By the seaside

We decided to spend a couple of days in this area so that we had more time to explore and it worked out well. The day we arrived there was a festival event in Duarnenez and we listened to music in the evening and had mussels, fresh grilled sardines and crepes from some of the stalls. The day had been hot and the sunset was beautiful, lighting up the yachts and buildings with a warm glow in the late evening light. Today we set out on a cliff top walk in the morning and the sky was overcast and quite cool in comparison with the previous day. In the afternoon we visited the port museum which has some excellent craft inside the main buildings and some old boats in the harbor that you can board and explore. The day brightened up as we walked back around the coast to our hotel across the river and we drank wine by the sea to accompany the fish soup and wood fired pizza. Tomorrow we head off around the coast to Crozon, about 60km away.

View of Duarnenez from across the river as we arrived in town



Looking the other way


Late evening light - ships from the museum in view





Sunset






The tide goes in and out quite quickly and this morning we saw lots of people looking for shrimps and shellfish when we were coming back from our walk.



The boat museum



A Thames barge





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Location:Rue des Professeurs Curie,Douarnenez,France

Pont Aven to Quimper

We left Pont Aven on a bright, sunny mooring and headed down south to the coast in order to bypass the main roads and have a more pleasant ride. There was a slight breeze which kept us cool and we passed by uncrowded beaches and old seaside towns before heading into Quimper itself. It is almost like going back in time when traveling along this coast. The houses have been there for over a hundred years and there is little or no signs of development. The fishermen sell their catch along the quay and holiday makers seem content to walk along the beach and play without other amusements.






Quimper is a much larger town than Lorient, which we visited a few days ago, but seems much smaller. It has a cathedral in the centre by a river, teeming with fish, and an array of medieval streets close by. We were very fortunate to be here just as a dance festival was being held and after dinner we watched some traditional Breton folk dancing.

Some images of the gothic cathedral and the cultural evening.





















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Location:Rue Jean Jaurès,Quimper,France

Lorient - and signs of war and conflict!

When choosing where to travel the reviews of Lorient were not particularly good. They mentioned that the Germans had constructed thick, concrete submarine pens during the second world war to protect their fleet and as the allied bombers could not penetrate them the surrounding town was destroyed to cut off the supply routes. As a consequence all the old buildings were destroyed and the architecture dates from the 1950's. This was however interesting in itself and the town was quite lively.

During the past few days we have come across lots of old gun emplacements and bunkers along the coast from Quiberon all the way to Lorient. The land is fairly flat in this area, with wide sandy beaches, and must have been a potential landing site for any invasion. There are also forts from centuries earlier when the British came to protect their interests against the East India company. These are now tourist sites whilst the ugly old concrete bunkers are covered with graffiti. Some of these are being painted with murals depicting water sports like surfing.

We arrived in Lorient late in the day after spending a long time along the coast and had some problems with navigating the city centre. There is a large military submarine manufacturing plant that straddles both sides of the river and we could not use the bridge between them. However, when we eventually did arrive at our destination it held quite a lot of interest and we could have stayed longer. The old submarine pens and docks, whilst grubby, were well worth viewing and the arts students have invigorated the docklands.

Submarine pen (open for visits)


Old fort just off the coast


2nd world war bunkers








After leaving Lorient we travelled to Pont Aven 'the town of painters'. This town was visited by Gauguin and to our surprise he stayed in our hotel when painting here. There is a famous school of painting named after this town and a marvelous art gallery that would be at home in any large city. The town has become a magnet for artists and there must be over twenty galleries in town. It is very unspoiled otherwise and has a river flowing through the centre. We ate at the old water mill, which is now a restaurant after walking around town and visiting the gallery.

Pont Aven











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Location:Rue Théodore le Hars,Quimper,France

Quiberon

The Presqu'ile de Quiberon is south of Carnac and part of the Cote des Megalithes. It was our base for a couple of days and gave us time to do a little walking instead of cycling on one of our 'days off'. We left Crac'h on a grey, overcast day and travelled north of Carnac so that we could visit some more stone age sites. There was no one about and we had a pleasant trip through the countryside looking at various dolmen and menhirs as we wended our way towards the long spit that would take us to Quiberon. There was a cycle route for most of the way so we were able to ride side by side and chat. Quiberon is very much a family holiday place and as we cycled around the coast there were plenty of caravan parks, holiday apartments and gites. It is not commercial though and the promenades were free of the shops and entertainment that is common in British seaside resorts. The west side of the 'nearly an island' of Quiberon is called the wild coast and is rocky with cliffs, whilst the south and east contains mainly sandy beaches. We left our cycles at the hotel the following morning and walked around the coastline to the south tip, then on past and old fortress to a fishing port where we had grilled sardines and a glass of wine for lunch. The area is famous for its seafood and we went on a free factory tour to see how the sardines are processed. It had some historical film footage and other exhibits and was surprisingly interesting. The town centre is full of restaurants and cafes, some on the beach itself, so there was no shortage of places to eat. I am getting a little tired of fish and mussels though!

The Celtic sign for Brittany


The 'wild coast'


Main beach in the early evening


Sunset over Quiberon


Crocodile shell


Quiberon coastline


Lunch stop in the old port





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Location:Avenue de la Perrière,Lorient,France

Heading south and into Brittany

A few days ago we left Pontivy and the Nantes-Brest canal and headed directly south to a small town called Crac'h near the Gulf of Morbihan. We made this our base for a couple of days to explore the various prehistoric sites in the region, including the large stone alignments near Carnac. The area is also a haven for all those who like sailing and the outdoors as there are numerous ports, lots of sandy beaches and sheltered waters in an area that has few signs of commercialism. We cycled down quiet lanes to look at dolmen, menhirs and other stones that seem to be scattered practically everywhere. Lots of families were camping in the area and in the early evening, when the tide was out, they were all over the sand flats digging for shellfish and collecting oysters from the exposed rocks. The standing stone alignments north of Carnac are really amazing as there are over three thousand of them spread over 4km. The experts still do not know why they are aligned in such a way, but it must certainly have taken a lot of effort and planning.

Our last day on the Nantes-Brest canal was a rainy one, but the flowers at the locks were very beautiful.


This photo was taken in Aurey, just north of Crac'h, on our way down from Pontivy. It is taken from the castle walls on the other side of the inlet. We took our bikes down a steep path, across a bridge and had some ice cream at the cafe on the right.


This incredibly large stone weighed around 280 tonnes and was transported from a site 12km away over 3000 years ago. The experts say that it must have also been carried over water. On land they think it was dragged along ditches greased with animal fat. An earthquake is the most likely reason that it fell, breaking apart, as the fractures are clean. The was an earthquake recorded in a nearby town that destroyed many buildings over 500years ago.


Some more photos of prehistoric sites in the area:













Boats and harbours



Oyster farming


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Location:Rue du Stade,Crac'h,France

Josselin

Today we had only around 25km to travel so started the day drinking tea and coffee in Malestroit until around 10am and then cycled as slow as possible in order not to get to Josselin too soon. The rain helped as we sheltered under trees at the least sign of a shower. Our route was by the canal and river L'Oust all the way and we stopped off at Le Roc St Andre to look at the church. We have seen the insides of quite a few now, but there are still surprises. This one looked very gothic and had some excellent stained glass windows.












It was around midday when we left so we had lunch by the canal.



Our first sight of Josselin was quite impressive as there is a castle close to the canal. After checking in we walked all around the old part of town and climbed the bell tower to view the castle from above. There were quite a few day-trippers in town and we heard a lot of English voices. We had a glass of wine in a bar and caught up on the latest Tour de France news. Cadel Evans had made a break today and moved up into 2nd place. Let's see how he goes in the mountains.



View from the bell tower.





Old town






I think it also has some 'flowers' as it is a fleurie town!



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Location:Rue Saint-Michel,Josselin,France