One more for the road this year – it’s the Spring Chateau Break

Well, we’re definitely into 2026 now. In fact, we're over halfway through January already.  And, it’s been a pretty busy start to the year here at Pub2Pub, with most of our January having been spent in deepest Colombia, scoping out roads, buying Renault 4s, and generally working on a pretty damn epic driving adventure for next year.

But that’s a story for 2027.  Let’s finish getting our 2026 ducks in line first.

And when it comes to this year, there’s only one more European tour which still needs to be announced – the Spring Chateau Break.

We’ve hinted that we’re considering running this earlier in the month, and it seems there’s enough interest to justify it, so here you go – the last addition to this year's European calendar (though we still have one or two UK-based surprises up our sleeves, including the return of Pubfall, this November.)

The Spring Chateau Break is designed to be the perfect start to the road tripping season, and along with the end-of-summer chateau trip, enables you to bookend your summer with some quality chateau time, should you wish to.  And the two trips don’t just bookend the summer, they kinda bookend northern France, too, with this latest addition heading over to the Ardennes, and Lorraine. 

The trip will be departing from the UK via the Eurotunnel on Sunday 03^rd May, heading to the edge of the Ardennes for the first night of the trip, which we’ll be spending in a fine riverside Belgian chateau-hotel.  From there, it’s on to the ‘main’ chateau – the Hattonchateau near Metz, in the rather gorgeous Parc Naturel regional de Lorraine, where we’ll be spending three nights basking in what can only be described as the medieval splendour of the place.

This venue differs from the ‘main’ chateau we use in the late summer chateau break, in that it’s run as a hotel.  This means the on-site restaurant and bar will be there to look after you, unlike the late summer trip, where the Pub2Pub team and the guests pull together to take the lead on such things.  So, you can expect a pleasantly different vibe from this trip, in comparison to the chateau breaks which have come before.

There are similarities, though, and that includes the number of chateaux we’ll be staying in.  Yep, both of this year's chateaux trips have three, which means there’s one more to go.  And for the third chateau, in which we’ll be spending two further nights, we’re heading to Chantilly, where we’ll be dropping by the Magnificent Chateau de Montvillargenne, a glorious four-star venue replete with swimming pool, spa, hammam, gym, tennis courts and the chance to partake in a spot of horse-riding at the world-famous Chantilly, should that float your cheval.

The Spring Chateau Break will then return to the UK via the Eurotunnel at lunchtime on Saturday 09^th May, after six nights and seven days living the highlife in fine European style. 

As well as your experiences which stem from the above chateaux, you’ll also be returning home with a host of other memories – the verdant greens and sweeping tarmac of the Ardennes, the battlefield echoes of Bastogne and Verdun, the champagne-quaffing splendour of, erm, Champagne, and the Bond-backdrop awesomeness of Chantilly itself.  And plenty more besides – if you’ve already done a Pub2Pub trip, you’ll know the lengths we go to to uncover the quirky and the cool in every area we pass through.

So, what’s the cost of this wonderful week?  For a car and up to two people, a casual £1,550.  Or in other words, not a huge amount for a trip which will not only get your summer off to an amazing start, but will live with you for a long time afterwards, through the unforgettable memories you’ll return home with.

As with all our other trips, the entry fee includes all channel crossings, hotel bookings, breakfasts, the itinerary, loan of a radio with which to chat to your fellow road trippers, and on the road support from the Pub2Pub team, in – drumroll – our new-for-this-year Range Rover support vehicle, which we’ll be using for the 2026 chateau and African trips, with the familiar Volvo 240 still tagging along on the other driving tours.

Sounds good, doesn’t it?  We certainly think so, and so we look forward to joining you on the road - to reserve your place on the Spring Chateau Break, simply drop us an email at ben@pub2pubadventures.com