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Bluest

Member Since: 23 Apr 2016
Location: Lancashire
Posts: 4216

2007 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 XS CSW Java Black

Sea to Shining Sea - Completed a Pyrenees Traverse

Just got back from the Pyrenees, where we traversed coast to coast from Med to the Atlantic. Just my Wife, our Basset Hound and the trusty 110. I've done group trips before which I enjoy, but there is something about the freedom to go where you want at your own pace that makes travelling as a single vehicle appeal to me. It enhances the feeling of remoteness too.

We were away for just over three weeks in total. We took an easy few days to cruise from Lancashire, through France, camping in Epernay and the Tarn Gorge on the way to our jumping off point for the Pyrenees at Banyuls-sur-Mer. After our fun on the Spanish mountain trails we continued on to meet some family at St Jean-de-Luz, ensuring it was a true coast to coast before the long drive north.

Click image to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

Through the Spanish Pyrenees we followed practically all of the Vibraction Road Book 5, starting at Collioure, which was really enjoyable and ending at St jean Pied de Port. The tracks were occasionally challenging, but mostly no sweat for a standard Defender on ATs. It would be a different story in wet conditions, where I reckon some sections could become impossible due to mud, unless you were very committed. The tracks are a bit scratchy in places and we have the pin stripes to prove it, so perhaps not something you want to do in a concourse winning show queen.

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Click image to enlarge

The scenery was never less than stunning. In the east it is all high snow capped mountains, almost Alpine in feel, steadily getting more arrid as you head west and south away from the really high peaks. If you have an interest in bird watching or wildlife there is loads to see. I'm not an expert but the variety of vultures, eagles and other birds of prey was impressive. I was worried that this might not feel as remote as say going to Morocco, but this part of Spain is really sparsely populated and there are numerous abandoned settlements along the way. Often we went a whole day without seeing another person or vehicle on the tracks. We didn't even see many other 4WDers on the trails, a small group of Defenders from Germany and a couple of English ones with Storm Tuning stickers was about it.

Click image to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

The heat was a big issue, you may recall the European heatwave in the news a few week ago, we were in the hottest spot! It was never less than mid 30s Celcius with some days in the mid 40s. Having a dog we had to be careful to either keep him in the AC in the Landy or in shade outside. The heat did cause a couple of instances of limp mode for the Defender too, but only on long inclines on the two very hottest days. We didn't see a drop of rain the whole time either.

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In Spain, we camped mostly at the campsites suggested in the Vibraction book, which varied a lot in the size, amenities and price, but were all clean and decent. We didn't pre-book anyhting, just turned up and paid on the door. Not very busy at that time of year (end of June, beginning July), except for the weekends, as we were just ahead of the main summer holidays. In France we used Municipal campsites which were invariably excellent for our needs, all we want is a flat pitch and clean toilet and washing facilities.

Click image to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

We allowed 10 days/9 nights to get through the Vibration route, as that is what the author suggests, but we took a very leisurely pace with fairly late starts and long lunches. Even so we almost did the full route of 1300km, of which 700km is on unsealed tracks. Around Pamplona we had to skip just about half a days worth of track to keep on schedule.

Navigation - For some reason I was a bit worried about this as I had never navigated off road before, but it was pretty easy and actually turned out to be one of the most enjoyable elements of the trip. Vibraction provide a huge road book full of almost 1000 tulip diagrams with associated lat/long coordinates. They also provide a .GPX track that you can load into whatever GPS system you might have. I used Locus Maps Pro on a small Android tablet which proved to be excellent. Now the .GPX file is not perfect, with some small errors and some sections missing and we also came across a couple of sections where the route was closed off. On those occasions, and many others where the way ahead wasn't clear, we picked up the tulip diagrams, looked at the map and used a trip meter app to navigate the semi-fashioned way. This meant my Wife got involved in the journey and we had real fun finding our way to the next waypoints without just blindly following the blue line on the screen.

Click image to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

All in all, a wonderful holiday that I would recommend to anyone who likes exploring the outdoors in their Defender.

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Click image to enlarge 2007 110 TDCi Station Wagon XS

20th Jul 2019 5:01pm

LandymanStefan

Member Since: 30 Aug 2017
Location: Surrey
Posts: 881

Looks fantastic! I recently got back from the alps for my first off-road adventure in my 90. The Pyrenees is definitely on the cards for me in the future. Thanks for sharing.

20th Jul 2019 5:32pm

90 Dreamer

Member Since: 13 Jul 2019
Location: Oop North
Posts: 2164

2016 Defender 90 Puma 2.2 HT Corris Grey

Looks a phenomenal experience.

20th Jul 2019 5:44pm

Sulisuli

Member Since: 30 Oct 2016
Location: South west
Posts: 4795

2015 Defender 90 Puma 2.2 HT Corris Grey

Looks like you had an amazing time, great pictures thanks for sharing them. 2015 HT XS 90
2008 SVX 90
2000 XS TD5 90

20th Jul 2019 5:55pm

v8steve

Member Since: 18 Apr 2011
Location: dumfries scotland
Posts: 195

2007 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 XS CSW Rimini Red

super pics. hope to do this in next 3 years or so. 110 xs s/wagon
s3 swb soft top

20th Jul 2019 6:15pm

UtilityTruck

Member Since: 09 Jan 2014
Location: Oxford
Posts: 463

Great report, thanks for sharing! 2014 Keswick Utility 2.2

21st Jul 2019 5:08am

Grenadier

Member Since: 23 Jul 2014
Location: The foot of Mont Blanc...
Posts: 5829

2011 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 DCPU Corris Grey

Great write up, on a great trip. Thank you. On the bucket list....

Monsieur Le Grenadier

I've not been everywhere, but it's on my list.....

2011 Puma 110DC - Corris Grey

21st Jul 2019 5:16am

Whirly90

Member Since: 01 Sep 2016
Location: Ampshire
Posts: 405

1993 Defender 90 300 Tdi HT Keswick Green

We visited the Pyrennes last year and did the same as you, east to west. We didn't use the Vibraction route, we took ours from Wikiloc, but looking at your photos i think they must be quite similar. We didn't stick to the route 100%, we deviated if we found something interesting then re-joined it. Whichever route you take it's going to be a great trip.

21st Jul 2019 8:55am

Bluest

Member Since: 23 Apr 2016
Location: Lancashire
Posts: 4216

I think the exact Vibraction route has been put on Wikiloc by someone, so you may well have done the same as us

2007 110 TDCi Station Wagon XS

21st Jul 2019 9:48am

Whirly90

Member Since: 01 Sep 2016
Location: Ampshire
Posts: 405

That makes sense.

21st Jul 2019 11:36am

williamthedog

Member Since: 29 Dec 2012
Location: south wales
Posts: 3441

Quite a trip. Looks like you had a good time.

21st Jul 2019 2:14pm

Caterham

Member Since: 06 Nov 2008
Location: Birmingham
Posts: 6300

2011 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 XS CSW Stornoway Grey

brilliant and thanks for sharing with us.

I don't suppose you have a picture of marked up map showing general route taken do you?

22nd Jul 2019 11:05am

geobloke

Member Since: 06 Nov 2012
Location: Nottinghamshire
Posts: 4410

Fantastic write up. We loved our trip through the Pyrenees too and a second for the Vibration road books

22nd Jul 2019 11:44am

JOW240725

Member Since: 04 May 2015
Location: Suffolk
Posts: 7906

2012 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 XS CSW Orkney Grey

Looks and sounds like a great trip, thanks for sharing!

James
MY2012 110 2.2TDCi XS SW Orkney Grey - http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic43410.html
MY1990 110 200TDi SW beautifully faded Portofino Red - https://www.defender2.net/forum/post743641.html#743641
MY1984 90 V8 Slate Grey - https://www.defender2.net/forum/post744557.html#744557
Instagram @suffolk_rovers

22nd Jul 2019 2:24pm

Eduardo

Member Since: 28 Aug 2008
Location: Región Metropolitana
Posts: 2110

2007 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 SW Stornoway Grey

Nice trip and nice pictures.
Thanks for sharing! Eduardo

MY 2007 110 SW PUMA 2.4: Big Fog of 64'
MY 1994 Jayco 1207 Folding camper: "El Tremendo"

Click image to enlarge

22nd Jul 2019 3:17pm

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