Classic Le Mans / Northern France holiday, Summer 2016

[dapinky]

Well, having mentioned (whilst at Brands Hatch this year) that I may be looking at going to France next summer, it didn’t take long before I was ‘elected’ to co-ordinate a trip to Le Mans Classic…..

…… I have overcome the first hurdle (Mrs P booking the time off work), and have had a bit of a look at the many options available to me (us?).

NOTHING IS BOOKED OR SET IN STONE (other than the dates of the actual Classic itself! – 8/9/10 July 2016).

Provisionally, I am looking at getting a ferry outbound from Portsmouth to Caen (this being the nearest passenger port to Le Mans), and later returning via Roscoff/Plymouth (being the easiest for me to get home again from a UK port).

Now the options get interesting/confusing – depending on your point of view.

Brittany ferries, outbound on Thursday 7th July departs 1445 Portsmouth, arriving Ouistreham (Caen Ferry Terminal) at 2130 (local times). (£105, car + 2 people)

A night at the Ibis hotel (between Ouistreham and Caen) is about £32 – I haven’t stayed there, but if you can envisage a French ‘Travelodge’, you’re on the right track (plenty of other options on Booking.com!).

Friday (after breakfast) drive down to Le Mans should take under 2 hours (according to Google Maps)…..

….. more options……

…. An entry ticket for the weekend (3 days) costs from about £62pp, camping (at the 3 ‘on site’ campsites) costs between £75 and £115 per pitch – 3 nights B&B is from £135pp, but then you may need to pay for ‘on site’ parking at £24 for 3 days – depending on distances involved etc.

There are plenty of ‘extras’ available – paddock entry is an extra £42 for the weekend (dress code applies) – but there is access on the Friday anyway with the General Admission ticket. Other ‘posh’ campsites are available at various supplements (within the 3 main campsites).

Never having been before, I hope someone chimes in with opinions on the sites – at the moment, they only appear to open Blue Nord, Maison Blanche & Beausejour for the Classic.

So, looking at staying at Le Mans Fri/Sat/Sun evening, then taking a drive over to……

…… more options here…..

…. Augan in Brittany…..

For those who have been before, it is the home of Brendan and Linda (Lynda?) – the parents of Iain (Blacknight on LEC). I have spoken to Iain, and he can’t see a problem with us going there again…. Except for the minor detail that they were looking at selling up to return to the UK – but at the moment, they are still there.

They have a gite (sleeps 4) available for rent, a few B&B rooms, and an orchard for camping.

Angie refuses to camp for more than the 3 nights at LM, so we’ll be looking to grab either the gite, or a double B&B room.

However, should Lyn & Bren not be in a position to accommodate us, then other options will be explored (somewhere in Brittany or Normandie).

The plan being to stay for a week, which will take in Bastille day (Thu 14th) – plenty of local festivities, well worth attending!

Then heading up to Roscoff on Sunday 17th to catch the 1630 ferry to Plymouth. (£149, car + 2)

Anyone else fancy it?????

Of course, for those who wish to just go to LM, there are options for that, for those who ain’t bothered about the racing, there’s options for that (it’s what we’ve done previously).

We may even go a day earlier and spend 2 nights in Caen area, maybe with a trip up to Arramanche and the beaches on the Thursday – who knows!

[theelanman]

Dave
If you register as a club with Peter Auto or whoever else is running classic Le Mans you will find that your entry ticket or grandstand ticket will give you Club parking on the Bugatti circuit so therefore you would not need to pay £24 per day for parking just a thought
cheers
Gareth

[dapinky]

Ah, I wondered who i would need to speak to for that - there's nowt on Club Lotus website yet (but I wouldn't expect there to be until the new year).

At the moment, I'm tempted to go for a B&B option if I can get the parking sorted at the circuit, just to save a bit of car space.... otherwise I'll be lugging camping stuff round France for a week which won't be quite such fun.

Still early days, lots of options.

I know you've been before, would you recommend B&B or camping? I see the attraction of the social side with camping, and if we were just going for the weekend, it would be a done deal. But with the extra week in country, still unsure.

[theelanman]

Dave
Club Lotus will also have tickets for the event which will get you Club parking on the Bugatti.....you can get these in due course as I dont think the AOC have even released the normal 24hr tickets yet....
Id get booking now......for the ferry at least
we have done ours and they were running out of places.....certainly for cabins on the over nighter
Partsmouth - St Maol out.....Caen - Portsmouth return
it appears the tour companies are block booking them.......
once you have your travel sorted you can get your entry tickets later

as for camping or B&B....I only ever go camping....however the 'facilities' are rustic to say the least.......I cant speak for the ladies facilities but the gents are.....erm.....in need of improvement

cheers
G

[dapinky]

Gareth,

I've always managed to get my ferries previously, whatever events are ongoing (so I never really thought about them selling out) - that is the advantage of living in the sticks and crunching carrots - Plymouth doesn't tend to get used by the block bookers as the routes are not condusive to their itineraries....

...However, I take it all on board - maybe if I really really want to do the Portsmouth - Caen route I will lose options nearer the time, so I will need to be seeking to book sooner rather than later.

As per the first post, main thing was Mrs P getting her holiday dates approved.

Next i'll do the ferries, then see about tickets via CL in due course.

The whole post was drafted on what is available now (which isn't a huge amount), so i appreciate your input as a man who's been many times

[theelanman]

no worries....always happy to help......
we live a little too far so always include the overnighter ferry.....we can have a few beers on board too
gives us a point to point on the day we land.......usually involves stopping for breakfast and lunch and then arriving to set up camp mid afternoon...

all we have sorted is the camping and the ferry........entry tickets will be purchased when available

[chris.t]

Hi, no attempt at a thread hike but has anyone got contact details for Lyn and Brendan. Tried pming Iain but it's still in my outbox.

Cheers Chris

[Dave Eds]

I think I may have Chris! Will have a look this evening.

[dapinky]

I can't find a 'direct' number/email address amongst my highly (dis)organised filing system.....

..... but I do have Iains' phone number if it will help?

[chris.t]

I can't find a 'direct' number/email address amongst my highly (dis)organised filing system.....

..... but I do have Iains' phone number if it will help?

Yes it would Dave. A group of us are planning a Muley-esque ride in Brittany and I thought that Augan would be an excellent base. It's not LMC depandant, no dates established yrt but I'll make sure that we coordinate with any plans you have, don't worry.

Cheers Chris

[dapinky]

I can't find a 'direct' number/email address amongst my highly (dis)organised filing system.....

..... but I do have Iains' phone number if it will help?

Yes it would Dave. A group of us are planning a Muley-esque ride in Brittany and I thought that Augan would be an excellent base. It's not LMC depandant, no dates established yrt but I'll make sure that we coordinate with any plans you have, don't worry.

Cheers Chris

PM sent with number.

The only 'plans' I have are that I've booked my ferry tickets - if we can go to Lyns after LMC, great - if not, then we'll just do a bit of a drive around for a week. Plenty of places to visit, so I can sort out the actual itinerary nearer the time.

[Dave Eds]

Chris/Dave

I have the no and address etc. Have PM'd them!

[dapinky]

Thanks Dave

(but the web address hasn't been working for the few weeks I've been looking into this).

[Scott J]

Dave, I'm 95% certain of going. Been to the main one 5 times between 1989-2007 so long overdue. It's also my 50th next year and first time I went was with my dad who passed away before we got a chance to make a second trip together which has always bugged me.

The 2005,6,7 trips were with LECers, Nige, Muley etc.
Tony Flint of le Mob usually organises the official Club Lotus event, staying offsite in Chateaus and glamping, all a bit posh and expensive for proper LECers.

My plan is to get to St Malo the weekend before, watch 3 days of Le Tour de France, Sat-mon, probably stay in Loire valley or near Normandy D Day beachs Tues/wed then Le Mans Thurs-Sun. Camping on site is OK, its doable, if you go for a dump or shower at 9am, join the Q. If your an early riser, no prob, or hold off and have quick shower mid afternoon when there will be no Q at all.

I'll be in the MX-5 so as long as you don't have an issue with that (some people do) we can camp as neighbours. If I win lotto I'll be in an Evora 400. Only draw back with MX5 for camping is it only holds half as much as Elan so I may be buying cheap camping kit at Decathlon and dumping it.

The overnight ferries are expensive. From Glasgow I'll probably drive to mates in Essex off the M25 one day, stop over and early Dover ferry next morning.

There are packages available which I've not looked at for a few weeks but I was considering a basic authorised ACO package which gives Dover ferry, camping pitch, and general admission for weekend. Camping at Houx would be ideal, there is now a tram from there into centre-ville which was under construction when I was there 2005-7 leading to heavy traffic congestion, all sorted by now I'm sure.

[blacknight]

should have been paying more attention......

As Dapinky alluded to, my parents have been trying to sell the country pile, and in a strange coincidence put a offer on a house in blighty today!

We th this in mind they will probably be repatriated by February next year.

Bit of a bugger really, as I was up for a bit of Brittany drive time before they sold up, but such is life.

If anything changes, I will let you know

Iain

[dapinky]

Ah well, Plan 'B' springs into action......

Still doing the Portmouth/Caen ferry outbound on 7th, and Roscoff/Plymouth return on 17th. (but may try to change it for a return on the same route)

Overnight in Caen, then drive to LM for 3 nights camping.

Then probably do 3 nights down the Loire valley to St Nazaire.

Then up to Normandy for a few nights somewhere (to do the 'tourist' things like Bayeux,Granville etc) and to try and find all the nice places from when I spent a Summer in Caen many years ago - Liseux & Pont-le-Veque - (I probably can't find them, and even if I do it'll be somewhat different than 1978!).

Obviously, a trip to Arramanche and 'The Beaches' will feature somewhere.

Accomodation will probabaly be in a variety of whatever I can find whist en route - but if we are doing LM in a tent, Angie will probably want B&B type stuff for the 'Grand Tour'.

Bastille Day will be celebrated wherever we are at the time with a few bevvies with the locals!

[Scott J]

I'm booking Le Mans Classic through Le Mob, the official Club Lotus agent as advertised again in last quarterly rag. 4 nights camping with cooked brekky off site, and paddock passes on sight. Paddock passes available to all Lotus's and selected modern classics which includes RX8's and MX5's.