Sometimes, it’s nice to try something new. And if that something new doubles as a holiday, then so much the better.
For our resident classic car road tripper, Ben Coombs, Pub2Pub Adventures inaugural Brittany Steers Road Trip last month ticked both boxes.
So, how does a driving holiday count as something new, when all you do is organise driving holidays?
Well, it’s simple really – our established tours, such as the Eagle Rally and Beer Italia, are fairly full-on grand tours, covering around 1,800 miles in just over a week. Which is great if you like that sort of thing – many people do – but it’s not exactly as relaxing as a beach holiday, or city break.
That’s where the Brittany Steers comes in – a slow paced tour of northwest France, covering less than 100 miles per day, and so giving plenty of time to stop for coffee, chill on the beach or take that road less travelled. In short, an actual holiday, perfect for those drivers – or cars – who don’t want to rack up the mileage which comes with the grand tours.
This year’s Brittany Steers got underway at the end of August, with a relaxed boat ride from Poole to Cherbourg, from where our eight cars – which represented a fine swathe of classic British motoring from MG, Triumph, Mini and TVR – set out on their tour. The first leg was a cruise down the Cotentin Peninsula, with people stopping off at a variety of beaches, pretty villages, quiet cafes and interesting museums as they went, before eventually arriving at the first night’s hotel, a stone’s throw from Mont Saint-Michel. And so the die was set for a week on the road, taking in the sights in a relaxed fashion. From the famous island monastery, we headed down to Rennes, and St Nazaire, before following the coast around, arriving in St Malo a week later. In the course of the week preserved submarines were toured, windswept headlands visited, beaches strolled, cafes contemplated in, car museums marvelled at and country roads driven. But all at a relaxed pace, becoming of a holiday.
And as I gazed back towards the crenulated walls of St Malo as the ferry began our voyage back to the UK, it came to me that seldom had I enjoyed a road trip more than this one. As much as I love the rush of making progress, the satisfaction of crossing continents to a far-flung goal, and the thrill of those driving roads which only places like the Alps can offer, there’s still a lot to be said for simply chilling out on the slow lanes of Europe from time to time.
And we’ll definitely be doing so again next year. As well as the Brittany Steers, we’re also intending to add a Normandy-based equivalent into the mix. So, that’ll be two chilled holidays we’ll be taking.
Feel free to join – more info over on www.planetpub2pub.com/drives
