Alps 2020 - Day 7

As suspected, today was a lonely slog to Calais - 300 miles of mostly dual-carriageway and motorway. The weather was good - a mix of sun and cloud until Calais, when it got darker and started spitting rain.

The weather report said it was raining at home, so I put my roof up for the crossing and, Holy Cow, lucky I did. As I drove off the train in Folkestone, the rain was torrential, some of the worst rain I have ever driven in. The standing water on the motorway was unbelievable - for the first few miles, I thought I might have to stop to bale Zedster out! Great welcome home, England!

So, the trip is over:

And some stats, useful for future trip planning:

Total mileage: 1,892 miles
Fuel costs: £371
Accommodation: £280 (6 nights)
Tolls: £55 (does not include the one-off £30 to get the Liber-T tag).
Food: £110

My Eurotunnel crossing is usually zero (Tesco vouchers) but I had to pay £80 this time because I changed my date from early June to July and they wouldn't let me pay the extra in vouchers.

They say "don't meet your heroes" and a driving trip to the Alps has been a dream of mine since not long after I passed my test. In this case, however, my 'hero' was all I imagined - the best trip I have ever done, bar none.

Unfortunately, this sort of trip is very selfish; it's all about the driving and that does not really cater for passengers - no museum trips, shopping, sightseeing (except through the windscreen) etc. So it is difficult to get spare time to do it - and you need the right car.

Which brings me to the star of the show - Zedster. Built in a garage by a semi-competent orang-utan (me), Zedster took all in his stride, racking up the sort of miles few would put their factory-built cars through. Surprisingly comfortable over distance and a hoot when the going got twisty, I had an amazing time and until I can afford a 911 (probably never), nothing else would have been better.

Who knows, I might even give him a wash.

Map of today's route: