It is now February 2016 and already our holiday travels are booked. Our first reason for travelling by car is that Pauline would have problems if we were to go anywhere by air. For any walking, be it in an airport or any other large place, she is quite unable to participate. She has a condition called spinal stenosis which is extraordinarily painful when walking or standing for more than 30 seconds. She can cope within our bungalow but outside she is a wheelchair user. Not only this but I have to push her as she also has arthritis which makes self propulsion out of the question. Within an airport I would be incapable of carrying a suitcase whilst pushing the wheelchair. This the first reason why flying to a holiday destination is out of the question. Additionally, the seats in an aircraft are too close for comfort and she would suffer much pain if flying for a number of hours without relief.
Our choice, therefore, is to drive (something she can participate in) and sail on a car ferry. We use Brittany Ferries from Portsmouth. They also sail from Poole and Plymouth but Portsmouth is the best port to head for in this congested country. We live in Anglesey in North Wales. This means taking the A55 to the M56 motorway and then joining the M6 South. To avoid hold ups we use the M6 Toll in the Midlands and head for the M42 and M40. Eventually we take the trunk road past Oxford until its junction with the M3 towards Southampton. After a few miles we head for Portsmouth and, once there, we just roll in to the Portsmouth Ferry Terminal where we board the car ferry. This Brittany Ferries' main departure point so the port serves Caen, Le Havre, Cherbourg, and St Malo in France. Additionally there are sailings to Santander and Bilbao in Northern Spain.
In June we shall be sailing via Caen on the Mont St Michel car ferry overnight. Then we shall begin to meander over to a small town called Pornic in South Brittany and part of the Loire Valley. In Pornic we have booked a gite through the ferry company. We shall stay there for a week and hope to be out visiting all sorts of places of interest. Ever since our liking for Loire Valley wines we have wanted to visit the area which is understood to be beautiful. After this week we shall return overnight on the same ship.
In September we are off to Spain again on the car ferry, Pont-Aven. This is the Brittany Ferries flagship and offers much comfort and style for passengers taking the 24 hours voyage to Santander. I am not a lover of cruising but 24 hours I can do without problem. On board we shall book our table in La Flora Restaurant and dine in style. Our wheelchair accessible cabin is booked so we know our needs will be met. On arrival in Santander on the following day we simply disembark in the car and drive to Hotel Chateau La Roca in Sancibrian on the outskirts of Santander. We always get a lovely welcome from Senora Reyes Linares, the manager, who books us into the same room each time we visit. It is a big quiet room with lots of room to move a wheelchair. Our evening meal is usually entertaining as we are served by the waiter, Manuel. He is part of the hotel fittings!
The next day, after breakfast, we shall drive to our first overnight stop on the journey south to Andalucia. This year it is to be the Parador La Granja, not too far from the famous monastery El Escorial that we wish to visit. Then it is off to Parador Almagro before making our final trip to Finca Manolo in El Romo, a few miles from Colmenar in Axarquia.
After two weeks resting at Finca Manolo with occasional visits to other villages we return to Santander via Toledo. Again we shall be staying in the local Parador which has an outstanding view of the medieval city of Toledo. We started to stay at Paradores after trying to find new accommodation to improve on the hotel we had been using in Toledo. We always got a welcome at Hotel Martin, but it is not well placed to assist wheelchair users. When I enquired I found that the Parador would be more expensive but far more suitable for Pauline. We stayed there for the first time in September 2015 and loved it. The staff there were very helpful, showing us the best way to get about the establishment with a wheelchair. The food and service in the restaurant was first class. In order to get a better and longer look at Cordoba last year we also booked two nights in the Parador there. Once again we were not disappointed with the Parador treatment. The Paradores of Spain are owned the government and are all 4 star grade. Some of them are modern buildings, but many are refurbished monasteries, convents, manor house or palaces.
Our final night in Spain will be, of course, in the Hotel Chateau La Roca. The following day we will be able to have a short drive before boarding the Pont-Aven for our voyage back to the UK. We can recommend Brittany Ferries and their extremely friendly and helpful staff. They work hard for their wages and are worth every penny! We love travelling to Spain and France and would not use another means of getting there. There is just one more benefit: we can buy and bring back loads of wine at excellent prices!
No comments:
Post a Comment