U.K. Bound

Well that’s the end of our Brittany road trip.

We’re now heading north to the Channel tunnel en-route to visit family and friends in the U.K.

Fougeres

Today we’re heading further east to Fougeres which is about 90km away and close to Brittany/Normandy border. Before leaving the Aire we emptied our waste tanks to save dragging ~50kg of dirty water around with us.

The drive was fairly uninteresting as, despite me choosing a straight route, the satnav decided to take us on dual carriageways and motorways. The “fastest route” was SE to Rennes followed by NE to Fougeres. We stopped at a picnic area for coffee and as we approached our destination we filled up with fuel.

The Aire de Camping Car at Fougeres was full but, as we contemplated our next move, someone left so we quickly took the place they vacated.

After lunch we set out to explore this fortress town which sits on a hill overlooking the Nancon river. We found a “route of discovery” which we followed through a public garden and up into the town. We passed the old fortifying curtain wall which links the Haut Ville with the 11th Century Chateau de Forges in the valley below. The panoramic view of the chateau and surrounding land from the top of the ancient ramparts is superb.

We descended a steep winding path to the old town where the pretty medieval houses are still clustered alongside the river. There were some very well preserved half timbered properties which made great photographs.

We followed the massive outer fortifications around the castle. There are 13 towers and the walls are over 3m thick!

We returned to Kiki for a drink (and ice cream) before setting out again to walk around the old quarry which is next to where we’re parked. The information boards show a circular route around this small disused and flooded site. We were surprised to find that the footpath climbs steeply before cutting along the top edge of the quarry and dropping down the other side. What we thought would take ten minutes actually took nearly an hour!

We returned to Kiki for our evening meal before settling down for the night. 

Shopping, Singing Stones and a Shoreside Walk

Today’s Friday which means it’s shopping day so our first stop is Lidl. We emptied our tanks before leaving and filled our water tank from a free service area which was en-route.

Our weekly shop done and packed away we had coffee before heading north to Notre-Dame-le-Guildo. We parked up and followed a track along the foreshore of the estuary for a short distance. Here we came across the Pierres Sonnantes (singing stones) which are large rocks which ring when struck with a smaller piece of the same rock. The ringing varies depending on the rock and we spent a while testing them out. One in particular was most impressive sounding like a large bell or calypso drum. This strange phenomenon is because the rocks are high in metallic content (calcium & magnesium).

We had lunch with a great view of the estuary where surprise, surprise the tide was out leaving huge mud banks.

Next stop was the tidal barrage at the end of the Rance estuary. Here the Rance Tidal Power Station which opened in 1966 produces 500GWh per year - which is 0.1% of all the power generated in France! It was a little disappointing because apart from the huge boat lock at one end there was little to see of the 24 tide powered turbines buried in the barrage.

Turning south now, we were planning to stop for the night in the Aire de Camping Car at Dinan but unfortunately it was full and two others were waiting for a place. Continuing on we came to the Etang de Betineuc where there is another Aire. We parked up and had a cold drink (it’s gone very humid) and read our books for a while.

After our evening meal we went for a walk around the pretty little lake before settling down for the night.

GR34: Cap Frehel to Forte la Latte

Today we’re walking part of the GR34 which is the Brittany coastal path. Although we’re only driving about 4km to a carpark near to Forte la Latte we still emptied our tanks before leaving the Aire de Camping Car. We parked Kiki next to several other motorhomes and Emma made us a packed lunch before we set out on our hike.

This is a circular walk and the first section is inland across the peninsula through moorland. After winding our way along several footpaths and tracks the final stretch is straight line to the coast.

We were walking along a minor road heading to the coast when we passed three ladies walking opposite direction. They asked if we were walking the GR34 and which way was it to the coast. I pointed ahead but then decided to show them the route map on my phone. To my surprise, and to their amusement, I discovered we were heading the wrong way - we had missed the right turn and I hadn’t bothered to check! We retraced our footsteps with the ladies following until we came to the - rather obvious - track to the coast.

As we picked up the coast path we stopped for coffee chocolate before continuing onwards towards the lighthouse. There were fabulous views of this rocky headland and way out on the horizon we could just make out the Channel Islands. After a week of inclement weather it was great to be out in the sunshine again. We stopped for lunch watching boats passing by and hoping the gulls kept their distance.

Nearing the end of our hike we came to Forte la Latte which is perched on the end of a rocky outcrop. We returned to Kiki and drove back to the Aire de Camping Car which we stopped at last night. Today we have driven about 8km and walked over 12km!

We sat outside and read for a while before having our evening meal and settling down for the night.

A Drive through the Breton Countryside

We woke this morning to persistent rain which is forecast to be with us until this afternoon. It won’t be a problem because we’re driving east today so most of the morning will be spent on the road.

We emptied and filled our tanks before leaving. Emma “volunteered” to stand outside and fill the water as her hair was still wet from the shower.

We drove about 90km through farmland and several small pretty villages. We’re noticing the local vernacular is changing from granite to a much darker stone which is more like slate. We stopped for coffee en-route and arrived at Plevenon in time for lunch.

We’re staying tonight in the Aire de Camping Car which is just on the edge of the village.

After lunch, the rain had stopped so we went for a walk down to the beach of Les Grèves d'en Bas. We walked along the beach where once again the tide was a long way out. The rocks, which at high tide would be under water, were covered in mussels and we saw lots of locals digging in the sand and collecting them.

We walked for a while before taking the coast path back. En-route we passed through a campsite which was very spread out and seemed to go on for miles - it reminded us of some of the huge American RV parks we’ve stayed on. I later discovered that the campsite had 900 places!

We returned to Kiki by a footpath across moorland which reminded us of the Lizard.

After our evening meal we settled down for the night.

The Pink Granite Coast

Today we’re heading eastward as we explore the Pink Granite Coast. We were up and on the road before 8am because we’re due to be kicked out of the parking area at 8:30. Before leaving we did empty our tanks (cos them’s the rules!).

We headed to Lannion which is where the best of the pink granite begins and then hugged the coast eastward to Tregastel. The road was very scenic as it mainly followed the coast and circumnavigated a couple of estuaries. We stopped briefly for coffee with a great view over a sandy, bolder strewn foreshore - the sea certainly goes out a long way here!

Arriving in Tregastel we parked up and had lunch before heading out for a walk around the Ile Renote. The tide was about half a mile out so we were able to walk to the outlying granite boulders. I checked our location on Google maps and saw that we were a long way offshore! We made our way to the end of the island and then followed the coast path back to Kiki. En-route we passed through an area with huge bolders - the path wound its way through some narrow gaps, rock bridges and alleyways.

Moving on to the north east we came to the Gouffre de Plougrescant which is the most northerly point in Brittany. The Gouffre, also known as Hell’s Bay chasm is a deep gash in the rocks. On stormy days the noise made by the wind and waves crashing through this chasm is said to be quite frightening. 

Another quirky feature is a stone cottage which was built in the gap between two huge granite boulders. We have noticed several houses over the past few days that are hunkered down behind a rock for shelter.

The parking here is daytime only so we headed inland to Plouec-du-Trieux where there is free MH parking next to the salle du fete. As we drove the rain, which fortunately held off all day, began to fall. We filled our water tank so that Emma can wash some socks - such exciting lives we lead - before tucking Kiki into a corner of the car park. We had our evening meal and settled down for the night.

Parish Closes

After a stormy night we woke up to more heavy showers forecast. Today we’re visiting three Parish Closes, which are elaborately adorned religious monuments built next a village church and usually surrounded by a wall. Built during the 15th-18th centuries, some took up to 200 years to reach their current state. At the time Brittany had many wealthy urban settlements that profited from marine trading and the manufacture of cloth. The Closes were inspired by Breton religious fervour and the more earthy desire to rival their neighbours.

The three essential features of a Parish Close are a Triumphal Gateway marking the entrance, a Calvary depicting scenes from the Bible and an Ossuary next to the church entrance. These three features are massively ornate with carvings and other adornments.

Our first close was a short walk from where we parked last night. In between the showers the sun came out so we made a dash and managed to see everything. We returned to Kiki by a roundabout route and prepared to leave.

We emptied and filled before settling out on the short drive to Guimilia. Here we had coffee whilst we waited for the showers to pass. The Close, which in this case was paid for by the 130 tanneries in the locality was most impressive. The Calvary in particular was huge and had dozens of well preserved carvings on display. 

Our final Close, a few km further on was St-Thegonnec. This was another impressive display of wealth in the most complete Close of the three.

After lunch we drove northwards back to the coast. En route we passed through Morlaix which has some interesting coloured houses around the harbour. We made a mental note to come back here one day soon. Reaching the coast we followed a very scenic route alongside a couple of river estuaries until we arrived at Plougasnou. Here, perched on the end of the harbour is a small Aire de Camping Car which has superb uninterrupted views across the estuary.

We parked up, noting that there was a sign telling us that everyone had to leave by 08:30 tomorrow morning (we think they’re re-painting the lines) and set out for a walk along the coast.

It was really windy and the sea was crashing in onto the rocky shoreline. We are close to the “pink granite coast “ and the lighter colour of the granite rocks is plain to see. At one point the wind picked up even more so we ducked into some scrubby bushes and managed to avoid a short sharp shower.

We returned to Kiki for our meal and the sky cleared to leave a blustery but sunny evening. After eating we went for a short walk in the opposite direction from earlier. Having walked off our food we returned to Kiki and settled down for the night with a fabulous view of the moored boats bobbing in the sea.

Menhirs Galore

After a quiet night in the beautiful flowered Aire we woke to a breezy but sunny morning.

We emptied and filled our tanks before driving a few km to the Giant Menhir of Kerloas. This 10m tall granite edifice is the tallest menhir in Europe and can be seen from over 30km away. We wandered along the track across a cultivated field and took a few photos before moving on.

We drove on a short distance via some narrow lanes and a dirt track until we came to the Kergadiou menhir. At 8.8m this is the second tallest in Europe. There’s another fallen menhir nearby which probably made a pair. After taking some photos and having coffee we headed north to the coast.

The historic village of Meneham consists of a few thatched granite cottages that are hunkered down on the coast amongst some huge granite boulders. It was raining when we arrived so we had lunch before wandering around the village. Dodging the showers and getting blasted by the wind we took a few photos and quickly returned to Kiki.

In the next village along the coast we came to the largest Christianized menhir in Brittany. In the Middle Ages a cross was engraved on one side and a small cross was attached to its summit.

Our final menhir of the day, Cam Louis is perched on a wind blown headland above a tiny beach. Huge granite boulders reminiscent of the Tors on Dartmoor make this a dramatic location. We wandered along the beach and a sheltered section of the coast path before retracing our footsteps back to Kiki.

We headed inland to a free Aire de Camping Car on the outskirts of the village of Lampaul-Guimilau. The wind is still howling - although slightly less than on the coast - and it’s raining so it looks like our reading books will be popular this evening.

More Napoleonic Forts

We had a lazy start today because it was raining when we woke up. Fortunately, by the time we’d had breakfast, showers etc the rain had stopped.

Continuing our clockwise circumnavigation of Brittany, we’re heading off the Crozon peninsula and round the coast via Brest.

First stop is the Terenez suspension bridge which we were unable to stop at yesterday. The small parking area I spotted on Google maps was ideal and even had an observation platform to enable you to see the bridge properly. This rather unique structure has two huge pillars which are cantilevered to support both sides of the roadway. The bridge itself follows a gentle curve, turning through perhaps 45 degrees in total. Quite an impressive feat of engineering which must have been interesting to model.

We had coffee before moving on to our first fort of the day. We stopped en-route to top up our diesel as the prices around Brest we quite good. Having circumnavigated the city we soon arrived at the parking area for the Fort du Dellec. Unfortunately there was a 2m height barrier which meant we had to find a place alongside the quiet road. We had lunch with a great view through the trees down to the estuary where there were lots of small boats on swinging moorings.

After lunch we followed the coast path the short distance to this 17th Century fort. The fortifications were well preserved as they had been rebuilt several times, notably in the 19th Century when a barracks and ammunition store were added. There was also a small WW2 blockhouse which had a staircase up onto its roof. The view from here across the estuary towards the Crozon peninsula was superb.

Next stop on Emma’s “famous tour of the forts” was the Fort de Toulbroc’h which, although only a few km further on was quite difficult to get to as we had to wind our way down some narrow roads with tight turns. At one point we had to make a three point turn to get out of a junction! Fortunately the roads are really quiet.

We arrived at the fort to find that it’s apparently still in use by the military. Faced with locked gates and razor wire we decided to give this one a miss....

We had more luck with the next fort - we found a large parking area with no height restrictions. Fort de Bertheaume is unique in that it’s built on a tiny island which is connected to the mainland by a bridge - it looked a bit like Tintagel. The fort sits on steep cliffs high above the water which made it easily defended for centuries. There was a modern zip line across to an ugly tripod on the top of the fort which we thought detracted somewhat from the otherwise romantic appearance of the place.

We wandered down to the cove next to the island where there were quite a few people enjoying the beach.

Returning to Kiki we decided that we’re all “forted out” so we headed inland slightly to Ploumoguer where there’s a free Aire de Camping Car. It was empty when we arrived but over the course of the evening several other MH’s turned up.

We had a walk around the town which is a ville de fleur and had lots of wild flowers growing along the edges of the pavements. When we got back to Kiki we were surprised to find that it was time for our evening meal. We ate and then settled down for the night. 

The Crozon Peninsula

Today we’re heading west onto the Crozon Peninsula in search of more coastal defences. We emptied and filled our tanks before leaving the Aire.

Our route onto the peninsula crossed an interesting curved suspension bridge but we couldn’t see anywhere to stop. We will probably cross back over it tomorrow and hopefully I’ve found a small parking place nearby...

We drove to Camaret-sur-Mer in the far west of the peninsula, and found a place to park. We had coffee before checking out the Alignments de Lagatjar which are a small number of stones arranged in lines. Braving the wind, which was really strong, we walked towards the derelict Saint-Pol Roux manor. This once impressive looking building was only constructed 100 years ago but it is literally falling down - I guess strong winds and salty air don’t suit reinforced concrete structures.

We thought about walking down the sloping headland to the beach but the wind was so strong it hurt your ears! We returned to Kiki and moved on.

Next up we headed north to the Pointe des Espagnolis where we parked in a huge car park with several other MH’s. After lunch we set out to explore the coastal fortifications. We were surprised to discover that apart from the odd pill box, most of the constructions were from the early 1800’s ie: Nepoleonic.

There are several sets of gun emplacements along this stretch of coast which were built to protect the port of Brest. We wandered around, dodging the odd rain shower, checking out the buildings. Fortunately, this stretch of coast is sheltered from the worst of the wind which made it quite warm when the sun came out.

We followed the coast path a few km to the Fort du Stiff which is mostly hidden by brambles. Here we discovered an abandoned Panhard EBR armoured reconnaissance vehicle, this small French built vehicle dates from 1951-60 so we don’t know what it was doing here! The hatch on top of the gun turret was missing so I climbed inside. It was a tiny space, quite claustrophobic and I imagine hot and noisy. Interestingly there seemed to be a driving position at each end leading me to wonder how many reverse gears it had! I later discovered that the crew consisted of four people: Commander, Gunner, Driver and Rear Driver....

We retraced our footsteps back to Kiki and headed south to the small coastal town of Morgat where the Aire de Camping Car is currently free as its undergoing major renovations. We parked up and had our evening meal before heading out for a walk around the town. We walked down to the harbour where there were lots of people eating and drinking in the bars and restaurants. We wandered around a little and then returned to Kiki just in time to avoid a short but intense hailstorm.

History on a Grey Day

We woke this morning to a grey overcast sky, such a contrast with yesterday. Showers are forecast so we’ll have to play it by ear today.

We’re following the Finisterre coast north now and our first stop is at a church we passed on our way in on Tuesday. In the churchyard is the oldest calvary in France - it was made in 1450. Calvaries are unique to Brittany and consist of a large square base upon which there are many stone carvings. As you walk clockwise around the calvary the scenes form a walk-around Bible lesson.

Next stop, about 10km further up the coast we came to the Treguennec pebble crushing plant. This WW2 remnant was built to provide ballast for the concrete which was used to make the defensive structures in the area. At its peak it produced hundreds of cubic meters of crushed stone each week.

Next to the plant was part of the “Atlantic Wall”. This defensive system stretches from Spain to Norway and consists of guns, bunkers and other defensive structures. Here there is a wall about 20m tall and several hundred meters long - we had no idea that an actual wall had been built in some places!

After coffee we continued onwards until we arrived at the Chapelle de Languidou. This is a ruin because stone was taken to build defences during the civil war. The remains consist of stubby walls and the roof support pillars. There is an impressive stone surround of a large rose window remaining behind the altar.

Next up we headed to Mendez-Dregan which is the site of a number of Megalithic structures. Closest to the car park is a large necropolis which has been well preserved. It is interesting to see the various burial chambers in this ancient site and wonder what it originally looked like. There are some other structures along the coast path but as the wind was howling by now and there were frequent showers we decided not to risk it.

We were planning to drive to the Raz which is a high windswept headland to the west. However, given the weather we thought better of it and headed instead to Intermarche where there’s a Flot-bleu to empty our loo - exciting lives we lead!

We had lunch first as it was raining when we arrived. After emptying the tanks we headed to Lidl. What better way to spend a wet afternoon?

Fully stocked up for another week we drove on to Loperec where there is a free Aire de Camping Car. We filled our water tank and tucked Kiki into a corner before setting out for a look around this tiny town. The rain has stopped and the sun made an appearance as we wandered into the centre. Here we came across some information boards describing the history of the town. We followed the trail past the old school, blacksmiths forge and general store until we came to the church square. Here there were various other shops and trades including a wheelwright. We learnt that it used to take a whole month to make a single waggon wheel!

Continuing onwards we passed the town water reservoir which supplied water via steel pipes to the five taps around the town until the 1950’s. Down by the river we came to the wash house which was built after WW2 and used by the washerwomen until the 1960’s! The route followed the river out of town before looping back to where we are parked.

We had our evening meal before settling down for the night.

Pointe de la Torche

We had a quiet night and woke this morning to sunshine in a lovely clear sky. The view from Kiki is great, we can see for miles up the Finisterre coastline.

After breakfast we took a walk out to the end of the Pointe de la Torche - this narrow promontory juts out into the sea between two long curving beaches. There is a WW2 bunker and a dolmen at the very end from where there is an almost 360 degree view of the sea.

We wandered back to Kiki for coffee and decided that it would be nice spend the day hiking along the coast path. Emma made a packed lunch and we set out. The first part of the walk was along the beach. There was quite a stiff breeze blowing but the sunshine meant that we only needed a thin fleece to stay warm.

At the end of the beach we scrambled up onto the coast path which we followed along the rocky shore for about 4km. We stopped for lunch with a great view of the sea crashing onto the rocks below. Carrying on we came to a small village with quaint whitewashed houses - we were reminded of the Lizard in Cornwall.

After wandering around the village, where it was nice to see lots of people eating outside the restaurants, we retraced our footsteps back to Kiki.

We had our evening meal and settled down for the night.

Blocked Roads and a River Walk

We emptied and filled our tanks before hitting the road today. We’re heading further west to Concarneau where there’s a large dedicated MH parking area which is free during the day. En-route we hoped to check out the Bois d’Amour, which was popular with the painters of the Pont-Aven colony but a 2.1m wide bridge to the parking area put paid to that idea!

Next we planned to stop for coffee at an old fort on the end of a promontory opposite Concarneau town. Unfortunately, there was a construction lorry blocking the road. We backed up and stopped briefly, ignoring the no motorhome signs, whilst we had a quick coffee and enjoyed the view across the estuary.

We soon found the parking area and were surprised to see how big it was - there must be over 50 MH places! We walked in to the town and followed the Main Street down to the waterside. Here, in the middle of the harbour, we came across the old walled old town. This small fortified island is surrounded by massive granite walls which rise vertically out of the water. We wandered around the harbour and took some photos before returning to Kiki.

It was too early for lunch so we carried on to our next place only to discover that, as we approached our chosen parking spot, yet another road was closed due to roadworks. Fortunately we found an alternative place nearby and lunch was soon served.

Suitably fortified we set out for a walk in the Stangala valley. A rough footpath follows the pretty Odet river upstream through ancient oak woodland for about 4km. After an hour or so we crossed the river on a bridge and walked back along the other side. A second bridge, built on the remains of a water mill, took us over the river again from where we retraced our footsteps back to Kiki. There’s what looks like a gypsy camp nearby so we decided not to spend the night here.

Continuing west past Quimper we headed for the Pointe de la Torche where there’s a large MH parking area. We’re parked up with a great view of the sea and hoping it’s not going to be too windy tonight!

After supper we could hear the distant sound of bagpipes eerily drifting over the sand dunes. Perhaps one of our Breton neighbours is practicing their craft....

Dodging the Showers

We didn’t wake up until 8am today which is late for us! Probably as a result of all the exercise and fresh air we’ve had over the last couple of days.

A few km away, in the middle of the town of Carnac is a flot-bleu. Here for the princely sum of €2 we emptied and filled our tanks.

First stop today was the small group of alignments of Kerzerho. We wandered around and took a few photos before returning to Kiki for coffee.

We drove about 20km, in heavy showers until we came to a large parking area close to the Ile de St Cado. This tiny island, which is reached by a causeway is set in the estuary of the riviere d’Etel.

Fortunately we had a break in the showers so we set out walking along the river towards the island. The fabulous scenery and the white cottages with slate roofs reminded of some of the tiny creekside villages in Cornwall. We crossed the causeway and followed a track which circumnavigated the island. The views across the river were great and made me yearn to get in a boat and explore further.

We returned to Kiki for lunch before hitting the road again. Another 50km or so brought us to Quimperle where we parked in the tiny Aire de Camping Car. We tucked in the corner, making sure we would be able to get out again in the morning, and set out to explore this small riverside town.

There are some quaint old buildings clustered along the river, next to the old bridge which was the original crossing point. We followed the river through the town before doubling back on the other side. Here we climbed up, following the original road to the old church and town square. We followed another old, cobblestone road down to the river en route back to Kiki.

We had our evening meal before settling down for the night.

Dolmens around Carnac

Today is the end of the French holidays which means it’ll be busy on the roads. Therefore we decided to stay an extra night here at Carnac and do some walking around the area.

After breakfast we set out northwards towards the Dolmen de Mane-Kerioned. We were following a walking route on Google Maps which started out on some small roads before heading down a track. The route then became a footpath across a wet field, next came a very muddy track which had been churned up by bikes and horses. Emma, up to her knees in mud, soon realised that her trainers weren’t the best choice of footwear!

Fortunately, we soon emerged onto a road which took us to the dolmen. This impressive Megalithic structure includes three separate grave sites, the best one of which was underground and reached via a flight of steps. It was at least 4m long and tall enough to stand up inside! A short distance away, in the middle of a field we came to another smaller dolmen.

We then headed east to find another dolmen and make a triangular route. Unfortunately, I got the wrong one which turned out to be on private land. By this time we were getting tired so we made our way back to Kiki.

After lunch we waited for a heavy shower to pass before settling out again towards Carnac Plage. We walked through the village of Carnac and onwards to the beach. Here we watched a couple of kite surfers enjoying the strong wind. The sky became dark and ominous so we quickly took shelter whilst a heavy shower came over completely blocking out the beach. After the shower we returned to Kiki and had ice cream to recuperate as we have walked over 15km today.

Phone calls to family, with dinner sandwiched in between, passed the evening before we settled down for the night.

Bono to Carnac - Granite, Granite Everywhere

We emptied our grey water tank before hitting the road this morning. We’re actually back pedalling slightly to visit Bono which is the village that we unsuccessfully tried to park in yesterday. Our favourite park4night app showed an alternative parking place across the river from the village which we’re going to try.

We arrived early and we’re lucky enough to find a nice long space for Kiki. Close to the parking area is an old suspension bridge which takes pedestrians and cyclists over the river to the village. It was just like stepping into a Cornish creekside village - substantial granite buildings with slate roofs. The harbour had a collection of local boats and one or two traditional oyster working boats identical to those in and around Falmouth, U.K.

We walked out of the village following the river. There were piles of old roof tiles here and there which we discovered were used in the cultivation of oysters. The tiles are laid in the shallows in July and the oysters lay their eggs on them - we’re not sure about the rest of the process but there were lots of abandoned wooden sided sieves which must have featured somehow...

The walk up the river reminded me of walks around the Fal in Cornwall - a wide still river with ancient oaks coming down to the waterline. After a while we wandered back to Kiki and retraced our wheel-tracks once again back towards Auray where, on the other side of the river, we found a flot bleu. Here we were able to empty our black tank and fill up with fresh water. We had coffee before pressing on to Carnac.

There’s a huge, free Aire de Camping Car located right next to the famous Carnac Alignments. We tucked Kiki into a corner - we’re expecting a lot of neighbours as it seems as if the whole of France is out and about in their camping cars!

We took a pre-lunch stroll around a small part of the alignments to orientate ourselves. Carnac is one of the world’s largest prehistoric sites - there are over 3000 menhirs arranged in parallel rows. These mysterious lines and patterns were created by Megalithic tribes as early as 4000BC (Av J.C.)

We returned to Kiki for lunch and then set out again to explore the rest of this fascinating area. We came here on our first holiday together nearly 12 years ago and enjoyed revisiting some of the places we remembered. The base of a windmill with its viewing platform on top and the “Geant”, a huge menhir brought back particular memories of the long weekend we spent cruising around in our open topped MX5.

All together we walked about 14km today and we were glad to see Kiki when we returned. We had our evening meal before settling down for the night.

Birdwatching and Deja-Vu

We woke this morning to lovely sunshine and as it’s Friday our first stop is Lidl for our weekly shop. With Kiki’s cupboards heaving we set off to the Reserve Naturelle Maris de Sene. This nature reserve in the salt marshes has a number of trails, viewing platforms and a bird hide.

We followed the trails and herded some calves - or were they herding us - along one of the paths! We think they had broken out of the field as the grass was greener where we were. The views across the salt marshes were great - there weren’t many birds but we enjoyed the 4km walk none the less.

Returning to Kiki we had lunch and then set out for Bono. Unfortunately our park4night app let us down - the “suggestion” turned out to be a tiny carpark behind the graveyard and very close to some houses. Not somewhere we felt comfortable spending the night.

We carried on to Auray where the coach parking area can be used for overnight parking. We found a spot and wandered down into the pretty waterside village - at this point Emma remembered that we’d been here before - 12 years ago on our first holiday together! Auray reminded us of a small Cornish fishing village - the even had the same traditional working boats in the harbour!

We returned to Kiki for our evening meal before settling down for the night.

We’ve Arrived in Brittany!

We woke this morning to heavy rain showers but the forecast is for better weather later. We emptied and filled our tanks before leaving. We were surprised to find that water was free (perhaps the payment machine is faulty) which meant we can change our plans as we won’t need to stay on a paid Aire tonight - bonus!

We’re heading north to the Gulf du Morbihan, this “little sea” is a popular sailing area which contains hundreds of small islands. A 50km drive with a stop for fuel at a Carrefour where we discovered free WiFi (much to Emma’s delight) and we came to the Chateau de Suscinio. This pretty chateau, which is completely surrounded by a moat, was home to the exiled Henry Tudor.

Just a few km further on we came to the outskirts of the small seaside town of Crouesty where, according to our favourite park4night app, there is a free car park where motorhomes are allowed to stay. Sure enough, tucked in beside a disused disco we found the parking and a handful of MH’s. We parked up and had lunch before settling out to explore.

We headed to the beach and followed the coast path along to the headland which forms the mouth of the gulf. Here, on top of the hill is the Cairn de Petit Mont - a huge stepped tomb. This impressive megalithic site is over 6000 years old. It was built to house burial chambers in the Neolithic age and later used - with the addition of the ubiquitous concrete - by the German army in WW2.

We continued around the headland until we came to the harbour. Here there is a huge marina which contains hundreds of boats. We walked around the harbour and then continued north through the town and out the other side. Here we found the small Grah-Niol gallery grave which is a tumulus built around 5000 BC.

Continuing onwards we skirted the coast with some lovely views across the gulf before turning back towards Kiki. Our final stop was the huge mound of the Tamiac tumulus. We climbed up to the top from where we could see Kiki only a field away. Back at Kiki we discovered we had walked over 10km!

We had our evening meal before settling down for the evening.

A Rainy Day

We woke this morning to persistent rain - fortunately we’re pushing north today so it’s no big deal. After emptying and filling our tanks we hit the road.

We had to persuade the satnav that it wasn’t a good idea to cross the causeway at half tide as it would be under several metres of water! The more sensible, but apparently slower route (!) took us back across the bridge to the mainland. We drove north, stopping briefly to photograph some fishing huts suspended on stilts beside a river - unusually they had their nets out.

Our first destination was “Le Grande Blockhaus” at Batz-sur-Mer. It was still raining so we had coffee whilst we waited for it to ease - Emma picked up some WiFi so was soon happily reading the news and uploading photos! Lunchtime arrived and the rain was still persisting down.

After lunch the rain gave way to light showers so we had a quick look around the outside of the blockhouse. This massive building, constructed in 1942 was used to direct the guns at Batz-sur-Mer and to control maritime traffic over a large area. The reinforced concrete structure used 125 tonnes of iron and 1,800 m3 of concrete (equivalent to 300 concrete mixers). It is 28m high, has a floor area of 285m2 and walls over 2m thick!

Moving on we drove the short distance north to the walled town of Gurande. We arrived at the free Aire de Camping Car on the outskirts of the town to find it heaving - there must be 30 MH’s here. We managed to squeeze into a spot in the unofficial “overflow” area - ie: on the grass of the picnic area.

We walked to the old walled town and were pleasantly surprised to see how nice it was. The surrounding wall is complete and the old buildings are very well preserved. We wandered around taking photos before heading back to Kiki.

We had our evening meal before settling down for the evening.

Ile de Noirmoutier

We woke up to another beautiful morning and set off early because there are thunderstorms forecast for later. A few km from our overnight spot we came to the bridge across to the island of Noirmoutier (translates as: black marsh). 

We drove onto the island and stopped at Blockhaus R627 which is a WW2 bunker complex. It seems that they don’t like motorhomes here as everywhere has either height barriers or signs prohibiting parking. The place was deserted so we decided to risk it and stopped briefly to explore. There are lots of these defensive complexes on this island and they all follow a similar pattern. There are gun batteries, spotting and ranging stations and all the various buildings to house the soldiers. Unfortunately you can only see inside on a guided tour so we scrambled around the outside taking photos before returning to Kiki.

We drove a short distance further to the Aire de Camping Car at L’Epine where we’re stopping for the night. Our plan is to cycle around the north of the island on the well marked cycle routes. Emma had already made a packed lunch so we got our bikes ready and set out.

We headed north on a nice cycle track until we got to the harbour. We then followed a small road along the coast which had great views out across the rocky shoreline to the sea. After a while the road ended and we picked up a track that ran along the back of the sand dunes. The track was quite sandy and therefore hard going - we ended up pushing our bikes.

We stopped and sat at the side of the track for coffee.... actually we only had water but the chocolate was still enjoyed. Suddenly Emma jumped up - she had been sitting on an ants nest and they were all over her jacket and trousers! We managed to knock them all off - they were big un’s - so not harm done. 

We carried on, finally coming to a proper road and continuing north until we came to L’Herbaudiere which is situated at the top of the island. Here there is another, larger blockhouse which of course had to be explored.

Heading now along the east coast we soon came to the Plage des Dames where we stopped for lunch. Suitability fortified, we followed the cycle path past some very expensive looking seafront properties and through villages filled with cute fisherman’s cottages - all brilliant whitewash with blue shutters - until we came to Noirmoutier-en-L’Ile.

The clouds were building so we decided to head back across the marshes. We hadn’t got very far when the rain started so we stopped and put our waterproofs on. The wind and rain seemed to be directly ahead which made the cycling hard going. Fortunately after a few minutes the rain stopped so off came the waterproofs and we soldiered on against the wind. Today we cycled about 24km.

After a while we arrived back at Kiki where we moved to a better parking space before sitting in the sun and reading for a while.

Before our evening meal we went for a walk around the village. We walked as far as the beach where it was high tide and the sea was crashing in. We returned to Kiki for supper before settling down for the evening.

Water, water everywhere....

The “promised” thunderstorm didn’t materialise last night. We woke this morning to light drizzle which cleared as we ate breakfast to leave bright sunshine.

We decided to take a short 5km stroll around the smaller half of the lake before heading off this morning. The first part of the walk was very pretty with the sun reflecting off the water through the trees along the lakeside. We soon came to the bridge which would take us back along the other side of the lake - unfortunately it was closed so we continued onwards to find another crossing place. We reached the end of the lake and followed a boardwalk across a marshy area to the other side. At this point we realised that there was no way along the lakeside which meant we had to head away from the lake and loop back round. We tried one road but after about 500m hit a dead end. The next road we came to was blocked for the same reason as the bridge - apparently they were tree felling and clearing the track - this meant we had to carry on. The road route turned out to be very long and we finally made it back to Kiki after having walked over 10km - the shorter route turned out to be longer than the long route!

After a late coffee (and chocolate for sustenance) we drove across the causeway to a public loo we had spotted which had a convenient tap outside. We filled our water tank and then hit the road towards the Chateau de Commequiers which is where we were heading yesterday. We parked by the graveyard (it was a nice big space) and walked to the chateau. This pretty ruin sits on a tiny island surrounded by water.

We returned to Kiki for lunch before heading north to a free Aire de Camping Car situated next to a water sports lake. We were planning to spend the night there but we spotted a pay machine and discovered that it wasn’t actually free! After reporting the error to park4night we carried on to the next destination which is a large carpark outside a heritage museum. Here we are spending the night in the middle of marshland surrounded by lots of birds.

The Vendee

Yesterday evening, having changed our parking place so we could pickup some WiFi, we ended up closer to the church and it’s ubiquitous clock. Throughout the night we were left in no doubt about the time - every half hour the bell chimed out loudly - Emma was blissfully oblivious!

We emptied our tanks before setting off this morning en-route to Les Sables d’Olonne. We hoped to see L’Armendeche lighthouse which was the last major lighthouse to be constructed in France. Having fought our way through the busy seaside town we discovered that all the parking had either height barriers or no motorhome signs. We stopped briefly whilst Emma grabbed a quick photo before quickly moving on.

Next stop was the Observatoire d’Oiseaux where we had coffee before settling out for a walk. We were a bit disappointed because, apart from a large bird hide, there was nowhere to actually walk. We spent a little while looking at the birds before returning to Kiki.

We were heading to the Chateau de Commequiers when we passed a sign for lake Jaunay. We decided to detour to the lake where we found a small carpark overlooking the water. After lunch we set out for a walk around the lake. The route started out level along the waterside where we were surprised to see bluebells growing. We caught up with some other walkers so took a detour up a wooded valley. Near the top, in the shallows there was something thrashing about in the water - we later learnt that it was carp feeding. As we neared the end of the lake the path began to rise and fall - it was like a coast path. We crossed a dam and realised that the lake is actually a reservoir - over 3 million cubic meters volume. The route back to Kiki was quite tortuous as it climbed up and down along the lakeside. We finally arrived back “home” after walking slightly over 10km.

We had a rest before our evening meal and then settled down for the night.

Back to the Mainland

We woke up to sunshine in a clear blue sky - there’s some cirrus around so we know rain is on its way in a day or two.

First stop this morning was La Flotte which is a small town just before the bridge back to the mainland. We parked in the dedicated motorhome parking area just outside the town and walked through the town and down to the harbour. The tide was out and all of the boats were sitting in thick mud - the Atlantic coast is so very different from the Mediterranean. We wandered around the harbour and then followed the coast path until the houses ran out. We then made our way back to Kiki by a circular route.

After coffee we drove a few km to Le Fort la Pree which is the oldest military building on the island. Unfortunately it was closed so we carried on over the bridge back to the mainland. We liked the Ile de Re, particularly as there are lots of easy to follow cycle paths which means that you can pretty much cycle everywhere.

We stopped at a very random MH service point in a tiny village called Charon where we we able to empty and fill for free. A little further on we found a picnic area next to a canal where we stopped for lunch. Sadly we weren’t as prepared as our French neighbours who had a fully laden picnic table complete with table cloth, cutlery and wine glasses - they certainly do lunch in style!

En-route to our stopping place for the night, we visited a couple of menhirs and a dolmen. The menhirs were quite large - perhaps 10m tall and were located in a pretty little grassy area in the middle of a cornfield. The dolmen was quite impressive, as it was intact and contained the original stones blocking off the individual burial chambers.

A little further on we came to Talmont where we’re stopping in the Aire de Camping Car. We parked up and bought our parking ticket before heading out for a walk around the nearby lake. This didn’t take very long so we extended our walk by following a waymarked route around the village - I remarked to Emma that it was a bit like “beating the bounds”.

On returning to Kiki we sat outside and read for a while before supper.

After eating, we took a quick walk the other way around the lake before settling down for the night.

Cycling the Ile de Re

We woke to a bright sunny morning and made an early start because there’s rain forecast for later. We emptied our tanks before hitting the road.

A short 15km drive brought us to Ars en Re which is classified as one of the “Plus Beaux Villages de France”. We found the parking place which was described on our favourite park4night app - it’s just a grass carpark but has no height barrier and allows 24hrs parking.

We set out to explore the town - there are lots of old white houses and flowers around. To be honest we weren’t that impressed - we have seen far prettier villages - perhaps it’ll be “plus beaux” later in the year when more flowers are out! 

In the village centre there was a sign describing the cycle routes around the northern end of the island. As we made our way back to Kiki we both had the idea take our bikes and explore the rest of the island. We had coffee and then I unloaded our bikes whilst Emma made a packed lunch.

We picked up the dedicated cycle path next to the carpark and followed it for a few km to a junction where we turned left and continued onwards through the village of La Tricherie where we picked up the coast path. We followed this to the Phare des Baleines which is an impressive 60m tall lighthouse. Closer to the sea is the original 30m stone lighthouse which has recently been restored.

We continued onwards, following the coast through the pine forest of Lizay until we came to the village of Le Grand Marchais. There was a small market in the middle surrounded by pretty whitewashed houses. We headed to the coast and stopped for lunch at the Plage de la Chiouse.

After lunch we continued south until we reached La Patache where we rested a while looking out at the flat bottomed boats moored offshore.

Our route back to Kiki was along some superb cycle paths through the nature reserve of the Lilleau. This wetlands area was teaming with birds - we saw swans, moorhens, several herons, little egret and long legged avocet. We finally arrived “home”, having cycled 30km today!

We had our meal and settled down for the evening.

Il de Re

We had rain overnight and it was still drizzling when we woke up this morning. As the forecast wasn’t good for the rest of the day we had a lazy start and decided to do our weekly shopping today rather than tomorrow.

We emptied and filled before hitting the road to the Il de Re. The bridge to the island has an €8 toll which was originally intended to just pay for the cost of construction but has since been extended and become just another tax! We crossed the bridge and headed to Lidl on the outskirts of the capital, Saint Martin.

After filling the fridge and our cupboards with goodies, we drove the short distance to the Aire de Camping Car which is situated just inside the city walls. The wind has picked up and the rain has stopped so it’s looking good for this afternoon.

After lunch we set out to explore Saint Martin. This is another of the isolated, heavily fortified old cities which are quite common in this area. We headed through the middle of the city and down to the harbour. It’s very quiet, most of the shops, cafe’s and restaurants are closed and there aren’t many people around. We imagine this place will be very popular in season. The harbour is full of leisure boats and we wandered around checking them out.

The massive fortified walls drop 11m straight down into the sea and continue inland on either side of the city. We followed one of the walls back round the outside and discovered that there is yet another concentric ring of defensive walls, moats and triangular shaped defensive “islands” - most impressive!

We found a dark spiral staircase that descended inside the wall and came out in the - now dry - moat. We had a quick look at one of the many defensive “islands” before taking a tunnel up through the wall back to the inside. We carried on along the wall until we got back to Kiki.

After a drink and some chocolate we set out again along the wall and back to the sea. Here we turned right and soon came to the original fortified citadel which now seems to serve as an administrative centre. We walked around the outside of the citadel and found a circular route back to the main entrance to the city. More heavy defences here - two bridges with towers and a fortified gatehouse kept invaders at bay!

We returned to Kiki for our evening meal before settling down for the evening.

A Fortified Town, a Feat of Engineering and Ice Cream.

As the sun went down last night the wind dropped. This meant that we had a quiet night with only the sound of the waves to keep us company.

We set out early this morning and as our next destination was only 15km away we arrived before 8:30am. We were faced with yet another confusing no-motorhomes sign with a long explanation below in French - there were however several motorhomes already here so we did the “French thing” and ignored the sign. Later study revealed - we think - that the restriction applies to the grass parking area and not the bit we used!

Brouage is a 17th Century fortified town which, before land reclamation, was virtually surrounded by the sea. The entire town is enclosed by massive walls which had only two heavily fortified entrances. Spaced out along the walls are little towers - 19 in total - which were used for keeping watch and for shooting at invaders. We found a way up onto the ramparts and followed them all of the way round the outside - some 2.5km in total!

We returned to Kiki for coffee and spent some time taking photos of a storks nest - basically a large pile of sticks on top of a pole - which contained three babies and a parent balancing on the edge.

Our next destination is the Rochefort-Martrou Transporter Bridge which crosses the Charante just outside of Rochefort. This impressive feat of engineering was built in 1898 and consists of a 66m high steel bridge across the river. The bridge has rails which a carriage runs along. There is a gondola at road level suspended from the overhead carriage. This allows the gondola to traverse from one side of the 175m wide river to the other transporting people and vehicles across. The bridge was closed for maintenance which was a shame because it would have been quite an experience!

We’re now heading for the Aire de Camping Car at La Rochelle where we’re planning to stay tonight. We stopped en-route at Carefour and topped up our LPG. Arriving at the Aire, we found a nice spot and I got our bikes ready whilst Emma prepared lunch.

Suitability fortified we set off into the city. We found a nice cycle route that led to the coast which we then followed. There are hundreds of boats here - it’s the biggest yachting centre on France’s Atlantic coast! We cycled past the two old towers which protected the entrance and into the old port which is surrounded by stately buildings. This has been a busy port since the 11th Century and is still going strong. We cycled around the port checking out the boats before heading into the winding back streets of the old town. Here we found an ice cream shop and we felt it would be rude to pass it by. We sat on the harbourside and ate our bounty before making our way back to Kiki.

We spent a little while sitting in the sun before eating our evening meal and settling down for the night.

The Atlantic Coast

After such a beautiful day yesterday, we woke this morning to an overcast sky and showers forecast. We emptied our tanks before hitting the road towards Royan where we plan to purchase a Data SIM for our MiFi device.

After stopping en-route for fuel we arrived at the carpark we found on the park4night app around 10am. Unfortunately, we couldn’t work out where to park. The whole area was full apart from a few spaces which had a sign consisting of a red circle and a diagonal cross - in the U.K. this would mean “no stopping” - however below the circular sign was another with a picture of a motorhome. Totally confused - we had no idea if we were allowed to park or not! We decided not to risk it and continued onwards to our next destination which is on the coast just outside of the city.

After parking up and having coffee we walked down to the beach. Here there is a small natural arch in the rocks. After the obligatory photo standing on top of the arch, we decided to walk along the coast path towards the lighthouse. There were some fishing huts on stilts perched precariously on the rocks which jut out into the water - these have a crane mechanism to raise and lower a large net into the water. We wondered if they would catch many fish until we realised that we’re at the mouth of the Garronne river.

We continued along the coast path until we arrived at the lighthouse which, unusually, is set on a slight incline quite a way from the sea. We turned round here a headed back to Kiki. Enroute we spotted another - much bigger - natural arch further out to sea which we hadn’t seen earlier - this was the one we had come to see!

Next stop, further up the coast was the lighthouse of La Coubre. We squeezed in to a tiny carpark - there’s not much motorhome parking around here as most places have 2m height barriers - and had lunch. Fortified, we set out through the sand dunes to the beach. At one point we were driven back by flying sand and had to take another route. We walked a little way along the beach until we had a good view of the lighthouse - this one is quite tall. We returned to Kiki, emptied sand from our shoes and hit the road again. Emma discovered she had crunchy lips because she’d put lip balm on before settling out!

We took the “scenic” coast route northwards but unfortunately there was no view as it was a little way inland and mostly through a pine forest. There were however lots of yellow flowers along the roadside which we decided were Broom plants.

Crossing the Pont De L’ile d’Oleron - which is a long viaduct - we arrived on the second largest island in France. We turned north and headed to the citadel of the Chateau d’Oleron. This impressive fortified town was built in the 17th century to protect the southern part of the island. We found free daytime motorhome parking - seemingly a rarity in this area - and set out to explore. The massive fortifications were really impressive. In fact there are three concentric rings of fortified walls, complete with moats, bridges and other defensive structures. Dodging the showers which were becoming more frequent, we eventually made our way back to Kiki.

Shortly before crossing the bridge we had passed a small motorhome parking area and as there’s not much else to see on the island we decided to return there for the night. It turned out that the parking place is quite popular but we managed to squeeze in just as a big rain squall came over.

After our evening meal we went for a gusty walk along the beach where we watched a kitesurfer having fun - at times he was leaping 20ft or more into the air! We returned to Kiki and settled down for what promises to be a windy night by the beach.  

Off we go again!

We’re back on the road again! This time we’re heading north west to Brittany which is an area we haven’t yet explored.

We made an early start today as we’re all packed and ready to go - to be honest we’d left most of our stuff in Kiki after our last trip. First stop was Lidl in Chalais for some peppers which Emma forgot during our weekly shop on Friday. 

Next we drove the short distance to the weighbridge in Chalais which I spotted when I took Kiki for her CT. It’s useful to know your total weight and each axel weight so you can work out the correct tyre pressures.

Settling off again we’re heading to Saintes, which is a medieval city on the edge of the Charonte river. We stopped en-route for coffee - Emma had remembered my “special” coffee maker this time!

Arriving in Saintes, we headed for LeClerc which according to Park4night has a large car park. Unfortunately, it turned out the car park wasn’t that big and was quite full so we couldn’t stop there. We had just passed some motorhomes in a large carpark so we retraced our route back to there. We found the entrance but also a 2m height barrier so, as we didn’t want to loose our bedroom, we bottled out. We drove on wondering how the other motorhomes had got in as they were all as tall as Kiki and still had their bedrooms attached.... In desperation we returned to the height barrier and Emma tried to swing it open - it was locked. However, there was just enough room to squeeze past the side of the barrier, across the grass and into the parking area.

We walked into the city, crossing a footbridge over the river. This is a fairly typical old town in this region with white limestone buildings and old narrow shopping streets. For centuries this was the only crossing place of the lower Charante and a popular place for pilgrims on the Santiago route.

We followed the signs to the Roman Amphitheatre, which although closed was easily visible through the fence. This was quite an impressive structure, surrounded by a high stone wall with huge archways over the entrances.

We returned to Kiki for lunch and afterwards exited the car park over the grass, once again avoiding the height barrier.

A short distance to the north is the disused quarry of Lapidiales. Rather surprisingly, this now contains some quirky sculptures which have been created over the years by local artists. The most impressive sculptures were carved into the original quarry walls. There are all sorts of mystical creatures - our favourite was a “Temple of Doom” style structure with a huge skull which suddenly appears in front of you as you descend into the quarry.

Returning to Kiki we continued onwards to the tiny village of Saint Romain de Benet where we’re going to stop tonight in their Aire de Camping Car.

We parked up and took a walk around the village - it didn’t take long. The huge twin domes of the church, which also has a tower are most imposing - fortunately there doesn’t seem to be a bell to keep us a awake tonight! Just outside the village we came across a large stream which was flowing up out of the ground - a natural spring. We returned to Kiki and spent a couple of hours reading outside in the sun before our evening meal and settling down for the evening.