France - Normandy and Brittany - 24 Jun to Jul 18 week 2

Sun 1 Jul - It rained in the morning as we set out across Brittany.  We went into Dinan but, being Sunday, it was very busy with both traffic and pedestrians and we couldn't find the aire. We had a couple of shots at it but when the GPS took us up a very steep hill to a narrow gate into the old town we pulled the eject handle, reversed and hightailed it out of town, eventually arriving at the very peaceful and restful site at Le Chatelet near St Cast le Guildo. Of course, being French, the reception was closed for lunch for about 8 hours so we had the usual wait, but eventually we booked in and found a lovely pitch overlooking the sea. We decided to rest up for a few days as we have been walking for miles each day and we were knackered.

Testing the new sun awning. Very effective

Mon 2 - It rained overnight. We walked into town to the splendid market, which was so much better than the overhyped one at Dinard. We stocked up on fresh fruit and veg, including some delicious cherries. In the afternoon we just relaxed.

On Tuesday it rained again in the morning. So much for a thorough test of the new sun awning! We walked to town around the port, stopping to buy some clobber at the very nice chandlery shop. We climbed back up the hill, around the headland and headed back towards the campsite around the coast, but the bugs were quite fearsome, so we aborted the coast route and went back via the road. In the evening we wandered down to the beach to watch the sun set, but unfortunately our flask of red wine leaked.

Attacked by bugs

Wed 4 - We moved on again as our lovely sea view pitch was booked. Drove to a lovely site near the sea named Camping Les Plages de Beg Leguer, Lannion. There was not much around the site town wise, but two or 3 glorious beaches, albeit there was no swimming due to some form of pollution.  The delightful site bar even had decent beer for a cheap (by French standards) 4 euros a pint! We wandered down the main beach and, in the late evening, sat on a fortuitously placed rock to watch the sunset. The rock wasn't such a favourite spot when a loud screech destroyed the peace and quiet as something scuttled over her foot!

Thurs 5 - we walked around the coast route and to the beach bar for some delicious local moules frites and crepes and a very nice chilled rose. In the evening the temperature dropped and it  got really cold. A spooky fog rolled in off the sea and the cold, dank aire sucked all the warmth out of the van. It was a chilly, uncomfortable night.

On Friday we lazed around waiting for the weather to improve. It didn't.

The sun finally decides to come out. Better late than never!

Sat 7 - Onwards towards Finistere and an aire in the village of Huelgoat high in the Parc d’Armorique. It is a very pretty village with a large lake built in the 18th century to help with the task of extracting silver lead from the valley. Behind the watermill at the end of the lake you descend into the Argent Valley and you suddenly find yourself amidst a mass of magical mossy boulders in the forested valley. This is a place of imagination and Arthurian legends that have stirred the Breton imagination in fabulous ways. One rung of steps leads to the so-called 'devil’s grotto' via an unnervingly narrow descent. In another spot lies the trembling rock, a massive boulder that is so finely balanced that you can move all 160 tonnes if you push in the right spot. Its a fascinating place.

Roche Tremblante (trembling Rock)