Having investigated group travel by rail to Castres allowing for the game to be at anytime from Friday 12th January to late afternoon Sunday 14th I have decided that the only practical way is to travel the whole distance by coach.
We will leave from the Crumbie car park at 6.30pm on Thursday 11th January through Eurotunnel at 23.20 and should arrive in Castres at about 2.30 pm local time. We will stay for 3 nights B & B in a nice hotel and will arrange a short optional excursion on a free day. return will be leaving after breakfast on Monday 15th January arriving back in Leicester at about 1.30 am Tuesday morning. The cost transport and accommodation will be £300.00 based on two sharing a room.
To book phone John Griffiths 0116 2101056 or come and see us at our table in the Final Whistle bar after any first team game.
John - I greatly admire your fantastic support for the Tigers, unbelievable commitment to travel away constantly and in particular on that itinerary.
For those not so keen on coach travel and prepared to travel independently Ryan Air fly Stansted to Toulouse at 7.10 on Friday morning and back on Monday morning at 10.15 all for £31.19 return with hand luggage only. I'm sure that price will go up as more book but I just googled it and it was correct a few minutes ago.
Car hire is also incredibly cheap, about £60 - £75 ish for the 4 days. Great value for 4 sharing.
We are making a long weekend of it and spending one night in Carcasson, one in Castres and one in Toulouse (hopefully the Sunday!). We have booked hotels in all 3 towns for all 3 nights and as soon as the fixture is announced we can cancel those rooms not needed, all for free.
Hope to see you there - I'll be the one in the Tigers shirt (sorry old joke)!
Soggypitch wrote: ↑Tue Oct 17, 2017 10:27 pm
John - I greatly admire your fantastic support for the Tigers, unbelievable commitment to travel away constantly and in particular on that itinerary.
For those not so keen on coach travel and prepared to travel independently Ryan Air fly Stansted to Toulouse at 7.10 on Friday morning and back on Monday morning at 10.15 all for £31.19 return with hand luggage only. I'm sure that price will go up as more book but I just googled it and it was correct a few minutes ago.
Car hire is also incredibly cheap, about £60 - £75 ish for the 4 days. Great value for 4 sharing.
We are making a long weekend of it and spending one night in Carcasson, one in Castres and one in Toulouse (hopefully the Sunday!). We have booked hotels in all 3 towns for all 3 nights and as soon as the fixture is announced we can cancel those rooms not needed, all for free.
Hope to see you there - I'll be the one in the Tigers shirt (sorry old joke)!
Did this a few years back. It's a nice drive and Castres is a nice small town. Only drawback was finding somewhere to top up the fuel in the car in Toulouse when returning it. Ended up getting stung by the hire company
Travelling as often as I do and the way I do is a form of madness, it is hard to justify the expense of time and money in any sensible discussion when I could just sit at home and watch daytime tv. It is actually more about the people I travel with, they are so very different, a bit like being on this message board, some regular posters I normally agree with some I almost know I am going to disagree with before reading the post but wouldn't it be wonderful to sit and discuss the differences face to face over a beer or two. I doubt I will ever be in complete agreement with Roly but this board would be a poorer place without him. I do enjoy the differences in people and opinions.
Flying particularly on a cheap flight is easier although by the time fuel costs and car parking etc are taken into account it usually comes out more expensive. Time wise obviously it is quicker than this particular journey, two hours to Stanstead, two hour wait at Stanstead and a two hour flight then a two hour drive to Castres approximately, say with breaks a maximum of ten hours. The LTASC trip will be about fifteen hours plus regular breaks to stretch the legs and for refreshment. We will watch a few DVDs on route, people can bring their own. my choices are not always as well received as I anticipate because we are all different.
However fans get to Castres I wish all a safe journey and look forward to seeing you there. Our trip is a good way but it is not the only way, for me it is the best way as I like the company, it might be good for you too, you have to try it once to make an informed decision.
John is quite right that there are many different ways of getting there and we all make the choice which suits us best - I just don't fancy 15+ hr in one go. I am sure there are others who don't want to do the leg work of searching the internet and booking it themselves - you pays your money to suit what you want to do. John must do a lot of searching to get what he does without knowing how many are going to join him and deserves a big pat on the back. I did look at driving but when I looked at the distance from Calais to Castres (1008km by car just under 10 hrs without breaks) led me to believe that from Market Harborough to Castres by car would take far too long to do in one go. Even looked at a stopover just south of Paris but that didn't suit us either.
We are 4 people going from Stansted on Wednesday (only need to be there 1 hr or less before departure), flying to Carcassonne (2hrs- £9.90) staying 2 nights in Carcassonne (4* @ €55pppn), bus to Castres on Friday morning(1hr 30mins 45Km - €15pp) and either 3 nights in Castres Ibis (£33pppn) or 2 nights if the game is Friday or Sat and staying in Toulouse (train - €20) on the Sunday (3* €30pppn) followed by a flight back to Stansted from Toulouse (2 hrs £9.90). We like to make a longer break of it and our total cost is flights £20, hotels about £180 approx, transport, petrol and parking approx £30pp but it did take me a couple of hours on the internet to get these bargains via hotels.com and booking.com some time ago so not sure if they are still available.
I have 2 double rooms in one hotel and 4 double rooms in another (one close to central Castres - the "B&B Hôtel Castres Centre Gambetta" with 4.6/5 review score and the other "Ibis style" 8.7/10 on their review about 1 mile from the centre) still booked in Castres from Friday to Sunday which I am not going to use - can cancel them FOC but if anyone is interested in them please pm me and I will give you the details.
Carcassonne, Jack, make sure you take plenty warm clothing, its one of the coldest places I have ever stayed in winter, freezing fog, the year we played Toulose last, I think. Be prepared for plane diversions!
LE18 wrote: ↑Wed Oct 18, 2017 7:14 pm
Carcassonne, Jack, make sure you take plenty warm clothing, its one of the coldest places I have ever stayed in winter, freezing fog, the year we played Toulose last, I think. Be prepared for plane diversions!
I just love the place - we were there as well when we played Toulouse and it snowed. Don't mind the cold - do a lot of ski-ing but thanks for reminding me
Castres. No one know precisely where it is. Some say it is in the French département of Tarn. Which is a non sense: Albi is in Tarn and there is no place for two in that armpit!
Other say that Castres, after much research was located in the French départment of Aveyron, where they burn cow rejects and dog's doo in winter to beat the cold. A plausible theory but no one dared to check.
My view is that Castres is in some form of limbo, a place of little if any existence.
Ze Stade Fan wrote: ↑Thu Oct 19, 2017 8:41 am
Don't. Do not. Avoid at all cost. Flee in terror.
Castres. No one know precisely where it is. Some say it is in the French département of Tarn. Which is a non sense: Albi is in Tarn and there is no place for two in that armpit!
Other say that Castres, after much research was located in the French départment of Aveyron, where they burn cow rejects and dog's doo in winter to beat the cold. A plausible theory but no one dared to check.
My view is that Castres is in some form of limbo, a place of little if any existence.
Best avoided anyway.
You know at times I despair at the comments on here, others I am surprised, but this one had me howling with laughter - well done my French friend - you lightened my morning.
Ze Stade Fan wrote: ↑Thu Oct 19, 2017 8:41 am
Don't. Do not. Avoid at all cost. Flee in terror.
Castres. No one know precisely where it is. Some say it is in the French département of Tarn. Which is a non sense: Albi is in Tarn and there is no place for two in that armpit!
Other say that Castres, after much research was located in the French départment of Aveyron, where they burn cow rejects and dog's doo in winter to beat the cold. A plausible theory but no one dared to check.
My view is that Castres is in some form of limbo, a place of little if any existence.
Best avoided anyway.
You know at times I despair at the comments on here, others I am surprised, but this one had me howling with laughter - well done my French friend - you lightened my morning.
I went to watch the Castres v Munster match at the weekend. Castres Olympique have renamed the stadium after redevelopment, and have succeeded in creating a great atmosphère, with lots of food and drink outlets and a band playing prematch. For the Munster match, the weather was great, but there are covered stands for when it isn’t. It’s worth the trip!
For those travelling by car, there is no car park at the ground. Parking all around on the street, in parking areas around shopping precincts, blocks of flats, etc. Park whenever you see a space within 1km of the ground and walk!
fleabane wrote: ↑Thu Oct 19, 2017 12:43 pm
I went to watch the Castres v Munster match at the weekend. Castres Olympique have renamed the stadium after redevelopment, and have succeeded in creating a great atmosphère, with lots of food and drink outlets and a band playing prematch. For the Munster match, the weather was great, but there are covered stands for when it isn’t. It’s worth the trip!
For those travelling by car, there is no car park at the ground. Parking all around on the street, in parking areas around shopping precincts, blocks of flats, etc. Park whenever you see a space within 1km of the ground and walk!
Keep up the good work, John the Griff!
Are you sure you went to the proper city? They may have built a stadium overnight to hide the squalor and misery of the real Castres ! They'll stop at nothing, you know.
johnthegriff wrote: ↑Wed Oct 18, 2017 12:14 pm
Travelling as often as I do and the way I do is a form of madness, it is hard to justify the expense of time and money in any sensible discussion when I could just sit at home and watch daytime tv. It is actually more about the people I travel with, they are so very different, a bit like being on this message board, some regular posters I normally agree with some I almost know I am going to disagree with before reading the post but wouldn't it be wonderful to sit and discuss the differences face to face over a beer or two. I doubt I will ever be in complete agreement with Roly but this board would be a poorer place without him. I do enjoy the differences in people and opinions.
Flying particularly on a cheap flight is easier although by the time fuel costs and car parking etc are taken into account it usually comes out more expensive. Time wise obviously it is quicker than this particular journey, two hours to Stanstead, two hour wait at Stanstead and a two hour flight then a two hour drive to Castres approximately, say with breaks a maximum of ten hours. The LTASC trip will be about fifteen hours plus regular breaks to stretch the legs and for refreshment. We will watch a few DVDs on route, people can bring their own. my choices are not always as well received as I anticipate because we are all different.
However fans get to Castres I wish all a safe journey and look forward to seeing you there. Our trip is a good way but it is not the only way, for me it is the best way as I like the company, it might be good for you too, you have to try it once to make an informed decision.
Great post!
Being on tour is addictive and what it's all about, caring, sharing and having fun!
