Brittany Post # 4

17.05

Farewell to Mont St Michel and Team Derby!!  Into Brittany,  known for it’s dramatic coastline, medieval towns and thick forests. We’re in the Cotes d’Armor region, pretty beach resorts, fishing villages and headlands.  We followed the ‘Route De La Baie’ along the coast into ‘Les Huitres et des Moules’ region (oysters and mussels).  A beautiful rugged coastline with sandy bays and tidal inlets and a great place for walking and cycling.  Through the little village of St. Coulomb to ‘Camping des Chevrets’ half way between St Malo and Cancale.  (14 euros).

 

The camp is located on high dunes with access to a lovely beach and views over a tidal bay. We walked through the camp and down to the tidal bay with it’s sandy beach, ‘Plage des Mites’ and then crossed over the dunes to the sandy ocean beach on the other side, ‘Plage des Chevrets’.  Reminded us of the stunning New Zealand beaches with it’s dunes and golden sand.  We explored the rock pools and then hiked the coastline beach path, passed the ‘nudie’ beach to enjoy a specatacular panorama.

Back to camp and our ‘tres calme’ spot has become a ‘fun village’ with four families, their caravans, tents, kids and dogs!!  Whoopie!!

18.05

A great bike ride through St. Coulomb and farmer’s fields of cabbages and wheat, 12kms to the little fishing port of Cancale.  Cancale is famed for its offshore ‘parcs a huitres’ (oyster beds).  We walked along the charming waterfront with it's seafood eateries and patrons eating ‘fruits de mer’, tiered plates stacked with every type of seafood.  On to the ‘Marche aux Huitres’ (oyster markets) where we bought a dozen No. 2 size oysters from one of the oyster stands.  Opened in front of us and  presented on a plate garnished with lemon (7 euros).  We joined the other ‘oyster eaters’ slurping oysters on the terraces and throwing the shells back onto the beach, so fresh they melted in your mouth, awesome!
 

We biked back along the rugged coastline making a detour to the Ponte du Grouin nature reserve jutting out on a headland.  Mont St. Michel far away in the distance!  Back to camp where we moved sites for a little more peace and quiet!   

 

19.05
 

Wet and wild today, with a strong cold northerly wind!!  People have been telling us it’s colder than normal here and seems to be the same all over France!!  A late start to the summer!!  We postponed our bike ride and how awful having to spend the day reading and relaxing in the van!!  During a break in the weather, we did a circuit of the two beaches.  Three Paraponters are training on the beach.    

20.05

Still raining ‘cats and dogs’, the cold northerly prevails!!  We decided to ignore it and rode through small country roads, farmer’s fields and villages to the fortified town of St Malo.  St. Malo was a key port during the 17^th and 18^th centuries as a base for both merchant ships and pirates.  We strolled the length of the 1.8m high ramparts and could almost see the pirate ships surrounding the town!  With it’s  authentic walls, houses and cobblestoned streets lined with eateries, creperies and chocolateries  you would never guess that in 1944, in the battle to drive German forces out of St. Malo, 80% of the old city was destroyed, it’s been beautifully restored since then.  We had our banana baguette overlooking the old town and headed back before the next downpour taking the coastal route then the little country roads.  Back to camp after 24kms for much needed hot showers and a hot cuppa!! 

21.05  
 

The plan today was a simple 40kms trip to a municipal camp in Dinan, one of Brittany’s most beautiful Medieval Towns and stunning old Port. We planned to ride the rail trail back toward St Malo and a picturesque town called Dinard and also a canal ride from Dinan toward Combourg.

However the municipal camp was closed and the GPS kept trying to send us through a 3m high tunnel toward the old Port, Lefty is 3.2m high!  After several attempts and trying to go down a one way street the wrong way, we abandoned and headed out of town to reassess.
 

We drove another 20kms without finding a campsite so turned around and headed back to a small town called Pleudihen-sur-Rance which is halfway between Dinan and Dinard.

Established camp and headed for Dinan on our bikes only to find the bridge to the canal route was closed for repairs.  Had to take the long route following farmer’s fields and arrived at Dinan with only enough time for a quick look before returning home (31kms).

 

22.05
 

Decided to try and find an alternative bridge to Dinan to ride the canal path.

We found one after 16kms of back roads and were finally on the right side of the River Rance (Pont St Hubert).  Still no luck finding the canal so continued on back roads and farm tracks  to Dinan.  Finally the canal in sight and a picnic planned in the sunshine.

Pamo took this opportunity to spectacularly fall off her bike at great speed!!

The Pompiers (ambulance and fire) were called and we were whisked off to hospital with sirens blaring!!  Pamo suffered a concussion and a cut to her chin requiring three stitches.
 

Luckily both Pamo and her bike came out of the accident with little damage and the help from everyone was fantastic.  Col suffered a mild concussion of his own when presented with the medical bill!!

Pamo declared herself medically unfit to cook dinner so we had a fab meal out overlooking the canal.  Steak frites and salad with coffees (21 euro).

A careful return home and a total ride of 42kms.

 

23.05

To get some distance behind us we hit the Motorway!!  We travelled 240kms through Langeux and Morlaix  to Portsall, northwest of Brest on the Coast, into the Finistere region. This region of Brittany is known for it’s wind whipped coastline, lighthouses and lashing waves.  It was founded by Celts who sailed from parts of Britain to settle here.   Our destination has been influenced by Don and Val’s blog (Lefty’s previous owners.)  We found the same beautiful ‘Aires’ they utilised with beach views and Lefty is in almost the same spot as three years ago.  There are about 12 other vans here, it’s a great spot.  A walk along the white sandy beach and a quick look at the Port – we’ll explore further tomorrow!!

24.05    
  

The rain has cleared so we hiked for an hour and a half along the rugged, but very beautiful coast, dotted with white sandy bays, through little villages with their stone houses, built to resist the wild climate, passed playful foals in the fields up to the lighthouse. Wild and wonderful!!

Back to the little Port with it’s few restaurants, Creperies and colourful fishing boats.

25.05

The sun is shining and the wind has gone – yippeee!!  Onward 100kms to the Crozon Peninsula, one of the most scenic spots in Brittany.  Our campsite is at Caramet-sur-Mer on the Western extremity of the Peninsula.  A classic fishing village, it was once France’s biggest crayfish port. 

Spent a lovely day hiking the coastal pathways along the cliff tops and exploring the town with it’s abandoned fishing-boat carcasses and it’s 15^th Century ‘Tower Vauban’.  Back to camp for a well earned shower and laundry duties.