Johnc_ward
New member
About 6 months ago I bought my first Porsche. It's been a lifetime ambition to own one and after much research and testing I settled on a 2006 Cayman S in basalt black with black leather which I got from 911Virgin. Good job guys, I love what you do..!!
In my younger days I had a Triumph Spitfire and Dolomite Sprint, a Mk1 Volkswagen Golf GTi and a 3-litre Ford Capri, each with their own merits and good cars in their day. Family came along and with it sensible cars for a long time (I did have a few motorbikes, including a Kawasaki GPZ900 during this time) but it was time to start having fun on the road on 4 wheels again. Mid-life crisis..?? You bet..!!
So, I use it regularly for work, driving from Kent to Bracknell a couple of time a week and lots of local driving. I think it's a great car. The Porsche purists who don't think a Cayman is a "proper" Porsche are really missing something. Much debate there, I'm sure.
Having got used to it I began to think about taking it somewhere a bit further afield and started to research The Alps. I know Clarkson and his mates did something there once but I attribute my interest to the first Italian Job film. I started discussing it with an old colleague (Mike) who owns a Porsche 997 Carrera S (also bought from 911Virgin) and who was working in Geneva. He's taken his car down there and has done a few of the famous Alpine Passes already so we decided to embark on an expedition.
The plan was this :-
Day 1 "" Kent (near Brands Hatch) to Dijon, via Reims for lunch (420 miles)
Day 2 "" Dijon to Geneva to meet Mike then on to Chamonix (200 miles)
Day 3 "" Chamonix to the Great St. Bernard Pass, on to the Furka Pass with its glacier, the Albula Pass and finally the Stelvio Pass in Italy (330 miles)
Day 4 "" Stelvio pass to Hahntennjoch in Austria then on to Stuttgart in Germany, on my own because Mike was going back to Geneva (260 miles)
Day 5 "" Porsche Museum (you can't go this far without visiting..!!).
Day 6 ""Stuttgart to Luxembourg then home through Belgium and France (550 miles)
This wasn't an endurance test to see how far or how fast I could drive in a short time but an opportunity to drive the best cars on the best roads with the best views in Europe. I thought it would be fun to try to video driving some of the passes so I bought an ActionCan from Amazon for about £25. There's a link to the video results at the end. This is how it went"¦
Day 1 "" Home to the Channel Tunnel, Calais, Reims and Dijon all according to plan. I encountered some atrocious weather between Reims and Dijon but no real drama. French motorways are an expensive way to travel. It cost E20 from Calais to Reims and another E24 from Reims to Dijon.
Day 2 "" Dijon to Geneva. The signposts pointed me to follow motorways but Garmin had other ideas. It took me off the motorway and through some magnificent scenery through the Jura Mountains Regional Natural Park and down to Lake Geneva.
Geneva traffic was as expected but I parked in the car park underneath Lake Geneva and took in the sights. I met Mike and his pal Ludo (translator, navigator and all round good guy) at Geneva Airport and we drove to Chamonix in France.
Day 3 "" Chamonix and up into the Alps. We decided to alter our plans and take the cable car up Mont Blanc to the highest point in Europe before we set off. The weather was wet and cold and it's so high (3,842 metres, 12,605 feet) breathing becomes difficult but it was worth it. It did put us back about 3 hours which caused some challenges later in the day.
First stop was The Great St. Bernard's Pass. Fantastic drive up there but the weather was wet and foggy so we didn't get to enjoy the magnificent views.
We then moved on to The Furka Pass and a break to see the glacier and go into the ice cave.
A late lunch here left us a challenging drive through The Albula Pass and on to Stelvio to our hotel. I couldn't say what the scenery was like on this leg because of the conditions. We arrived in darkness, at about 10:30pm, after the most difficult 4 hours of driving I've ever done. The roads were wet, it was dark and foggy, we didn't know the roads and we were tight on time. It's probably best we couldn't see what was over the side..!!
We arrived near the Hotel Rifugio Garibaldi, parked up and had to walk the very steep, rocky and dark track up the final leg. The hotel is 2758 metres (9048 feet) high and breathing was difficult as we climbed up to the hotel. However, it was worth it..!! It's a small castle, built in the 1960's and the welcome was wonderful. It was too late to want food but we sat up trying the local liqueurs with our hostess until we couldn't stay awake any longer.
Day 4 "" Stelvio Pass. The weather was bright but cold with magnificent views all around. Refreshed with a hearty breakfast we set off but within a few hundred yards were into cloud again. Once we dropped through the cloud we could see how magnificent the drive was going to be as we drove the Pass' 48 hair-pin bends..
On then to what some say is an even better drive, the Hahntennjoch Pass in Austria. We went through some magnificent scenery through the Austrian lakes before ascending this pass. Foggy for a short while but once through, the scenery was magnificent. We stopped at a Restaurant and parked alongside 3 German registered Porches, including a limited edition Super Sport. Obviously the place to stop for Porsche drivers.
I parted company with Mike and Ludo as they headed back to Geneva and I drove on to Stuttgart.
Day 5 "" Stuttgart. The original plan was to spend the day at the Porsche Museum but it wasn't open so a hasty change of plan was required. My hotel was about a 10 minute walk from the museum so I decided to hang around Stuttgart for the day, not doing much.
Day 6 "" Porsche Museum and home. I was first in to the museum at 9am but because of the drive home later in the day I only had 2 hours there. I could see everything but didn't get a chance to read about it all. However, I did take lots of photos and bought some books.
I left Stuttgart at 11am and drove through Germany, right past the Hockenheim circuit and up into Luxembourg. I was planning to stop for lunch here but because of the time I just drove straight through and in to Belgium. I followed the motorway towards Brussels (this was a mistake because I got held up in two rush hour jams caused by accidents) but made it in to France and the tunnel at Calais in time to get an earlier train home. The final leg from Folkstone to home was without incident.
For the journey photos please follow this link (Password: Cayman):-
http://jcw.smugmug.com/Cars/The-Alps/25667417_QQXxNZ#!i=2120097323&k=X3mpB7J
For the driving videos please follow this link:-
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UClVQB9Q8_ZzF7PSUw7JyIqg?feature=guide
For Porsche Museum Photos please follow this link (Password: Cayman). There's a "slideshow" button in the top right corner:-
http://jcw.smugmug.com/Cars/Porsche-Museum/25717975_kJpHFJ#!i=2126631950&k=8rfWSng
Journey details as follows :-
8 different countries (England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium)
1819 miles total
28.7mpg average
50 mph average
If you've ever thought about doing something like this then I would urge you to do so and do so soon..!!
Happy Driving"¦.
John.
In my younger days I had a Triumph Spitfire and Dolomite Sprint, a Mk1 Volkswagen Golf GTi and a 3-litre Ford Capri, each with their own merits and good cars in their day. Family came along and with it sensible cars for a long time (I did have a few motorbikes, including a Kawasaki GPZ900 during this time) but it was time to start having fun on the road on 4 wheels again. Mid-life crisis..?? You bet..!!
So, I use it regularly for work, driving from Kent to Bracknell a couple of time a week and lots of local driving. I think it's a great car. The Porsche purists who don't think a Cayman is a "proper" Porsche are really missing something. Much debate there, I'm sure.
Having got used to it I began to think about taking it somewhere a bit further afield and started to research The Alps. I know Clarkson and his mates did something there once but I attribute my interest to the first Italian Job film. I started discussing it with an old colleague (Mike) who owns a Porsche 997 Carrera S (also bought from 911Virgin) and who was working in Geneva. He's taken his car down there and has done a few of the famous Alpine Passes already so we decided to embark on an expedition.
The plan was this :-
Day 1 "" Kent (near Brands Hatch) to Dijon, via Reims for lunch (420 miles)
Day 2 "" Dijon to Geneva to meet Mike then on to Chamonix (200 miles)
Day 3 "" Chamonix to the Great St. Bernard Pass, on to the Furka Pass with its glacier, the Albula Pass and finally the Stelvio Pass in Italy (330 miles)
Day 4 "" Stelvio pass to Hahntennjoch in Austria then on to Stuttgart in Germany, on my own because Mike was going back to Geneva (260 miles)
Day 5 "" Porsche Museum (you can't go this far without visiting..!!).
Day 6 ""Stuttgart to Luxembourg then home through Belgium and France (550 miles)
This wasn't an endurance test to see how far or how fast I could drive in a short time but an opportunity to drive the best cars on the best roads with the best views in Europe. I thought it would be fun to try to video driving some of the passes so I bought an ActionCan from Amazon for about £25. There's a link to the video results at the end. This is how it went"¦
Day 1 "" Home to the Channel Tunnel, Calais, Reims and Dijon all according to plan. I encountered some atrocious weather between Reims and Dijon but no real drama. French motorways are an expensive way to travel. It cost E20 from Calais to Reims and another E24 from Reims to Dijon.
Day 2 "" Dijon to Geneva. The signposts pointed me to follow motorways but Garmin had other ideas. It took me off the motorway and through some magnificent scenery through the Jura Mountains Regional Natural Park and down to Lake Geneva.
Geneva traffic was as expected but I parked in the car park underneath Lake Geneva and took in the sights. I met Mike and his pal Ludo (translator, navigator and all round good guy) at Geneva Airport and we drove to Chamonix in France.
Day 3 "" Chamonix and up into the Alps. We decided to alter our plans and take the cable car up Mont Blanc to the highest point in Europe before we set off. The weather was wet and cold and it's so high (3,842 metres, 12,605 feet) breathing becomes difficult but it was worth it. It did put us back about 3 hours which caused some challenges later in the day.
First stop was The Great St. Bernard's Pass. Fantastic drive up there but the weather was wet and foggy so we didn't get to enjoy the magnificent views.
We then moved on to The Furka Pass and a break to see the glacier and go into the ice cave.
A late lunch here left us a challenging drive through The Albula Pass and on to Stelvio to our hotel. I couldn't say what the scenery was like on this leg because of the conditions. We arrived in darkness, at about 10:30pm, after the most difficult 4 hours of driving I've ever done. The roads were wet, it was dark and foggy, we didn't know the roads and we were tight on time. It's probably best we couldn't see what was over the side..!!
We arrived near the Hotel Rifugio Garibaldi, parked up and had to walk the very steep, rocky and dark track up the final leg. The hotel is 2758 metres (9048 feet) high and breathing was difficult as we climbed up to the hotel. However, it was worth it..!! It's a small castle, built in the 1960's and the welcome was wonderful. It was too late to want food but we sat up trying the local liqueurs with our hostess until we couldn't stay awake any longer.
Day 4 "" Stelvio Pass. The weather was bright but cold with magnificent views all around. Refreshed with a hearty breakfast we set off but within a few hundred yards were into cloud again. Once we dropped through the cloud we could see how magnificent the drive was going to be as we drove the Pass' 48 hair-pin bends..
On then to what some say is an even better drive, the Hahntennjoch Pass in Austria. We went through some magnificent scenery through the Austrian lakes before ascending this pass. Foggy for a short while but once through, the scenery was magnificent. We stopped at a Restaurant and parked alongside 3 German registered Porches, including a limited edition Super Sport. Obviously the place to stop for Porsche drivers.
I parted company with Mike and Ludo as they headed back to Geneva and I drove on to Stuttgart.
Day 5 "" Stuttgart. The original plan was to spend the day at the Porsche Museum but it wasn't open so a hasty change of plan was required. My hotel was about a 10 minute walk from the museum so I decided to hang around Stuttgart for the day, not doing much.
Day 6 "" Porsche Museum and home. I was first in to the museum at 9am but because of the drive home later in the day I only had 2 hours there. I could see everything but didn't get a chance to read about it all. However, I did take lots of photos and bought some books.
I left Stuttgart at 11am and drove through Germany, right past the Hockenheim circuit and up into Luxembourg. I was planning to stop for lunch here but because of the time I just drove straight through and in to Belgium. I followed the motorway towards Brussels (this was a mistake because I got held up in two rush hour jams caused by accidents) but made it in to France and the tunnel at Calais in time to get an earlier train home. The final leg from Folkstone to home was without incident.
For the journey photos please follow this link (Password: Cayman):-
http://jcw.smugmug.com/Cars/The-Alps/25667417_QQXxNZ#!i=2120097323&k=X3mpB7J
For the driving videos please follow this link:-
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UClVQB9Q8_ZzF7PSUw7JyIqg?feature=guide
For Porsche Museum Photos please follow this link (Password: Cayman). There's a "slideshow" button in the top right corner:-
http://jcw.smugmug.com/Cars/Porsche-Museum/25717975_kJpHFJ#!i=2126631950&k=8rfWSng
Journey details as follows :-
8 different countries (England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium)
1819 miles total
28.7mpg average
50 mph average
If you've ever thought about doing something like this then I would urge you to do so and do so soon..!!
Happy Driving"¦.
John.
Hope you and Linda are well, would be great to get a drive in like this though! A&J
