straight driving lol. I did it in a petrol on the motorway system, there and back was roughly £1000 on fuel toll etc.
I came across your vlog as it appeared and i clicked on it. Great vlog! How old is your car that you did the trip in? What documentation do you need to take with? Would be good to see your car. We have a Kia Sportage and would like to do the trip but the mog we get isnt great and its a 2L diesel. The rain you had was unbelieveable!!
Thanks Adam! My Hyundai Tucson 1.7 Diesel was 7 years old when I did the drive last year - I spent a bit under £200 on diesel. Documentation/planning wise, I’m doing a video this week on this as it’s been asked a lot - but I got my info from the RAC website
Regarding breakfast on the ferry - it's personal opinion. My son and us like it - moreover it's something we looking forward after 5 hour drive from Torquay.
