Been told by gaffer that we have a new job starting in a week or so (to be confirmed) taking a load to Tudela near Zaragoza in Spain and re-loading at same place for return to Blighty. Looks like it may become regular run. 
Any chance of someone on here providing me with with best route and places to stop overnight. Ta 
Thanks for that Harry. Heard horror stories of going via Paris. Isn’t there a new road being built that goes via Rouen to Le Mans?
If you ship to Calais you can turn right toward Boulogne and Rouen, where you can the national, N138 I think, toward Alencon and Le Mans. If you do elect to go via Paris, and it isn’t as bad as the stories make it out to be, you can avoid the Peripherque by using either the N104 or A3/A86 to the east of the city or the A86 to the west…
my experience with the BP is its short and slow
N104 long slow and more accident prone
Go west if you have a load cos its quite hilly
I allways go via Paris. The other way is full of cops & hills. But its more scenic…not much of a bonus when you are lugging 40t.From Calais to Tuleda…Its roughly 802 miles…
From Calais via Le Mans its ( According to the AA ) 1140 miles. Take your pick…
Penfold
The new road is now open.
the new road I don`t know but if it cuts out Paris without to much extra miles then try it out… At the end of the week the lads on the Spanish run will be back & can give yo better info…
Personally, I would never go via Paris. Always Rouen, Evreux, Dreux, Chartres, Artenay and on to the Autoroute towards Bordeaux, although there is now an autoroute in the Alençon, Le Mans direction. Come off the A10 at Poitiers Sud and follow the N10 via Angoulême.
As regards watering holes I don’t know what sort of time scale you are on but some of the best are:
Chez Jo at Hautvillers on the N1 north of Abbeville.
Tivoli on the N154 about 24 kms south of Evreux, now by-passed but worth 2 minutes detour.
A large one just off to the left of the N154 on the D26 at Serazereux.
St. Germaine la Gatine on the N154 also now by-passed.
Both these last 2 are within 20 kms N. of Chartres.
Ymenonville on the N154 30 kms S. of Chartres.
Slightly off route but,
Toury on the N20. Turn left at Allaines, through Janville and straight across the N20 into the village of Toury. Massive park, great food.
Also slightly off,
Chateau Gaillard. 2 restaurants here, one each end of the village, both good but I prefer the North one myself. When you arrive at the right turn on the N154 for the autoroute go straight on to the N20 and turn left towards Paris for about 6kms.
If you decide on the Alençon route there are plenty.
On the N138 at the X roads with the N13 6 kms S. of Brionne.
On the N 138 at Monnaie, at Sées, at Forges, at the turning for Bérus (D285) 8kms S. of Alençon, at Luceau just N. of Chateau-du-Loir, and near the D72 junction about 10 kms S. of Chateau-d-L.
If you feel the need at Châtellerault, come off the A10 at J27 and turn right on the N10 to a really good one about 1 km on the left near Naintre.
After leaving the A10 at Poitiers Sud (J30) and Vivonne, with its giant park is on the hill to your right after about 14 kms.
Further down at Couhé in an industrial estate to the left.
Les Maisons Blanches is a Centre Routier at the X roads with the D948 12 kms N. of Ruffec.
La Belle Cantiniere, one of the best, on top of the hill on your right 5 kms S. of Mansle. Keep your eyes peeled or you’ll miss it in the trees .
La Touche d’Anais 6 kms further on to the left of the road, again on a hill.
It’s a bit of a desert 'till you get to Bordeaux but there is a large Centre Routier on the by-pass round Barbezieux and another that I haven’t sampled on the left at La Jarculet, 8 kms S. of the D730 crossing.
Back on the autoroute at St. André de Cubjac come off at J43 (I think 
) Carbon Blanc for Chez Orlando, a large modern restaurant very close by.
If you go over the Pont Aquitaine not only will you get spectacular views of the river and city of Bordeaux, but you will also have the opportinity to sample the fine cuisine at l’Albatross. There are 2 ways round the city, west or east. For the bridge go west but stay in the straight on lane, (right switches back down the left hand side). Once over the bridge take the first exit signposted Centre Routier and follow signs to it. When you get there (2 mins) ignore it and drive past down to the roundabout. Turn right and the Albatross is the last but one resto on the right (there are about 5 in 100 metres 
) just before you go back under the bridge. Don’t worry if you don’t find a parking space, continue under the bridge to the roundabout and try again. Worth the effort .
South of Bordeaux the first and best is at Liposthey after 63 kms. Take the slip at J 17 and turn left on the D43. The resto is 100 metres on the right. At mealtimes the man will park you, close, it is very popular .
At Castets the Centre Routier to the left of the by-pass is acceptable and frequented by many Britons. Better then MSAs but not as good as routiers.
I have stopped a couple of times at a resto on the N10 at Bénesse-Maremne near J8 of the A63. Take the road for Dax ignoring the weight ban (permitted) and it is 100 metres on the right. It is sometime since I stopped there though, it was very handy for a large RDC nearby, but it was quiet and may no longer be open.
A better bet is at J5. It is opposite the bottom of the slip on the D932. Was once bought a drink by some ‘gitanes’ (gypsies) in there for no apparent reason other than friendship, and no, they didn’t want my body or my wagon 
.
That’s it, you’ll soon be in Spain and I’ll hand over to Austin, Malc, or Bob. Never wanted to leave France myself and the boss rewarded me with only occasional trips to Blighty, Belgium and Italy 
.
Bon appetit!
I would agree with the previous post on route abd stopping places in France. Once over the border into Spain at Birriatou / Irun you need to head for Pamplona this can be either via Donostia San Sebastian (a pain to navigate through) or much better just as you cross the border at Irun take the N121A which is toll free and looks crap on the map but a good road and about 40 minutes faster to pamplona. At pamplona pick up the A15 signed for Zarragoza and Tudela. As for stops not much other than motorway service stations, but most towns have loads of cafe bars which wlcome drivers and parking is never a problem - just park where you like virtually!
Wow! Thanks for all that, certainly got a varied list of places to stop
On another point, I have heard that trucks are limited to 40t in France but if you are transiting (passing through to another country) you can run at 44t, is this correct? 
One thing I have discovered is that there is a new weight limit between Le Mans near the Aldi and Tours forcing you onto the new A28
try portsmouth cean
then you can go either to rennes which is motorway or le mans then samur down to bordeaux then throught the foresters road to irun then over the mountain to irun, then follow signs for zarragossa. You will then come to tuleda if you come off just before at castjohn there is a hotel there all you can eat for 10 euros it a fav for spanish drivers so you will know it good. On way home pass pamplona there a restaurant at sunbilla also very good A word of warning this is my own personal view stay well clear of BP at bordeaux.
I can tell you a story about Zaragosa.
I parked one night outside the GM plant and met a couple from Dorothy Bowmans We went to the bar and chatted, She was his brothers wife, we got wrecked and I got locked inside the sports complex, that we were drinking in
So I stole a moped and tried to ram raid my way out. In the morning , this couple found me the next morning laying next to the swimming pool cuddling a moped
As someone who’s every trip is down to Iberia, then I always go Portsmouth-Caen and then the autoroute via Rennes, Nantes, Niort to Bordeaux. It cost €67.60 and it is motorway the whole route. Also, apart from the hills at Gourvets, it is flat!!! Lots of people say go Le Mans, Samur, Potiers etc so as to save €30 on tolls but the difference is going the Rennes way, the only gear changing will be at Rennes, Nantes and Gourvets. Top gear the rest of the way. Ideal for fuel economy. Going the National routes, you will be making a 1000 gear changes and having to keep your eye on the speedo every time you go thro a village. Therefore, as far as I am concerned, a false economy!
I had the misfortune to ship out Dover-Calais last week as I had to pick 4 pallets of plonk up in Calais. So I left Calais, headed for Rouen, picked up the new autoroute down to Le Mans and then turned right for Samur. I came off at Samur to find the toll was €70.70 (on top of the €21.30 payable at Abbeville)!! After 8 hours 50 minutes driving, I was only at Vivonne (just below Poitiers).
The other major downside was all along the route to Rouen I was driving into a fierce headwind. On the first night, my fuel consumption was 6.9! Over 2 less than normal going Rennes route.
I would recommend the route via Sunbilla to anyone nowadays as the road has been vastly improved except for those first 20 kms lol
from Caen I go down to Alencon, then onto motorway to Le Mans, Tours, Poitiers, then n10 to Saint-Geours-de-Maremne where I join the A63 to Irun 828 km and pretty much all motorway or duel carriageway from Alencon €61 to Poitiers, then free down to Saint-Geours-de-Maremne
Via Rennie’s and Nantes it is 875 km and €67
not much in it really, I just got bored of just running the same motorways all the time
I always go Portsmouth-Caen and then the autoroute via Rennes, Nantes, Niort to Bordeaux.
That is a good route. 
DAFMAD:
I always go Portsmouth-Caen and then the autoroute via Rennes, Nantes, Niort to Bordeaux.
That is a good route.
Agreed, except for Niort, I turn off at A83 J7 and take the N137 via La Rochelle and Rochefort, rejoining at Saintes.
Cheaper and even more routiers to choose from.
Spardo:
DAFMAD:
I always go Portsmouth-Caen and then the autoroute via Rennes, Nantes, Niort to Bordeaux.
That is a good route.
Agreed, except for Niort, I turn off at A83 J7 and take the N137 via La Rochelle and Rochefort, rejoining at Saintes.
Cheaper and even more routiers to choose from.
Aren’t there a couple of toll bridges and weight limits along there somewhere ?
This brings up the question of E numbers. When I was at Transalliance most of the french drivers told me to ignore any weight limits on E roads as they were illegal as they are funded by the EU.
Obviously it helps if you speak the lingo perfectly but I followed many drivers down old national roads with E numbers. As David said, there are more and better routiers 