4th June 2024

During our day off Roger had come up with a possible parking spot to get a good photograph. I think he came up with the perfect spot:

From there we headed for the border. Not the most interesting drive but we arrived with no issues. I am glad we were not trying to get a truck into the country as the queue went on for literally miles. They must be stuck there for days! and after showing passports and paying a 3 euro tax of some sort we were quickly out of Romania. We crossed the bridge and entered Bulgaria.

We queued for a few minutes before our passports and V%s were inspected then we were officially in. First impressions were not great with lots of industry and imposing scruffy apartment blocks. We got our Bulgarian ‘U’-turn un early and soon the industry gave way to a more rural landscape.

We passed mine after mile of gently rolling farmland with vast fields as far as you could see. We had a lunch break shortly after we joined the motorway and continued on towards our destination of Burgas.

We have made it to the Black Sea:

It is a big day tomorrow…….

5th June 2024

Today we cross into Turkey. We know the border can take a long time when it is busy so we made the decision so set off early. By 6:15 we were on our way.

The road to the border to Burgas was a lovely fast, sweeping well-surfaced road. It was mostly free of traffic which was a good sign for getting over the border.

We arrived at passport control to leave Bulgaria at about 7:30 am and there were only a couple of cars ahead of us. We had all come prepared with our passports, international driving permits, V5s and Insurance for Turkey which we had arranged from the UK.After inspecting the cars and having a look in the back I allowed the customs officer to have his photograph taken in the car (how could I say no) and we were allowed through to the Turkey side.

Everything was in order and it would appear that the immigration officer had to add Morgan 3-wheeler to their system so we could well be the first Morgan 3-wheelers in Turkey. Another photo opportunity for the Turkish Passport control and we were officially in. The process had taken us about an hour and we were glad we had got up early to avoid any delays.

The road from the border was almost empty and was again a fast flowing route. After a random Police Checkpoint we managed to find a coffee stop for breakfast. We then continued on for our ultimate destination in Istanbul.

The motorway was very wide, very fast and full of big trucks and no one had any lane discipline whatsoever. One truck pulled out on me when I was alongside with no indication whatsoever. I had to take evasive action and remained unscathed but it just shows you that you need to maintain concentration at all times.

Our planned route took us over the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge over the Bosphorus Strait just so we could claim that we have driven our 3-wheelers to Asia. It was a great moment.

We continued round the coast and returned to Europe via the bridge to the south. Once over the fun really began.

Negotiating the Istanbul traffic to get to our centrally located was somewhere between terrifying and an absolute laugh. Even though everyone cuts up everyone else and there is the constant horn accompaniment, there was no aggression, just everyone trying to get through the chaos as best they can. We were all getting quite accustomed to the chaos by the time we eventually located our hotel.

Roger had found a superb hotel. Great location, very nice room and an underground car park accessed by a lift to the basement. Perfect.

After a well-earned beer we met again for our evening meal. The Roof Mezze 360 rounded the day off very nicely indeed.

Istanbul had been the inspiration for this whole trip. I liked the thought of driving to Asia and everything else had been arranged around this. We had done it. We had driven our little Morgan 3-wheelers over 2500 miles to Asia. Now I bet there are not many people who can claim that!

6th June 2024

Just a nice day exploring Istanbul……

7th June 2024

The day started with us attacking the hilarious Istanbul traffic. You just have to go with it and do as the locals do. Cut-in where you can and weave round the various obstacles that appear in front of you. Play chicken with a bus and watch out for the mopeds on the wrong side of the road or undertaking on the pavements. It really is quite good fun if you just join in. You can get away with a lot in these cars too.

After finally getting free of what felt like endless Istanbul traffic we headed for the border with Greece. We were pulled over by police just outside Tekirdag but were waved on after they checked Chris’s paperwork. You can be sure we were only stopped so they could look at the cars.

The crossing went well after a few inspections of our paperwork we were allowed out of Turkey. We crossed the Meric Nehri along with the men with their machine guns and after a few minutes queuing we were in Greece.

It was a hot couple of hours on the motorway then as we headed for our hotel in Alexandroupoli. Luckily, when we did arrive at the hotel there was a nice cool pool to have a cool down in.

Things were going well then we all received a text message regarding our ferry from Patras to Venice. This is a 2-night ferry and we had all booked cabins but they have changed the ship and there are no cabins available for us. Non of us wanted to spend two nights in a chair so we spent the next 3 hours coming up with another plan. We have cancelled the ferry, rebooked a different route on a different day, booked new hotels and sorted out new routes. Hopefully we have it covered but the next few days will tell. Watch this space……

8th June 2024

Not that much to report today. It was one of those ‘getting there’ days ae we travelled west across Greece. Most of the day was spent on the motorway. It was quite a pleasant drive really, starting out at a very nice temperature but getting progressively hotter as the hours went by.

Our progress was interrupted by frequent Toll payments ranging from as little as 35 cents. We had one stop by police who quickly waved us on our way after looking at one V5. One thing that was surprising was the lack of motorway services. There was just one on the whole of today’s route.

9th June 2024

Just one thing on our mind today and that is to get to our rearranged ferry from Patras to Ancona. We had some 250 miles to cover so we were out and on the road for 7:00 a.m. The drive turned out to be a very nice one but definitely one of two halves.

We started out on very smooth toll motorways that were almost deserted. We hardly passed another vehicle. There were frequent toll booths again but there was never a queue. We stopped at a services for breakfast before moving on.

Once we left the motorway the road twisted its way up into the hills. There were some very nice views along the way before its snaked its way down to the coast. We followed the coast all the way until we crossed over the Charilaos Trikoupis Rio – Antirrio Bridge – a very impressive cable-stay bridge. It is one of the longest multi-span cable stayed bridges in the world and crosses the Gulf of Corinth. Opened in 2004, the day before the Athens Olympics it is 2880m long. And was used to transport the Olympic flame.

After our smooth drive we arrived in Patras rather early. We found a place for lunch and had a drink before we headed to the port. The port could learn a lot from the Chunnel or Brittany Ferries. When you arrive at the port you have to park and walk in to a check-in office where you queue to exchange one ticket for another ticket and a cabin card before returning to your car. You then proceed to a very vaguely signposted security point where the cars are inspected and tickets checked. Once past this point you are on a huge quayside where a number of ships are docked and there are spaces for others to dock. We knew our ship was delayed and was not in dock yet but after a lap of the quayside there was no indication whatsoever as to where we should be. We ended up following a couple of camper vans to the far end that were displaying Ancona hangers from their mirrors. I don’t think anyone knew if they were in the right place but at least we were not alone.

It was hot. Very hot and we sheltered under umbrellas. There was no shade, no facilities of any kind and we had a good wait before our ship arrived. Some kind people in the camper van next to us provided us with cool beers which was very nice of them and very much appreciated.The

The ship eventually arrived and I must say they loaded and unloaded simultaneously so we were onboard quickly. We went down and down into the ship and had to reverse park but at least we could have a drink and cool down. This ship was fine and I had a very nice sea-view cabin. We ate, watched the Grand Prix on my phone and went to bed.

10th June 2024

I slept well as I usually do on a ferry and woke to the announcements. We were due in at 6:00pm so after breakfast we settled in for the wait. Lunch came and went as did coffee and a nap. At least I have had a chance to update the blog even if I can’t upload it yet.

We were able to disembark remarkably quickly considering our position on the ship. We had a good run from Ancona to Rimini. Our only difficulty was driving directly into the setting sun. Another underground car park with a lift tucked the cars away safely. We visited a restaurant recommended by the hotel and I enjoyed a lovely lasagna. When in Italy……

GOPRO VIDEO

11th June 2024

I started the day by changing round my front wheels with the help of Roger and Chris. I have been worried about the wear on the one tyre which is wearing more than the other side. To maximise the rubber I have left I have swapped them over.

The drive itself wasn’t that interesting today – until the very end! The motorway miles passed quickly as we were aiming to get to Lake Garda for about lunch time to have a look around. We did stop for coffee and a fuel-up but nothing to photograph really.

After coffee it suddenly got a lot cooler and clearly there was rain ahead. We pulled into a petrol station and changed into our waterproofs before carrying on. We did have some light rain but we maintained our good progress.

We entered Bardolino and routed towards the hotel through the town. This is where it became fun. We ended up wandering down very narrow pedestrianised streets through the town. Well, you can imagine the stir we caused as we got lost somewhere close to the hotel. We ended up parking next to a bar so Chris could go on foot to find the hotel and obtain parking tickets to let us in to the underground car park a few streets away. We were soon surrounded and asked the usual questions about the cars. People were amazed when we told them where we had been!

We then had to turn around and make our way back out of the town through the narrow streets towards that car park. There is no way of doing this inconspicuously but you really can get away with a lot in these cars. So many photos were taken. What a laugh!

We treated ourselves (or rather Chris treated us) to big ice creams by the lake. They were great. We had a walk along the lake before heading back to the hotel to get cleaned up for our meal. The meal was excellent.

12th June 2024

Well I can’t say too much today about our travels other than everything went very well and we arrived in our hotel in Bormio. Other than that we had a very good pizza and too much wine to add much more than this.

Tomorrow looks rather chilly as we plan to tackle the Stelvio pass.

Oooops. Forgot to start the tracker so this starts about 50km in….

13th June 2024

A fantastic day today. What a privilege to be able to ride up the Stelvio Pass on a crystal clear, sparkling morning. There may have been snow but it only added to a brilliant experience. I don’t have a lot to write after today. I’ll leave it to the photos and Video to show what an amazing day we have had….

14th June 2024

Not the most inspiring route today but the journey was broken up nicely by a visit to the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart. The museum is housed in a very impressive building opposite the factory. Definitely worth a stop.

I am not a big Porsche fan myself but it was an interesting visit with lots of cars to look at.

After the museum we headed for our hotel in Bad Bergzabern. Traffic was very heavy with a delay on the motorway but we achieved our objective without difficulty. We walked into town for a coffee before going out for our evening meat at a Gerry restaurant very close to the hotel.

Well, that only leaves one more hotel on this epic trip.

15th June 2024

There was nothing particularly remarkable about today’s route other than it was the last full day riding together. We arrived in Dinant at about 2:30 in the afternoon and checked into our hotel. We have stayed here before on the way to Grindelwald but today we had a little more time. After checking in we walked into the town and caught the cable car up to the Citadel.

The Citadel of Dinant is a fortress located in the Walloon city of Dinant in the province of Namur, Belgium. The current fort was built in 1815 on a site which was originally fortified in 1051 when the region was ruled by the Prince-Bishopric of Liège. Wikipedia

There were great views from the top as well as a recreation of WW1 trenches and a collapsed shelter that really plays on your senses as it is at a rather strange angle. We took the cable car back down and had coffee overlooking the Meuse before returning to the hotel.

We went out later in the evening and enjoyed our last evening meal of the trip along with some rather good Belgium beer. It is hard to believe that this is our last evening together on our epic trip but it is. The trip has been amazing but I am so looking forward to getting home to Josephine & Eliza. Tomorrow will be a long day with over 250 miles and a Chunnel crossing but I am looking forward to it now.

16th June 2024

We started our final leg which was going to be quite a long day by heading out towards the Channel Tunnel. After probably the worst coffee stop of the whole trip and typically for this strip, making our way through another pulse of heavy rain, we arrived at the terminal early. We were lucky enough to all get a train earlier than planned.

We proceeded to queue when called but then everything stopped. I’m not sure exactly how long we queued for but we ended up departing well after we should have even for our original booking. There was no information or explanation whatsoever which was frustrating as we all just wanted to get home now. We have used this service many times in the past and it is usually very efficient but this occasion was time we were let down.

Once we arrived back in England we waved our goodbyes and went our separate ways. It was a long lonely run home after driving as a group for so many miles. After over 400 miles today I was glad to arrive home.

Thoughts

What a trip it has been. I measured 4520 amazing miles with the 3 of us totalling 13481 miles plus Peters shorter round trip. The cars performed magnificently. They have all had the essential reliability modifications as well as some performance upgrades from standard but most importantly they are all used regularly and serviced properly. There were times in the torrential rain when I questioned our sanity but the cars just ploughed on through. Chris did loose his LH indicators with a faulty TSM but other than that the cars were just excellent.

The cars were always met with a combination of amazement, delight and curiosity. We got away with things that would be more difficult in any other car – our entrance into Bardolino springs to mind, and I really do not think there is any other vehicle that I would rather used for this trip.

I thoroughly enjoyed this trip. There were a couple of long days but it never felt like a chore. There was the occasional ‘U’ turn but we were never really lost. We had some rain but had great weather when we needed it most. We ate well and we drank well. The days were very well planned thanks mostly to Roger and we visited some amazing places. Chris, Roger and Peter were great travelling companions and I hope to travel with them again very soon……watch this space.

I am very grateful that I am able to participate in trips like this one. I am lucky to have one of these fabulous little cars. I would only encourage anyone interested in travelling to go for it. I have wanted to overland to Asia for a long time and I was not disappointed.