Page 1 of 3

Still not done Stelvio

Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2020 7:49 am
by Victor Meldrew
I thought everyone had done Stelvio except me.

I want to go but have ever really put much thought into it until now.
What options are there?
Ferry routes etc.

Who has been before and how did you do it?

Re: Still not done Stelvio

Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2020 8:16 am
by delands
Took the Hull - Zeebrugge ferry
down to Reims for the old F1 circuit and some champagne (overnight stay)
then Mulhouse for the Schlumpf car collection (overnight stay)
then through Switzerland to Stelvio Pass round lake Garda and down to Monaca
over to Millau "Bridge in the Sky" and back up through France to Zeebrugge...

Re: Still not done Stelvio

Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2020 10:03 am
by a4drk
I’m the same - Stelvio & Furka pass on the bucket list.
I fancied tying it in with a Spa Trackday / Nurburgring- few laps

Don’t know if it will be this year - as I’ve got lots of trips booked already (not All lotus)

David




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Re: Still not done Stelvio

Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2020 10:07 am
by delands
delands wrote:Took the Hull - Zeebrugge ferry
down to Reims for the old F1 circuit and some champagne (overnight stay)
then Mulhouse for the Schlumpf car collection (overnight stay)
then through Switzerland to Stelvio Pass round lake Garda and down to Monaca
over to Millau "Bridge in the Sky" and back up through France to Zeebrugge...
Dunno who Monaca is..should be Monaco

Sent from my CLT-L29 using Tapatalk


Re: Still not done Stelvio

Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2020 12:21 pm
by Victor Meldrew
a4drk wrote:
Sun Feb 02, 2020 10:03 am
I’m the same - Stelvio & Furka pass on the bucket list.
I fancied tying it in with a Spa Trackday / Nurburgring- few laps

Don’t know if it will be this year - as I’ve got lots of trips booked already (not All lotus)

David




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I think Vicky's trackday days are over, she is an old girl now and prefers long gentle walks instead of the spankings of old...

Re: Still not done Stelvio

Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2020 12:47 pm
by C7Steve
delands wrote:
Sun Feb 02, 2020 8:16 am
Took the Hull - Zeebrugge ferry
down to Reims for the old F1 circuit and some champagne (overnight stay)
then Mulhouse for the Schlumpf car collection (overnight stay)
then through Switzerland to Stelvio Pass round lake Garda and down to Monaca
over to Millau "Bridge in the Sky" and back up through France to Zeebrugge...
Sounds a good trip, how long in days did it take?


Steve.

Re: Still not done Stelvio

Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2020 2:34 pm
by campbell
Yup seems like a cool grand tour that, Del.

My only Stelvio visit was the, er, Stelvio 99 tour with Tony Churly and friends. Epic. But was more like a Top Gear Challenge than a wafty grand tour

Looked seriously at re-creating the route with kids this summer but it proved too much on every dimension. Mainly time. Deserves 3-4 weeks to make it a holiday.

As for Del’s grand tour version, think carefully about the section through Swissland. They are utterly intolerant of spirited driving (not only the cops - locals get well upset if you ever overtake them). I personally love driving through CH but that’s because the scenery is eye-popping. All the more reason to cool the jets and just waft along at the locals’ pace

Re: Still not done Stelvio

Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2020 6:58 pm
by delands
Yes Campbell, the scenery is very nice!

We took Hull - Reims - Mulhouse - Stelvio - Monaco - Salon de Provence - Mulhouse (7 days) then from Mulhouse up to Angouleme for another week to take in Circuit de Remparts at my house.

Re: Still not done Stelvio

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2020 10:14 am
by Scotty C
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timmelsjoch

other name for this is Passo del Rombo, AKA used to be a closed border that Tut pushed the wooden barrier so he could get under after it closed.

If your going down or back through France, just ask i have loads of routes, col du galibier, col du telegraphe, col d'izoard, col de la bonette all epic. could play there for days.

Re: Still not done Stelvio

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2020 11:26 am
by Victor Meldrew
If only there was a map with the best driving roads in Europe highlighted so you could plan a join the dots type of driving tour...

Anyone got one?

Re: Still not done Stelvio

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2020 5:23 pm
by Scotty C
no but if your going i can do you a quick route planner for the ones ive listed.

Re: Still not done Stelvio

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2020 5:24 pm
by Victor Meldrew
Scotty C wrote:
Wed Feb 05, 2020 5:23 pm
no but if your going i can do you a quick route planner for the ones ive listed.
I will have a look when I get home and have access to decent internet... Google maps struggles to load out here.

Re: Still not done Stelvio

Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2020 12:50 pm
by BigD
delands wrote:Took the Hull - Zeebrugge ferry
down to Reims for the old F1 circuit and some champagne (overnight stay)
then Mulhouse for the Schlumpf car collection (overnight stay)
then through Switzerland to Stelvio Pass round lake Garda and down to Monaca
over to Millau "Bridge in the Sky" and back up through France to Zeebrugge...
Millau bridge is the one that got away for me. Have done the rest in various trips but never managed to get to the bridge. Will do one day.

Re: Still not done Stelvio

Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2020 1:37 pm
by jason
Victor Meldrew wrote:
Wed Feb 05, 2020 11:26 am
If only there was a map with the best driving roads in Europe highlighted so you could plan a join the dots type of driving tour...

Anyone got one?
In 2005, 2006 and 2008 we enjoyed Alpine passes camping holidays with the Caterham and Elise. Bit of tent pitching, bit of guesthouse stopping (lots of unplanned arrival availability in summer months :thumbsup ) I found these two items perfect companions to plan our journey taking in some of the best driving and most characterful passes:

  • An edition of Motorcycle Journeys Through the Alps by John Herman. Great descriptions of all the passes you'd wish to see.
  • 1:500,000 Alps (Alpenländer) Road Map by Freytag & Berndt. Easy journey planner at home or Alpine cafe/restaurant, with all the passes clearly named. It's surprisingly easy to navigate using just that Freytag map and road signs (and likely more fun that SatNav if travelling with a passenger).

To echo above, Timmelsjoch is outstanding and by far the best way to enter Italy from Austria. Splugenpass and many others are dripping in various blends of nostalgia and driving pleasure.

Stelvio is worth driving very early morning (dawn) or the evening after the summit shops/stalls have closed as during the day the road is choked with traffic (especially the all-important '48 Tournante' NE side). In 2008 we stayed in a gasthof in Gamagoi (just below the start of the hairpins) and I snuck out for a pre-dawn blat to the top and back as the sun rose and flooded the road with morning light. Empty road. One of my greatest driving memories 8)


Make sure you have a copy of Matt Monroe's tune for company :D

Re: Still not done Stelvio

Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 4:12 pm
by Andy G
did it as part of a larger trip with Baz and Stu the other year. Well worth building a route around it.

We had some of the cars transported to London and flew down, Chunnel across, headed south to route Napoleon and onwards to Monaco. Did the Col de Turini, and then headed up towards Italy, lake Como, then up to the Alps. Did quite a few passes, Switzerland briefly, then onwards to Spa for a trackway, Bahn blitz and then homewards.

If driving Stelvio, try and do it first or last thing. Its a Mecca for cyclists so they can be bloody everywhere - 6am is epic!