ROSCOFF

SATURDAY 29th JUNE, 2019

Roscoff was still shrouded in a heavy mist this morning and though it had lifted considerably by midday, there is still a bit of it about.

We had a late, lazy morning, not falling out of bed until well after 8 o'clock, showered, dressed and strolled to the centre ville for breakfast.  While in the cafe, we decided to catch the 11o'clock ferry across to Ile de Batz,  so bought tickets, walked along the very long pier.

to the boat and boarded for the 15 minute journey.  It was a bit eerie sailing through the mist, not a lot to see on the way but the island was well worth the visit.

Ile de Batz is home to the Jardin Georges Delaselle which was established in 1897 and comprises more than 2500 different species.

While it is possible to walk around the island by following the walking path, we took the easier path along the bitumen road (marked in red on the map)

and visited the very impressive gardens, the ruins of the St Anne Chapel

and the Notre Dame du Bon Secours before returning to the jetty to await the ferry back to Roscoff.  The mist had lifted somewhat and the tide had come in so we were able to dock at the quay, instead of at the very long pier.

A very pleasant way to spend a couple of hours.

Strolling back to the hotel for a rest, we called in at the bar across the road for some light refreshments, then at the hotel entrance met a couple from Melbourne who have just completed a 3 month motor bike tour through several countries in southern Europe and were checking in for the night.

The hotel here is old and tired (a bit like us!) and needs some TLC but is clean, comfortable and cheap (just like us!)  Our favourite feature of the hotel is the miniscule lift, which is just about big enough for two people to squeeze into and saves us from climbing three flights of stairs.

Tonight is our last in France before ferrying back to Plymouth tomorrow.  The forecast is for sunny weather which should make for a pleasant crossing, hopefully there will be no heavy mist so we'll not get lost!

ps : The lack of TLC mentioned earlier was evident when I tripped and fell when entering the lift               which hadn't aligned with the floor in the hallway and after helping me up, Mike also tripped               and very nearly fell.

pps :  The sun decided to make appearance at 7.30pm and is still shining brightly an hour later!

PLOUGESNAU to ROSCOFF

FRIDAY 28th JUNE, 2019

The scene that greeted us this morning when we pulled back the curtains!

We left at 8 o'clock this morning for the drive on the fast road to Roscoff, giving ourselves plenty of time to call in at a service station to refuel the van, to find the rental car location in order to return the van and to unload the van.  It was just as well we did as refuelling in France is not as simple as it could be for foreigners....for instance, you cannot operate the bowser with an Australian card and we don't have a French one or an English one, there is often no attendant around to assist or to pay in cash and so the whole process can be rather frustrating.  However, the one we went to this morning was attached to the Casino Supermarket, so having spent about 20 minutes trying to get the bowser to work, Mike went into the shop and came back with a very obliging young man who tried to assist, couldn't, went back into the shop, returned with the appropiate card, the van was refuelled and we were able to pay the cashier in the shop.  Crisis averted and typical of the French people who, with very few exceptions, have been extremely friendly, polite and will go out of their way to be helpful.  Vive la France!

After returning, unloading the van and putting the bags on the bikes, we rode into the old port of Roscoff, sat in a cafe in the sunshine and enjoyed our morning coffee.  Mike volunteered to ride to a nearby laundry to do a load of washing, we sat on a bench overlooking the port and people watched till the washing was done and dried, had lunch and then checked into our hotel.

We went for a ride after settling in, to nearby Santec but it was closed!  Thinking we might find a cafe there where we could have coffee and f.a.c.c.s or an ice cream, we were disappointed to find the few shops there were closed so we returned to Roscoff, found a cafe where a beer and ice cream were consumed (not together) and are now having a break before going in search of dinner.

A heavy mist has settled over the town so I hope we don't get lost!

GUISSENY to PLOUGASNOU

THURSDAY, 27th JUNE, 2019

It was still windy this morning and overcast though we had no rain and it was reasonably warm out of the wind.

We headed east today, in the northern part of Brittany and our planned visit to the Chateau de Kerjean fell through when we discovered that opening time was not until 2.00pm, too long for us to hang around.

Our first stop was in the rather pleasant town of Cleder where we had coffee in a bar/tabac, followed by a short stroll around the town, watching a couple of gardeners planting new flowers in the church garden and the vacuum cleaner man hoovering the paths.

Then we went on to St Pol de Leon which was our first port of call 6 weeks ago when we first arrived in France.  This time we drove down to the port and though the wind was still blowing, the sun had come out making our whole world much brighter!  We climbed the Rocher Ste Anne for magnificent views

and walked through the park back to the van, then visited the beach at Carantec before taking the scenic route south along the Bay of Morlaix.

In Morlaix, we made a quick visit to the patisserie where we had bought lunch on our first day and again bought a filled roll, then made a u-turn to head north along the other side of the bay, stopping at Dourduff where we sat on a stone wall, due to the absence of a picnic table or bench, and ate our roll.

Next stop was at the 'Great Cairn of Barnenez', the largest mausoleum in Europe, built between 4,500 and 3,900 B.C., 75 metres long and 28 metres wide and features eleven burial chambers.

We have a small apartment tonight and have a kitchen so we're self catering, have a wonderful view of the beach just across the street so can sit and watch the waves, the kite surfers and the people strolling along the sand.

It's very relaxing.

LE CONQUET to GUISSENY

WEDNESDAY, 26th JUNE, 2019

Grey, wet, windy and miserable accurately describes this morning though we were able to take advantage of a brief respite in the weather to go for a walk around town before leaving.

Our B&B was very comfortable and we were interested to hear our hostess Isabelle's story of her great grandparents.  He was the captain of a clipper and she accompanied him on several trips around the world in the early 20th century.  Isabelle teaches English to 11 and 12 year olds at a school close by her home.

The rainfall bucketed down as we travelled north, had eased a little when we arrived in Ploudalmezeau so we stopped, parked the van and found a bar/tabac open and went in for coffee.
By the time we'd finished the coffee, the rain had stopped, there were patches of blue sky and no grey clouds to be seen so we headed the few kms to the coast, found a picnic table and while enjoying the view of the Ile Verte,

ate the filled roll we'd bought this morning from the boulanger in Le Coquet.  A short distance away, we came across about a dozen horses, nearly all standing perfectly still in a fenced off area on the cliff.

We stopped for a while at Portsall,

lapping up the now brilliant sunshine before wandering through the nearby 10 acre Jardin Public de Moulin Neuf, admiring its thousands of hydrangeas

and roses as well as many other flowers and plants.  There were a couple of emus looking a bit lost in the small zoo, we said g'day.

We made a brief stop at L'Ile Vierge, brief through necessity as the wind was so strong it nearly blew us away.

On reaching Guisseny we easily found our accommodation, an old mill house which has been restored and converted into a fabulous Bed and Breakfast, we're very happy!

While having an evening meal in town we decided to not wait till morning to visit the Site de Meneham, a classified site 'which combines a rich history and breathtaking coastal scenery',

but to go there before returning to the mill house and take advantage of the evening sunshine, because who knows what the weather will be in the morning?

PENTREZ to LE CONQUET

TUESDAY, 25th JUNE, 2019

It was a gorgeous sunny day, a lovely day for a drive.  We took off across country, through Chateaulin and on to the fast road, the E60/N165 towards Brest.  First stop was at a le Clerc cafeteria for coffee costing 1 Euro each including a little cake, and shortly after we joined the end of a traffic jam caused by roadworks leading onto the Pont de L'Iroise into Brest.

As we had no desire to venture into Brest which is huge, we followed the ring road which skirted the city and then turned left to head to the coast, following it round to Le Coquet and ducking in and out of narrow lanes to scenic sites along the way.

Le Fort du Minou, built in 1697 and made of stone ramparts 6 metres high, surrounded by a 3 metre deep and 9.5 metre wide moat.  One of the first transatlantic underwater telegraph cables was laid here in1869. 

We stopped at a few lovely beaches along the way, several people were sunbathing, some were in swimming and the water looked inviting.  Mike's inner child was disappointed when, on reaching Plougonvelin where he had hoped to try his skill on the zip wire, he found that it doesn't operate on Tuesdays.

At Pointe de St-Mathieu we stopped to look at the light house

but weren't at all disappointed to find that it too is not open on Tuesdays, we'd not have been persuaded to climb the 163 steps to the top for the  magnificent 360 degree view anyway.  Instead, we wandered through the nearby church ruins

and to the National Memorial for the sailors fallen for France.

At Le Coquet we checked in to our B&B, then went for a stroll around town, stopping at a bar for beer on the terrace in the sunshine, and later shared a pizza and a bottle of very good cider before strolling back home.

PENTREZ 2

MONDAY, 24th JUNE. 2019

We didn't rush out this morning, not leaving until nearly midday after spending some time working out our movements for the remainder of our French sojourn but the time didn't matter too much as it is daylight here until after 10pm.

Our long afternoon was spent driving through absolutely beautiful farming country

with a visit to Chateaulin

and to a few vantage points along the Aulne River.  At one of our stops, Le Passage,

we met and spent half an hour or so talking to a German couple from Hanover who retired a couple of years ago and now go travelling.

Our last visit for the day was to this amazing structure,

le Pont de Terenez.

PENTREZ 1

SUNDAY, 23rd JUNE, 2019

We spent today touring around the Crozon Peninsula and were so pleased that we had the van and didn't have to ride up and down the hills and country lanes in the rain.

Our first stop was at Landevennec where we visited the 5th century abbey ruins and the museum which tell the tale of the site's prestigious history.

Then we followed the coast, though we couldn't always see it, to Lanveoc where we found a lovely cafe and decided to stop there for lunch.

The rain stopped shortly after lunch, making the day much more pleasant.

We continued our journey after lunch, to Le Fret, to Roscanvel, Pointe des Espangols and then to Camaret sur Mer where we walked along by the markets and bought ice creams.

Pointe de Penhir, just outside Camaret was very interesting with a Battle of the Atlantic Memorial

and Museum which we hadn't known about and we spent some time wandering over the rocks looking at the bunkers,

the cliffs

and the beaches

before heading back home via a couple of beaches and through Crozon, stopping there for refreshments but nothing was open!

The sun almost made an appearance this evening but didn't quite make it, but the rain stayed away for the afternoon.

CONCARNEAU to PENTREZ-PLAGE (St Nic)

FRIDAY 21st was our last day in Concarneau and it was a very lazy one with a late breakfast, a stroll to the markets followed by coffee in what had become our favourite bar

and an afternoon of doing nothing much before ambling down to Ville Close where we enjoyed a lovely evening meal.  The island was obviously the place to be as there were hundreds of people out enjoying the fine, sunny evening and the several music makers, all making their music.

SATURDAY, 22nd JUNE, 2019

After a lovely week spent in the company of good friends Marion & Mike, it was time to part this morning.  M & M packed up their car, Mike collected a little white van from a rental car company and the two Mikes loaded the bikes into the van along with our bags,

we said our farewells and departed,

Mike and Marion heading towards Roscoff for tomorrow's ferry to Plymouth, and as we have another week in Brittany, we are heading along the coast to see what we can see.  The plan is to do short bike rides when and where possible, much will depend on the weather.

There was no bike riding today, the weather was gorgeous and after leaving Concarneau, we drove through beautiful country to Douarnenez (glad I only have to spell some of these French names), a port on the Bay of Douarnenez

and where we ate a filled roll bought this morning from our local boulangerie.  Across the river is Treboul, where we had coffee in one of the cafes there, then strolled around

before driving up the coast to Pentrez and our accommodation for the next three nights.
We detoured about half a dozen times on the way to visit some of the beaches,

enjoying every moment of the journey, the countryside and the coast.