squarepeg:
Think the mountain pass you are referring to is “El Desfiladero de Despeñaperros” and if treated with respect is no big deal.
IMHO a greater danger lies about 240 K’s further down the road, Malaga hill, simply due to it being 20+ K’s and all down hill with a few fast bits and a few tight bends to catch you out if you’ve cooked your brakes.
Even with modern trucks its not unusual to see someone on their side or through the barrier, especially in the wet.
one of the worst hills in spain squarepeg i agree with you but i also think its the best road because it gets me home every week
toby1234abc:
Is it correct that a well known haulier that supplies Morrisons in Gibraltar,would not allow a probational,or new driver to cross the Carolinas mountains,until after gained experience.When wet,that pass is very dangerous,and many trucks have gone down the side of the mountains,including Colin,an owner driver who had 2 Ford Transcons with Euro PSL,who lost control at road works.The Guarda Civil could not find his head,due to being decapulated by the accident,for a few days,but found his remains eventually.The Gib company was Continental Express.Apart from the old IP5,Villa Formoso to Guarda in Portugal,this must be one of the dangerous routes in Spain.What are the other routes where one mistake can be fatal,and has high accident rates,especially for trucks,in Europe?
toby i don’t think the pass is dangerous as long as you stick to the speed limits and use your retarder or engine break just plod along and get to the end in one piece
squarepeg:
Think the mountain pass you are referring to is “El Desfiladero de Despeñaperros” and if treated with respect is no big deal.
IMHO a greater danger lies about 240 K’s further down the road, Malaga hill, simply due to it being 20+ K’s and all down hill with a few fast bits and a few tight bends to catch you out if you’ve cooked your brakes.
Even with modern trucks its not unusual to see someone on their side or through the barrier, especially in the wet.
one of the worst hills in spain squarepeg i agree with you but i also think its the best road because it gets me home every week
I used to use the Jerez to Algarciras Ruta del Torros regularly out of boredom . Have they straightened that out yet ?
& Lorca to Granada before the motorway.
Villa Formoso to Porto was 8hrs. hard graft.
I used to use the Jerez to Algarciras Ruta del Torros regularly out of boredom . Have they straightened that out yet ?
& Lorca to Granada before the motorway.
Villa Formoso to Porto was 8hrs. hard graft.
The old N1 Madrid to Burgos pre motorway was also tasty.
That was horrible road,nearly use a card to get accross it,get some speed up,then wallop,back down the box crawling up those mountains.Would get complaints on how slow i was to get to the border,and we allways loaded friday night,without sleep,as the warehouse would shunt us on and off the bays all night,but funny enough the Portuguese could go home and collect their loaded trailer.Driving tired over the IP5 is not good for your health.Cafes did well with the coffees i had to buy to stay awake to get to Vitoria or Burgos way.
Didnt two drivers get killed on that bad corner coming out of the small tunnel between Burgos and Vitoria,one had heart attack due to the fact of a loaded fridge was coming to crush you.Burlington Ocean express,white scanias.Village was before you got to Miranda de Ebro.
Many drivers got killed on the old Porto to Villa Formoso route . Just before Villa Foromso in the early morning you would work your way to the mountain top in sunlight & a dry road ;over the top the other side was a steep drop which snaked to the left . That was the Spanish side in the shadow of the mountain where the black ice had not thawed out. It claimed a lot of good lads before it was replaced by IP .
Harry, the Route del Torros is now all autovia, you can do Jerez to Algerciras in 90 minutes no problem now. Still prefer the windmill route via Tarifa if there’s no great rush. That’s Pata Negra country down there, lovely.
Yes it was Pancorbo,with bars and garage on the left going north,■■■■■ bar on left,then the tunnel with corner that had a lot of truck crashes.That IP5 Villar road was high enough to see the pilots in airliners flying overhead,with a bit of exaggeration there!!The old IP is still in use,old cobbled stones on it,used if there was an accident and road was blocked.
Ex Haulier:
Harry, the Route del Torros is now all autovia, you can do Jerez to Algerciras in 90 minutes no problem now. Still prefer the windmill route via Tarifa if there’s no great rush. That’s Pata Negra country down there, lovely.
Pata Negra comes basically from Extremedura if you take the old road from Sevilla towards Badajoz what the Spanish call the Ruta de Plata that goes straight through Pata Negra country
Spacemonkeypg:
From memory i think the most dangerous part of that road is way before it (going south) the flats south of Madrid
Straight, flat, hot and boring as hell!
I nearly fell asleep there a few times out of pure bordom!
That would be the A4 Carretera de Andalucia, a pleasant 38 celsius the other day - and no aircon either. Mind you I dont mind if Im heading south as its the way home.
Ex Haulier:
Harry, the Route del Torros is now all autovia, you can do Jerez to Algerciras in 90 minutes no problem now. Still prefer the windmill route via Tarifa if there’s no great rush. That’s Pata Negra country down there, lovely.
Pata Negra comes basically from Extremedura if you take the old road from Sevilla towards Badajoz what the Spanish call the Ruta de Plata that goes straight through Pata Negra country
Ahh!! The Ruta de la Plata or “Silver Route” - some say that it was bult by the Romans to transport Plata (Silver) from the mines in the North down to the port of Seville. The old road certainly hadnt been resurfaced much since the Romans left and had some challenging sections on it. This has now been largely replaced by the new dual carriageway autovia - a lot faster but extremely dull.
Sadly I rarely go on the "windmill route, however its certainly worth it for the views as you climb the mountains just west of Algeciras and look out over the Straights of Gibraltar - it feels as though you could actually touch Africa just a few miles across the straights.
toby1234abc:
Yes it was Pancorbo,with bars and garage on the left going north,■■■■■ bar on left,then the tunnel with corner that had a lot of truck crashes.That IP5 Villar road was high enough to see the pilots in airliners flying overhead,with a bit of exaggeration there!!The old IP is still in use,old cobbled stones on it,used if there was an accident and road was blocked.
I tried the old IP to Villar in a tilt 18 months after the Motorway was opened ,I had to give up .The trees had overgrown & knocked hell out of the trailer .
Ex Haulier:
Harry, the Route del Torros is now all autovia, you can do Jerez to Algerciras in 90 minutes no problem now. Still prefer the windmill route via Tarifa if there’s no great rush. That’s Pata Negra country down there, lovely.
Pata Negra comes basically from Extremedura if you take the old road from Sevilla towards Badajoz what the Spanish call the Ruta de Plata that goes straight through Pata Negra country
I used to go Burgos ,Valladolid ,Salamanca .Badajoz ,Seville ,Cadiz . Great little route in the old days. It cut out the Somo Sierras & Madrid.
That must have been when Madrid only had 2 ring roads,one of them is the M3O,it was easy to get off an exit in error and end up in the city.Did some shop fitting jobs for “El corte ingles”,secured my bike to a bin,bin men came along with an allen key,and made off with a new bike.Never knew why all the drivers would drink all weekend at Freds old place,and not get a bus/tube/train to see the sights of Madrid.Theres that bar,in the big square,where all the presidents/VIPs and prime ministers would visit,photos on the wall,and head trophies of bulls heads hang from the walls.Had to count the change with Fred,as the price of a fax/shower/drink or meal would alter,depending on the customer.Did anyone use his place on the national 1,north of Madrid,high on a hill,on the right,going south.
I used to get the train into Plaza del Sol & go to the street markets at the weekend. I only used Freds Coslada & the new TIR . Had Xmas Eve & Xmas breakfast there on my last visit , coming home from Moroc.
The one one on the mud patch was dodgy at night. Brit drivers would try to break into cabs while the drivers were sleeping : Scum! But that was in the bad old days when Brits were on trip money & no diesel money ;bless 'em.
