So what IS the A28 like, south of Rouen?

[trees 2]

After getting fed up of the A13/A154?N154?A20 route to SW of Limoges, I fancy a change this summer.

What are the pros and cons of going south via the A28 from Rouen , then joining the A10 at Le Mans, as far as Poitiers and short hop cross country towards Rochechouart?

It would appear to be within 10km of my other route.

Last summer we tried recreating the route of my boyhood, Chartres, Chateaudun, Blois, Chatillon s. Indre, Le Blanc, Le Dorat, Bellac, St Junien, Rochechouart, but it took so long on all the N roads..........it did bring back some amazing memories of traveling that way towards the Somport Pass with my parents.

TIA.

[cooperlola]

I have done most of the A28/A10 route (albeit in chunks as home is about half way) and to my mind it's a real pleasure and relatively under-used in motorway terms, if a little dull!

[Anton Redman]

Before the southern section of the A20 was compleated and when we had a house near rochchouart. Potiers was our preferred route. You can have look at via Michelin and I believe it will still be quicker via Paris. Apart from the change of route the other upside is that the I have never been stuck for more than 15 minutes going round Rouen. Other think to be aware of is that there are two dual carriage way but single lane bridges and the speed limits 70 kph or 90 kph are checked with radar cameras at the start of both sections 

 

 

[Nearly Retired (I am now)]

It's a lovely stretch of nearly new motorway with virtually no traffic on it. It narrows to one lane each way (90 kph !) over a couple of viaducts not far south of Rouen and is part of my preferred Boulogne-Charente Maritime route.

P stops are less frequent than on other motorways and pretty dull.

It's fast but soooooooo boring.

[AnOther]

Coming from Calais and depending on the time the most direct but oft discounted route Lille - Paris - Orleans etc. can be fast and trouble free. It's simplicity to follow as well, forget the SatNav, just head for Bordeaux on the way down or Lille on the way up.

Timing as I say though, is crucial, get it wrong and you'll kick yourself for ever considering it.

 

[sheldonrobbo]

hi trees

 

the A28 is a far easier route..we travel to our house 40k north of limoges in around 4.5 hours from le Havre...using A28/ A10/ the new A85 cross country to Vierzon then straight down A20....but going down to poitiers on A10 is an alternative ...although in our case takes us an extra hour....we always use le Havre as our preferred port as we cut out Rouen...never had much luck with traffic here although when they finish the new route through it should improve....

 

sheldon

[MrCanary]

Hi trees...

I use no other route but the A28, along which I returned to the UK last Friday. It is, as others have said, relatively traffic-free and an absolute joy to travel along. I agree that there are fewer stopping places, but plan your journey well and this will not be a problem. The two single carriageway sections over the viaducts are enjoyable for the wonderful views through the valleys, but, as has been mentioned, beware that both have speed cameras covering the 90k limit. Rouen can be a bit of a problem, but once you have mastered it, it becomes easier. Huge improvements through the city are currently being worked on.

I have probably used the A28 about 20 times in each direction since it opened and would go no other way. My actual complete journey is: Dieppe, Rouen, A28 - Alencon, Le Mans, Tours then onto an N road south to Loches (briefly using the A10) The link from the A28 onto the A10 is simplicity itself.

Bon voyage!

PS - The toll from Rouen to Tours is a bit pricey though. I believe it has recently gone up to about 26 euros for cars. Last week I was in a large Transit-type van and it was 39.90 euros each way - ouch! 

[trees 2]

Thanks for all the replies.

I shan't be using this route all that often looking at the tolls, but just fancied something a bit different this summer, since we've had the house 6 years now, I must have done Calais-Rouen Chartres etc etc nearly 40 times and am a bit bored with it.

Hence my wanting a change.

I did once try Paris, after coming across via Zeebrugge, (a nightmare in itself, since our cabin was in a corridor FULL of English teenaged schoolkids, who would NOT go to bed, and their teacher's cabins were miles away.) I'll not do Paris again in a hurry[:(]

Rouen I've never had problems with except once when it took half an hour to get through since I hit it at evening rush hour in a rainstorm.

This all stems from me remembering when we used to tow the caravan down every summer, before we had the money black hole.......sorry, house, and I used to choose a different route every year, taking 3-4 days to arrrive at our campsite when it could have been done in 1-2. Crest from Zeebrugge via the Rhine valley anyone? With a side trip into the Black Forest? I just loved finding Routes Bis and following them on empty roads for miles.

[AnOther]

[quote user="trees 2"]I'll not do Paris again in a hurry[:(][/quote]That was our sentiment too but last time back in April we'd hit Orleans at around 22:30 on a Saturday night and were so far ahead of schedule we threw caution to the wind and decided to give it a go, and in all honesty it was an absolute doddle. We ignored the SatNav and just followed the signs for Lille and never dropped below whatever the speed limit was for the stretch of road we were on, minimum was 90kph if memory serves, and all dual carriageway.

Returning we hit Dunkerque at 01:00 and, emboldened by the earlier experience, we went for Paris again following the signs for Bordeaux, once again a doddle. There was one brief worrying moment when we encountered a road closure at a critical point but the short diversion was well signposted and actually caused no difficulty and minimal delay.

Timing is absolutely the key though [;-)]

 

[Apero]

"So what IS the A28 like, south of Rouen?"

Heaven, total heaven, clear roads 130km appart from two viaducts, join the A11 bliss compared to the A10 and the vehicules going south.

 

[just john]

I can vouch for the previous comments, it does depend on timing, but a great underused stretch of rail track, treat the 90 k speed limits across the bridges and around Tours seriously (as refreshing breaks[:)]). We left Angouleme 7am and arrived Boulogne at 1.30pm pour déjeuner including Fuel/P/coffee/driver change stops and at one stage passenger was taking pics of empty motorway ahead for miles! This was all at legal limits in a 1954 Healey 100/4M, (carte de crédit pour peage) (Non O/D diff) [8-|]

[cassis]

It looks like this.  Mostly.

[img]http://idata.over-blog.com/0/11/17/04/sarthe/2006--a28-berce-v1.jpg[/img]

[Mme poivre]

Cassis

You are on form tonight, [:D]

yes is looks very like the picture and it can be very dangerous because it gives you a false sense of secirity in that you have the road to your self, there are one or two cars that you meet[:P]

Cant wait, three weeks on sunday and I will be winging my way down it........

Judith  XX

Really looking forward to the end of term now[blink]