Cycle Touring in France: Roman stones and lots of cycles

It was only a short distance to Dinan from Jugon les Lacs so we decided to take the back roads to Corseul and then join the main Voie Verte at Pleslin. This would take us into Dinan by the riverside. Corseul had the remains of a roman town and this looked like an interesting place to visit. The roads were fairly empty as we left Jugon, uphill out of town of course, and it was a fresh day as we wended out way through the countryside. Most fields are planted with sweetcorn which now has several cobs on each stalk starting to fill out. The houses are starting to look more affluent and most are constructed from a honey coloured stone with slate rooves. Orchards are starting to appear as we get closer to Normandy and the apples seem to be ripe for picking.

Corseul turned out better than expected. All the foundations of a Roman settlement were in the open by the main road and we spent a while wandering through them as well as viewing some of the broken sculptures and columns in a garden by the town hall where we ate our lunch. The first part of the afternoon was spent cycling freely down the back roads and we happened to pass another stone age alignment near Pleslin before joining the cycle path south. This route goes from Dinard and St Malo in the North to Rennes and was incredibly busy. It was a sunny day and many of the ferry passengers must have hired bikes for the day. It was a slow ride into Dinan, avoiding the walkers, cyclists and dogs, but with very pleasant views. The river is tree lined at first with oxbow bends before entering the port of Dinan where the pleasure craft are moored. The bridge and viaduct are pretty impressive from below as are the ramparts of the town walls.

Roman column in Corseul