Spanish Info for Author Please - URGENT!

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS EURO DRIVING FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

To all you Spanish hands,

I am writing a story which features a driver loaded from UK to Spain. I gave him a frigo trailer because that is what I am familiar with but I am not a Spanish expert. For want of a load I gave him fish, the first thing that came into my head. (Brain food :laughing: ) I need him to break his journey around Burgos but the final destination is immaterial. I need then to back load him north to France or beyond.

Specific answers required:

  1. Is fish a realistic load X UK to Spain? If not, what?
  2. Where in the Burgos area would he park up for the weekend?
  3. He will arrive Burgos around 4 or 5 pm Saturday. Any problems with Sat. pm driving in Spain?
  4. Final destination. Would Madrid area be likely with fish? (or whatever) If not, where?
  5. Re-loads north. From where? To where?

No need to be too specific I am not out to steal loads, this is a work of fiction for which I need incidental details. It would be nice though to have the name of the best restaurant in question 2. (May use that info personally later!)

Come on now, if this gets published you will have your little bit of immortality! Problem is, it’s urgent. My deadline is Friday :frowning:

Salut, David.

2

HI Bondi :slight_smile:

I am wondering what time of year this is set in… yes, we have taken fish from Barnstaple to Barcelona so fish must be a realistic load. I persoanlly have taken 24 tonnes of lamb hocks to Madrid BUT a load that goes down there regurarly is British food for the ex pats!! I took 24 ton of pasties, bacon and chicken breasts in breadcrumbs LOLOL. There is a British comapny with depots in Fuengirola and Alma de Piaz (?) (just outside Benidorm) who supplies al lthe ‘Brit’ shops and bars down there.
As in all of Europe, if he is pulling a fridge with ‘perishables’ on, no problems with weekend driving. On the road from Vittoria to Burgos, there are any number of ‘truckstops’ … quite a few just before Burgos. Quite a few of them have a ‘club’ attached… i will leave that to your imagination as to their purpose. If the story in set in autumn/winter time then the ideal backload will be fruit and veg etc… oranges from Valencia or Murcia … or from as far south as Cartagena. If you want anymore details on Spanish work, send me a private message and I will get in touch with you.

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Hi David,

I’ve not done Spain a great deal but I know that Victor’s in Brujula, near Burgos was always a favourite stopover. On the times I either went in or past there was always a fair spread of British trucks, but of course things could have changed in the years since I came off full-time international work. As for backloads, how about oranges (Seville), onions, wine, or even terracotta tiles if they’re on pallets (they’re a favourite, although you’ll often end up in some small out of the way villages picking them up)?

Hope the story goes okay, and do let us have a read.

A plus,

Craig

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Craig,

Nice to hear from you again. The Bear has already suggested several between Vittoria & Burgos, would Victor’s be one of those?

My story takes place in June, I can’t remember when the Seville (marmalade) oranges start to move. Can you? My marmalade making days were a long time ago!

Terracotta tiles sound useful. out of the way villages can be slotted quite well into a story. Are they from any particular region, north or south for example?

As far as the wine is concerned I could deduce source down the local Inter couldn’t I?

Thanks for the suggestions, If I make this Friday deadline I will have to wait until it is accepted or rejected before I publish anywhere else, but would certainly send it privately to you and others who may have helped.

By the way, my daughter has sent me copies of T&D and Trucking. Not sure if any of my stuff fits in there but I will try, now I have my new multifunction printer and can do something with photos.

Will be going to Calais for the break in Blighty in March and back again 6th of April. if you’re around we may make a rendezvous for a meal or something. We normally would try to eat the evening of the 25th at the routiers at Hautvillers, just north of Abbeville on the N1 but perhaps that is a bit far out for you. Maybe on the way back though. Will call you before we leave.

Salut, David.

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Sorry, but we had a major power failure in our area last night from 6-11 so never got this till this morning
You’re right … Barnstaple - Barcelona is right out the window!! I think that any load out of UK can be routed thro Calais (unless of course you was loading in Portsmouth) . Both the Fuengirola foods and lamb hocks (Madrid) originate in Birmingham.
Calais to Burgos in two days is a push, but can be done … its perfect for the route you want. My problem here is we ALWAYS ship thro Portsmouth so I am down below Bordeaux off the boat. so i always pass thro Burgos, not stay there. The tile (ceramics) loads are normally from the Castellon area which is a 5 hour drive from Madrid across the country. There are always more than one pickup with these loads. The one and only one I did ( I refused to do anymore) was SIX pick ups and the last three were in the middle of nowhere. All these loads return to the UK.
I would go for something simple if you want to backload out of the south (Fuengirola area) in June.

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Bear,

Thanks again. All that is very interesting. I actually stayed up till 0300 this morning and got to the end of the story. So pleased to know how it all turned out! Plenty to do yet though, cutting and trimming (it’s about 100 words too long), but when revising will incorporate some of your stuff.

Will change the load to the hocks out of Brum because that works well with Madrid. Then I remembered that I have passed through Carinena south of Saragossa and stayed at the restaurant there so placed the backload from there with wine. That made a 290 odd k journey mostly on the Madrid-Saragossa motorway, say about 4 hours?

Right, now for the hard work of making it presentable. Thanks for all your input, it has been most valuable.

Salut, David.

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as I remember you follow the E90 out of Madrid and it is motorway for about half the journey but then you turn towards Jubera and if I am right, it goes over mountains… but it is about 300 klicks, you’re right … basically, though, you are following the road for Zaragoza or Sarragossa

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Fish to spain was & still is a viable load, I havent done the “fish” regular, but I did take a load to VIGO in Spain from Falmouth

Loaded Falmouth quayside direct from Spanish fishing boats (hand ball) in crates except for the sharks, the spanish fishermen were a bit tipsy & dropped one of the sharks back in (clumsy oafs…).
along coast to Portsmouth shipped PM to CAEN, CAEN down to Last Services in the forest B4 border past CASTETS, ended up changing loads & going to PORTUGAL why on earth we changed ill never know??

  1. Where in the Burgos area would he park up for the weekend?

You have a fridge & your in Spain you dont park for the weekend

But here you go A REALISTIC Run:

Load Birds Eye Walls Gloucetser (ice cream) for BELSHILL SCOTLAND, tip Monday late PM early Tuesaday, load same shift at GREENOCK or GOUROCK
is actually a trailer swap for another reefer, go to bed
2nd shift
traverse UK to POOLE or PORTSMOUTH favoured route was POOLE chper & quicker

3rd SHift
Cherbourg N137 south there are lots of variations of this route but you end up at BORDEAUX round there & south towards SPain, reaching CASTETS

4th SHift
leave CASTETS 3 little payages 1 border & your in SPAIN, 565 peseta Payage & on to the NATIONAL 1 towrds BURGOS, passsing 1st thru HONARUBIA, up MIGUELS MOUNTAIN round VITTORIA & on past FERNANDOS at base of SOMMERSIERRA PAST the FLAGS restuarant towrds JARAMA race Circuit, past that & on into MADRID onto M40 Round madrid past the airport & FREDS Restuarant at COSLADA come off M40 at market distribution centre all signposted MERCAMADRID, into Industrial Estate behind MERCAMADRID to SERVIPACK reopt to reception unload , go to bed

5th Shift Head South or north depends on time of year, head south for ALMERIA or TORREPACHECO for SALADS for SAINSBURYS OR TEC+SCO or… get ther book in then wait , you will not load till pm in spain usually with a fridge , thats just the way of things

Ideal time for a 24 hour break, you diont want 2 load & only be able to do one shift teh jave to park

back to shift 1
FRom say torrepacheco nr MURCIA SPAIN, 1st shift will get you to TUDELA easily from tudela 2nd shift you will make NANTES in France, then its an easy run to theboat then short crossing to UK allowing you to get to point of unloading maybe on your 3rd shift

alternatively sometimes there are no loads in spain, then you would have to run empty to Perpingan, just to the coast there is a port tiny port where we used to load BANANAS for uk or you would run to MONTABAUN market & load a MULTIDROP load of perishables for a few markets in UK

Hope this was useful

UNIONJACK :laughing:

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David if you need any pictures info contacts or the like, id be more than happy to help :sunglasses:

UJ :sunglasses:

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Union Jack,

Thanks for all that valuable stuff. I know Castets well myself having tipped at Intermarche just acroos the road many times but it is beyond the border where I am a bit thin on the knowledge.

My deadline passed at the end of last month but the deafening silence since then may mean it has not been accepted. After a reasonable time I will submit it elsewhere and may revise and adjust if I think it is necessary. The weekend break near Burgos was integral to the story irrespective of frigo or otherwise. I eventually tipped him in Madrid from Birmingham with lamb hocks suggested by The Bear and reloaded with wine from Carinena because I know that place and the times/distances suited my purpose.

If it is a question of revising, some of your suggestions might well come in handy. I am particularly interested in the best restaurant stops before Burgos and any photos which you care to e-mail will be gratefully received and, if used, will be be properly credited to you.

My e-mail is davidmarker@wanadoo.fr

Many thanks for that,

Salut, David.

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flowers/roses out of a around Chipiona north of Cadiz

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hi you can load out of gandia for solstor go to gandia follow signs for diamus then the playa.