I can only find Brittany Ferries...........am I missing something?

LD Line go from Gijon to St Nazaire France where you can either drive to the Tunnel or use LD from Le Havre. They are cheaper but there is more driving involved.

No you're not missing something! There used to be P&O from Portsmouth to Bilbao but Britanny Ferries took them over. So both routes to the UK (Santander and Bilbao) are how run by BF. There aren't any others that go directly to the UK.

Ahh that is why I couldn´t find anything. What a pain so basically there is no competition. Do not want to go to France did it a couple of years ago and it was horrendous.

It was not that P&O were taken over more they gave up their ship was old and second hand, sailing Portsmouth to Bilbao. We had one horrendous round trip just before they withdrew. Brittany had already started to do the Portsmouth to Santander with the Pont Aven then when P&O had stopped they bought the Cap Finistaire and started the Portsmouth to Bilbao run. Of the two we prefer the Cap for a smoother journey but they do run a complicated schedule and once a week Cap comes via Rosscoff (crew change) to Santander then returns direct to Portsmouth. We find the run Aymonte to Gijon, Santander or Bilbao about the same.

Due to the strike in Sept/Oct we had to use LD Lines Portsmouth to Le Harve land bridge to St Nazaire then LD again to Gijon. We have driven the whole route Chunnel to Ayamonte in the past but prefer to let the boat take the strain now. Next July we are trying yet another route LD Gijon to St Nazaire then couple of hours drive to Rosscoff then Brittany's Pont Avon to Cork to visit our son then Dublin/Holyhead to UK.

Each to their own. We do this 2/3 times a year and take our dog with us, make a mini break of it and stop for 2/3 nights on route to Calais. Have tried various routes but for me it's the west coast and toll free, passing through pretty (and frighteningly clean) French towns on route and of course our car to use when we get there.

France is a lovely place - ruined by all those Frenchmen running round
why did we give it up ??

perhaps under this "new enlightenment" era, Spain could give back Cueta & Mellila, UK give back Gib, and France go back to English rule.

I'm more in favour of Spain returning Menorca and they can have Florida back

We found it too much when we did Rosscoff a couple of years ago. The weather was horrific, driving rain and just miles and miles of lorries from Portugal for some reason. Saw a horrific accident at one point and had trouble finding accommodation in France. Which is why we want to just do Spain direct to West country. Also trying to get an outside cabin and it keeps saying "sold out" which seems odd for this early in the year.

The inside cabins are fine, lets be honest all you will do in it is sleep, the Pont Aven I thought a lovely ship, loads of seating etc. liked it so much this year doing a round trip next April.

Yes the cabins do get sold fast. Good luck booking

Booked an inside one when we came over on the Pont Avon but found it really claustrophobic so upgraded.

Might see you in April then!

The Pont is alright on a tranquil sea, but if it gets a bit choppy you'd be better off sitting in a bathtub.

They had to take it into dock for modifications shortly after going into service because it was rolling around like a drunkard, even on a flat calm back then.

The Pont Aven is the newest and best boat in BF's fleet. It is a palace compared to the Cap Finisterre, its facilities outstrip anything the Cap has on offer.

The reason it rolled so much when first entered service is that its stabilizers couldn't be deployed. While it still rolls somewhat, all ferries do, its due to the high centre of mass compared to a standard ship. Just think of all those vehicle decks taking up space. Of course this can be bettered by putting big vehicles ie the trucks low down in the boat. Trouble is it then takes longer to get them on/off and they don't like doing that!

We are booked for the 3rd year in a row with them, eveb better, we have booked May and October for 2013 instead of just the one journey. Our car knows its own way from yorkshire down to murcia now

Yes, it does appear to be a tad top heavy, but as you say many others appear to be the same.
The Cap sits lower in the water, possibly why most incl.myself prefer it for a smoother trip.
I was on the Pont last year and although the sea didn't look really bad, the damned thing was pitching about in all directions.
There was a load of Harleys and other big bikes getting chucked around on the car deck and I fancy there must have been one hell of a repair bill for them by we got into Plymouth

Is it worth booking an inside cabin and then upgrading to an outside one - would that be cheaper does anyone know?