We’ll meet at Portsmouth Harbour to catch the overnight ferry to Saint Malo. While we wait to board we can introduce ourselves and start to get to know each other. Once the bikes are safely parked and strapped down and we’ve found our cabins, we’ll meet up and have a chat about how our guided tours work, our rider policy (included in your info pack when you book) and answer any questions you may have over a drink while we wave goodbye to the UK.

Get yourself some supper and a good nights’ rest ready for an early start on day two.

After breakfast on the ferry, we’ll disembark and the fun begins!

We’ll ride through rural areas of France with endless green fields, deep forests, stately chateaux and small villages along the way. Heading through the Loire valley and crossing the Loire via the imposing bridge at Langeais. Carrying on through the La Brenne Nature Park that’s dotted with lakes, we arrive at Argenton-sur-Creuse where many of the houses with galleries and balustrades overhanging the riverbank are 15th-century.

Tonight we'll be staying at an 18th-century manor overlooking the river valley. The hotel has an outside pool, garden and terrace. The beautiful rooms are in classic French design with antique furniture.

Join our exclusive group BBQ in the garden.

Leaving our lovely manor, we’ll head through the Limousin area, one of the most rural and least populated areas of France. Enjoy the rolling hills, verdant river valleys as much as the wonderful roads. Our route through the Dordogne takes us further south, passing houses built of honey-coloured stone, and green, rich meadows.

We end our day at a chateau near Gabarret, deep in the French countryside. This beautiful building is in the heart of Gascony, home of Armagnac and The Three Musketeers. Enjoy the excellent restaurant and the peaceful surroundings.

Today we’ll set off to Spain where the roads start to become more twisty as we climb steadily through the captivating countryside of the Pyrenees Atlantique, Pays Basque country and into Spain.

Experience fantastic riding along near-empty roads through the high mountains and deep valleys of the magnificent Pyrenees. The roads and scale of the views confirm we’ve arrived in Spain – truly one of the best countries for motorcycling.

After coming down the mountains to Pamplona, we’ll head to our hotel in Estella. This pretty town is on the pilgrims route to Santiago de Compostela and has plenty of Romanesque architecture including the Picudo Bridge over the River Ega at the entrance to the town.

While we’re in Spain we’ll be setting off and finishing a bit later as most Spanish restaurants open around 8.30pm.

Our route across high plains surrounded by mountains, some snow-capped, takes us through Aragon towards the province of Zaragoza and the Moncayo Nature Reserve. Wild boar and golden eagles are found in this unspoilt area and so are roads that could have been designed with bikers in mind.

We’ll ride across the Sistema Ibérico mountain range with gently rolling tableland roads and picturesque villages to arrive at Segovia for our fifth night.

Unesco World Heritage-listed Segovia offers a Gothic-style cathedral, a Roman aqueduct with over 160 arches, a medieval Plaza Mayor (main square) and many eateries and bars nearby.

A magnificent castle, documented for the first time in 1122AD, was allegedly the inspiration for Walt Disney’s Cinderella castle. Take a stroll along the city wall - one of few that remain intact in Spain.

Today the roads are simply awesome! Leaving Segovia we’ll travel over the Sierra de Guadarrama passing ski areas at 1900m, through valleys, around reservoirs and high mountains, giving us plenty of challenging roads to enjoy. The roman ruins of Templo los Mármoles (Marbles Temple) can be spotted just over the bridge after we leave Peraleda del a Mata. Once over the Gredos mountain range, a vast granite mass with cliffs, crags and tarmac to take your breath away, we’ll end our day in Guadalupe.

Tonight we’ll stay in a Parador hotel that has been converted from a 15th-century hospital with lots of the original structure intact. Lovely gardens, a pool, wooden terraces, balconies and courtyard with portico surround it. Enjoy the simple yet delicious Extremaduran cuisine in the hotel restaurant or in one of the nearby restaurants in the midst of traditional homes with wooden balconies and porches.

Another fantastic day of riding across the high plains and valleys of the sierras brings us into the province of Badajoz with its many castles high on the hills. Miles of empty roads take us around Jerez and down towards Novo Sancti Petri on the coast.

Away from the saddle, our home for the next three nights is an exclusive, luxurious hotel on one of the best beaches in Spain. There are five pools, five restaurants, natural lakes, tropical gardens and a spa. Activities include golf, surfing, diving, kayaking, tennis, a bowling alley and more, there’s even an Irish bar! There are a few shops and restaurants within walking distance.

Enjoy a chill out day, watch the fantastic sunset, catch a ferry to Cadiz, take a pleasure boat trip… or ride to Jerez to see the MotoGP qualifying! Weekend tickets are included – your choice!

If you’d like to spend some time riding around the stunning Ronda area we can provide routes and may well join you.

Today is race day!

The Spanish are motorcycling mad – the atmosphere will be electric at Circuito de Jerez! For those coming to the races, we’ll set off after breakfast for a group ride to the circuit to revel in a day of MotoGP racing.

Jerez is an amazing facility and one we are very familar with, having spent time there with Mark riding the track.

We’ll enjoy a group evening meal later at the hotel and relive our exciting day at the races.

There'll probably be more people there than in this photo!

After the excitement of the MotoGP weekend we’ll get back in the saddle to ride north on a route that offers the perfect combination – superb roads and great scenery. Circling round the hustle and bustle of Seville, we’ll cross the Sierra de Aracena y Picos Aroche with its whitewashed towns and villages. Wild, rocky escarpments, small groves of olives or walnuts provide our backdrop as we ride deserted roads that snake their way to Zafra, also known as ‘Little Seville’, a charming town, buzzing with life.

We’ll spend the night in a boutique hotel at the foot of the steep, rocky mountains of Sierra de Castellar. Many of the rooms have a balcony, terrace or garden view. The town is dominated by the 15th-century Alcázar (fortress). A stone wall built in the 15th-century used to surround the town; today, only three of the eight gates remain.

We’ll pop into Portugal today, crossing two roman bridges, one that takes us across the border. Houses built of granite, endless skies, and ruined castles on the hilltops all form part of the wonderful panorama. These sensational roads take us through national parks with cork-oak tree forests that stretch into the horizon.

Our hotel tonight is in the Parque Natural de Serra da Estrela, Portugal’s oldest and largest protected area with the country’s highest mountains and spectacular landscape marked by rocky outcrops, boulders and crags.

Heading through the district of Guarda, we’ll use roads that are a joy to ride by way of a rural landscape with fields, orchards and rocky outcrops.

Entering the Douro International Park our route takes us alongside the incredibly beautiful River Douro and up into the deserted terrain of the hills. We enter a ‘hidden’ area of Spain with medieval villages, half-timbered houses and yet more splendid roads for us to enjoy.

Arriving in Léon, our spacious, quiet, modern hotel features a rooftop terrace with views across the city. The historical and architectural heritage of the city is obvious – the cathedral, one of the most beautiful in Spain is a ten-minute walk from our hotel.

Our last group meal – we’ll get together and relish our last night in Spain.

Leaving León, we’ll travel north to cross the simply amazing roads of the Picos de Europa. We’ll ride through spectacular scenery: over rivers, through gorges and up into the jagged, deeply fissured mountains.

Glorious views of the mountains can be seen as we cross the Riaño reservoir. We’ll stop at the bronze statue of a deer overlooking the mountain pass at San Gloria – a must-do photo opportunityI Riding down out of the Picos, we get on the motorway with wonderful views of the mountains to the right and the sea to the left to travel the last miles to our ferry for the late afternoon sailing from Bilbao. 
Please note, that due to the sailing time from Bilbao we will need to depart Leon a little earlier than usual to allow for time through the Picos.

Our final night is on the ferry back to the UK where we can share our tales and celebrate an unforgettable tour as we say a fond farewell to Spain.

Arriving back in the UK in the late afternoon/evening we’ll say our goodbyes and leave you with your recollections of a great trip and the new friends you will have inevitably made!