Yesterday afternoon, because there was traffic chaos due to roadworks in all directions in Bridgwater, Roy opted to go via the Quantock Hills, (a decision we were happy to go along with as we always enjoy the gorgeous scenery) joining the M5 at Taunton for the run into Plymouth.
We made good time, arriving in Plymouth at 6.30pm, unloaded the bikes and found that my bike stand has broken as Mike's did last year (a fault with our otherwise excellent bikes) so will need to be fixed as soon as possible. Mike M and Roy left to return home and we waited in the reception area where we treated ourselves to a bowl of hot chips and a coffee from the cafe. (We'd had a late lunch, a delicious chicken casserole cooked by Mike M so just needed a snack).
Our ferry arrived in port at about 8pm, we watched it dock
and then joined the queue to board. A quiet beer each as we left England and shortly after our departure, we made our way to our cabin and quickly succumbed to the land of nod.
This morning, the wake up alarm sounded at 7am....time to rise, shower and dress and make our way to the cafe for a cup of hot tea before disembarking at 8am. We didn't go into the town of Roscoff, we'll be going back to England from there in 6 weeks so will have a look around then, but quickly found the cycle path and began our bike ride.
Our route to Morlaix was at times on quiet roads,
on narrow tracks, up and down hills, (most of which we were able to negotiate but a couple which were really, really steep necessitating getting off and pushing) and past fields of onions, potatoes, cauliflowers, artichokes, beans and some crops we were unable to identify.
Our first stop was for coffee and croissants at St Pol de Leon,
a lovely old town which we immediately liked and we stopped several times along the way to take the obligatory photos. On one such stop, we encountered a young French couple, cycling around with their toddler in a baby trailer and were delighted when we managed to coax a shy grin, albeit brief, from the little one. It may have been a misunderstanding due to language difficulties but we thought they said they were heading to Norway!
The River Penze was a series of mud flats but the town of Penze is picturesque.
We arrived in Morlaix at midday and bought a filled roll from a patisserie, found a bench on which to sit while we ate it, followed by a Portugese tart and an apple tart, and chatted to a friendly Frenchman who had stopped to look at the bikes. He told us that he was on a walking tour of Brittany, had been on the road for three weeks, is 79 years old and lives in Vannes. He was happy to practise his English on us and we were happy to talk to him....in fact, everyone we've spoken to today has been extremely friendly and helpful.
It was another major climb from the town to the railway station but we managed to get there with just one rest stop on the way, it was a bit of a struggle getting the bikes on the train as there were a couple of steps up from the platform, the door was not terribly wide and there were another couple of steps into the carriage where the bikes are permitted to travel.
The journey was interesting, pretty farmlands along the way and we managed to take a couple of photos from the speeding train, reaching Le Mans after an almost 3 hour journey.
From the station, we rode through traffic, which I must say was very courteous, up yet another hill to our accommodation, a lovely studio apartment. We didn't feel like going into town for an evening meal so visited the local supermarket to buy ready made meals to microwave, along with small bottles of beer and wine.
And now, we are well and truly ready for bed. It's been a most enjoyable day, though a long one and we're ready for some shuteye. It's good to be back on the bikes!
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