Cycle Touring in France: Rennes to Fougeres

Climbing out of Rennes this morning the roads were deathly quiet and hardly anyone was about. It was Sunday morning of a long weekend, but I do wonder where everyone is sometimes. We had the luxury of a cycle lane out of the city and headed off in a direct line to Fougeres. When we reached the freeway we took a VTT path through the forest of Rennes and were surprised when it turned into an immaculate Tarmac road just for cyclists and walkers. We made good time to Fougeres and walked down into town to see the castle. The main part of town is up an incredibly steep road so our legs got another work out to end the day. The castle is the best we have seen in France. It is not too prissy and has some unusual ramparts and towers. Most of it is intact and the location at the foot of the town in a wide valley is superb. At the lower end there are cliffs and some medieval buildings. You can also get to the top of the town by walking up the terraced gardens which offer splendid views. We took the tourist trail around town, had a few beers until the restaurants opened and continued back by the castle afterwards. Tomorrow we have a long day planned. We will be cycling to Granville on the Normandy coast and hope to get some good views on Mont St Michel on the way.

Some of the animals we met on the way!