Visiting new places can be frustrating. Though you have read the Rough Guide and toiled on the Internet you can never be sure if you have got the right list of things to do, the best places to visit. Attractions and Hotels etc will always put their best face forward, which may be out of date and not bare much relation to the reality.

A guide with local knowledge will be able to give you a tailored tour of the best the area has to offer. Will be able to use that local knowledge to make your visit special and successful.

I live in Mid-Wales and have travelled extensively in the UK and Europe. I know Wales and Northern Spain the best, but am happy to design and arrange tours across Europe.

Where possible I will have visited the Hotels, roads and sites of the tour beforehand.

Biographical Information

I am a fairly well travelled individual who has always sought to learn and appreciate the languages and cultures that I have visited.  All though not a natural linguist I have ‘got by’ in Swahili, Zulu, Afrikaans, Greek, German, French and Spanish (currently ruling the roost in the ‘foreign language’ brain section.  

Amongst other things I am a Stage Designer, a motorcyclist and a hopeful novelist  (Arizona  1870 – the life of a half-breed Welsh/Apache).  

My guiding began as a use of the local knowledge accumulated through my motorbike trips to Spain.  I travel the back roads and have come across those uniquely local places that are in no guide book but are real pleasure to experience. 

I figure to tailor every tour individually to suit as best possible the group I take, no tour will be the same as another.

Personal Interests/Skills

~    Natural History

~  Art and Theatre

~   Motorcycling

~    History and Geography

What I do for you:

Devise and where necessary research a UNIQUE GUIDED TOUR.  I prefer a group of around 6 who are friends and therefore know each others interests and foibles, likes and dislikes, this way I can make the best effort to do a tour that is flexible enough to encompass different desires and expectations.

Transport and Accommodation:

You name it! 

If doing motorbike tours then the idea is to combine an interesting theme (Eagles, Battlegrounds, Castles, Cathedrals)  with the best of motor biking roads.  For me the best possible way to enjoy a country! 

If driving a minibus then I am there for you all day and probably evenings as well to provide transport to and from dinner.  I can arrange transport and Hotels or devise a camping site route and be with you all the way.  Alternatively you can drive your own vehicle and I will be a passenger, navigator and on-board Guide.

Five Eagles - tour in Northern Spain that I have done with motorbikes very successfully. See the Biking and Birds information. This could also easily be done with a minibus.

Battlefields of the Peninsular War - This is a tour I have been planning to do, head down to Lisbon for the lines of Torres Vedras and then come back up visiting as many sites as possible (many will be familiar from Bernard Cornwell's excellent Sharpe series).

Round Spain on the back roads - Following the route I did a few years back. Avoiding motorways and the Costa's BUT SEEING SPAIN!

Castles and Cathedrals - There are so many in Spain, some of the best are the lesser known ones on the back roads.

Any ideas of your own?

Torres Vedras, Talavera, Fuentes de Onoro, Badajoz, Salamanca, Cuidad Rodrigo, Busaco, Burgos, Vitoria and many more evocative names.

By motorbike, by minibus, in your own vehicle(s)... Lets DO IT!

Five Eagles tour in Northern Spain.

The idea of this tour is to combine bird watching and biking.  I have identified routes that will give us every chance of seeing the following five Eagles;  Golden, Imperial, Bonelli’s, Booted and Short-toed.  At the same time the tour takes in some fabulous biking roads and interesting places.  The itinerary is flexible with room to encompass individual tastes.  Suitable rendezvous will be set up with maps provided in case anyone wants to split from the group for a while.  There is time set aside for the pleasures of Spanish food and culture.  I will recommend accommodation and can organise the bookings but am happy to find alternatives if you prefer a higher quality of Hotel or camping. 

I ride a Moto Guzzi Centauro which if you don’t know it is a bit of an odd steed, upright, touring comfortable riding position combined with sporty handling  (WP suspension, brembo brakes and a claimed 95Nm), though some of the back roads I use are pretty small and sometimes lumpy any bike suitable for touring should be able to cope. 

I would think very sports orientated or Goldwing/massive Harleys though might be a bit uncomfortable.  Last tour we had a V10 Moto Guzzi, BMW R1200GS, R1200RT and Honda VFR750 all of which coped with everything. Personally I find the hidden and unexpected vistas and sights encountered on the back roads well worthwhile.  They are also easier to stop and bird watch on!

I recommend you taking the P&O ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbao.  There is a very popular Whale and dolphin watch on board and with many experts around and announcements by the ships wildlife officer you are pretty much guaranteed some exciting sightings of cetaceans as well as Skuas, Petrels, Shearwaters, Gannets and quite often passerine surprises out in the middle of the Bay of Biscay.  The Captain has been known to take detours with the ship to improve the Whale watching!  By the way I have yet to have a ‘rough’ trip.  I will meet you off the ferry if I am not on that passage.  We will take things easy as you get accustomed to riding in Spain.  After a short motorway section we turn off onto the back roads and take a very scenic route through the Cantabrian mountains to the ancient capital of Spain, Burgos where we will stay at the Hostal Acanto.  This has a secure underground car park for our bikes. 

In the evening we will catch the bus the short distance into the city centre where we shall enjoy the Cathedral and Castle before eating good Spanish food somewhere around the Plaza Mayor.

Day two takes along parts of the Camino de Santiago, the great pilgrim road.  We stay the second night in Jaca close to the Pyrenees.  This day will hopefully provide a sighting of Lammergeyer as well as Eagles.  Not to mention some glorious riding roads.

Day three we take a round about road through the Sierra de la Demanda back to Burgos.  Fantastic scenery and more Eagle country, with a chance at a Wallcreeper site.

Day four we head south almost to Madrid.  We shall avoid the motorway and head up into the Sierra de la Guadarrama the home to the Imperial Eagles and Black Vultures.  We shall stay in El Escorial and have time to see the fascinating palace of Philip II, built between1563 and1584.

Day five returns us to Burgos via Segovia and its amazing Roman aqueduct.

Day six I shall return you to the ferry at Bilbao where you can look forward to more Whales and Dolphins.

Special requests such as the Guggenheim can be worked in at the planning stage for your particular tour.

Eagles: Golden, Imperial, Bonelli’s, Booted, Short-toed.

Vultures:  Griffon, Egyptian, Black, Bearded  (Lammergeyer)

Kestrel, Peregrine, (once I saw Red-Footed Falcon), Sparrowhawk, possibly Goshawk,

Buzzards galore.  Red and Black Kites.  Hen Harriers and others are also possible.  Warblers include olivaceous and Bonelli’s, Blue Rock Thrush, Hoopoe, possibly Bee-eaters and Wallcreeper.  White Storks.  Crested Larks, Crossbills, Serin, Firecrest.  AND WHO KNOWS WHAT ELSE!!!!!!!!

I can recommend accommodation and where to eat and other places of interest.

In Northern Spain guiding fee is €150 per day for one person/bike and €15 for each other person/bike with a maximum of 3 or 4 bikes and up to 6 people. Above subject to availibility.

NOW WITH BIKE TO BIKE COBRA INTERCOM!!!!

What I am really writing about is to highly recommend a guide if you organize future trips to Wales (and you should; it is a spectacular area).  My wife met his sister-in-law at an arts conference in Ironbridge, UK last spring and he turned out to be absolutely the best.  His name is Duncan Gough (email above), about 49 yrs. old, is very artistic (theatre set design, etc.) an ornithologist, delightful personality, and very knowledgeable about things Welsh as well as other subjects. An example of his diligence: as an avid motorcyclist, he traversed our entire route in N. Wales 10 days before we arrived to be sure it all made sense and that the logistics would work. This he did without even having met us; believe me, it just guaranteed a trip that went like clockwork. Incidentally, he also does motorcycle trips in N. Spain looking for raptors! Our group of six couldn’t recommend him highly enough. 

Roger

Hola Don Duncan,

Greetings Duncan

I have very little to add to the comments made to you by Charlie - perhaps, being of a similar vintage and background, it is not surprising that our views and opinions of an excellent week are pretty much alike. For me, the small town square or village stops were much preferable to the main roadside alternative at lunchtime.  A riverside adds hugely to the attraction but that seems to be less than common in Spain and may be too hard to find. The accomodations were certainly very comfortable and well priced. Overall, I thought you organised an excellent week.  I saw a great deal that, without you, I would have missed and rode some super roads which your navigational skills unerringly found.

I live in Aberystwyth which is in Mid-Wales and handy for the whole country.  I can arrange to hire a mini-bus and drive your group, lead a group of motorbikes or be a passenger in your own vehicle.

Sample Tour interest areas:

Ø      Walking

Ø      Natural History

Ø      Castles

Ø      Food

Ø      Sketching

Ø      Photography

You tell me your main area of interest and I will put together an itinerary.  As with my other tours I will send you a questionnaire that will help me refine the tour to suit.

In Wales Guiding fees are probably £100 per day per group with a maximum of 5 bikes and 6-10 individuals depending on transport.  Above subject to availability.

E-mail address

mailto:Duncan@bikingandbirds.co.uk

Web address

www.hoopoe-design.co.uk

Telephone

(00 44)  [0] 1970 625580

07748 932 124