Welcome to the Brittany Travel Blog!

Well that’s the walking over. Our route back to the UK cavered six different modes of transport! We walked to the station in Lannion for the first train of the day to St Brieuc. Then the bus to Pleneurf where we arrived in time for breakfast and a wander arounfd the local market. Then a short taxi ride back to Erquy where we had left the car. We then had a three hour trip to Cherbourg to catch the Brittany Ferries fast craft to Portmouth, arriving in the UK on time at 7 o’clock. All the connections ran smoothly so it was an uneventful day.

We reflected on our trip and concluded that we would would both like to continue around the coast together, so maybe we will do a week a year in May. Which means that we will arrive in Nantes in about 10 years time!!

Back to the office where I will be able to add some more photos to the blog and our website.

Our last day and we woke to a superb morning with the sun shining across the harbour, viewed from our bedroom window. The 3^rd floor breakfast room overlooking the bay and harbour with the sun streaming in made it difficult to motivate us to start. The footpath today could be easy walking as this part of the coast is quite built-up with a series of pretty seaside villages, each with a sandy beach.

Cote de Granite Rose

We strolled past the grand villas of 1920 Perros built behind the Trestraou beach, and you can see why this was such an elegant resort for the chic Parisian society, and why it is still so popular today with its Grand Hotel and casino. The path then took us towards the spectacular stone shapes for which this coast is so famous, and they were not a disappointment, especially as the sun was sparkling off the rocks. We ambled our way around to Ploumanach, where the little beach is surrounded by high sculptured rocks and the village is right on the beach. Disappointingly for such a popular tourist spot almost everything was closed down, typical Brittany for a Monday morning! However, there was at least one enterprising bar owner where we could stop for an extended coffee break as by this time the weather had again turned to rain.

We carried on around the coast and cut out a small amount to ensure that we arrived in Trebeurden in time for the bus to Lannion for tonight’s hotel and train to St Brieuc tomorrow. As the bus stop was outside our local agency’s office I popped in to say my greetings to Mme Rizzoni, who was a little surprised to see me.

As we waited for the bus we got into a lengthy conversation with another group of walkers, also on their way back to Lannion. They were also doing the GR34, but in rather smaller chunks. It transpired they were from the Haute Savoire, and had also walked a long distance footpath in that area across the Alps into Austria, some feat.                                                                                   

Lannion

We easily found our accommodation in Lannion and got our early morning train tickets. So set out for our last night to find some Breton seafood delicacies. We wandered over the river into the nearby old town centre, it was delightful. Where were all the restaurants, were they open on a Monday? An exhaustive tour determined that there was only one restaurant open, however, this did not matter. We had an amazing menu with Ormeaux (a very rare shellfish also known as Sea Ears) and scallops – what a finale.

Tomorrow up early for 0700 train to St Brieuc. Bus to Erquy and collect car to travel to Cherbourg.

Billed as a 42K day we assessed that this was a little too ambitious and planed a shorter route of around 35k. Early morning rain at around 7 o’clock  did not bode well but by the time we had finished breakfast it was a gloriously sunny so we set off with a spring in out step. We decided to short cut the route to visit Plougrescant and visit the church with the wonky tower. As we were leaving we picked up a new companion who stayed with us for the next hour. Unfortunately she had four legs and we anticipated she would be with us for the rest of the day. Jeremy decided we would have to get her back to the village and we were fortunate to stop a local driver and negotiate with him to return the dog to the village in the hope her owner would then find her. We hope he was successful.

Thankfully the gradients for this part of the walk were much gentler than previous days so we kept up a good pace  along the start of the Pink Granite Coast with its spectacular rock formations. Jeremy was now on real home territory passing lots of locations where we have or have had properties for rent – just like being at home. We finished at a reasonable 4 o’clock in the port area of Perros Guirec, although by this time the weather had turned yet again to rain at the end of a day.

Tomorrow will be a guided tour for Godfrey through the resorts of the Granite Rose a superb area with lovely villages all along the coast.

A lighter day today just 24k. So we took the luxury of doing some washing in the local launderette. The morning took us to the Pointe de l’Arcouest, which is a tiny ferry port for the 15 minute trip to the Brehat islands, very popular in Summer. Whilst here I introduced Godfrey to yet more Breton specialties, crepes (buckwheat pancakes) and cider from little china bowls.

Another hour or so found us in Loguivy a sleepy port, but we did find a stop for coffee and spied the lobsters being delivered for dinner, we were tempted to stay for the rest of the day!!

A long couple of hours wandering down the the Le Trieux estuary got harder and harder as Jeremy seemed to be suffering from dehydration, or maybe food poisoning from the dodgy cheese and sausage concoction we had bought for lunch. Anyway we made to the hotel, but by then Godfrey was feeling unwell in sympathy so we went to bed early, without dinner to sleep it all off.

We have decided to curtail Saturday’s 42k trip around the peninsula to Treguier for a more leisurely 10k through the local backroads. Anyway we have discovered that this weekend is a major religious festival in the cathedral in Treguier so maybe we can have a bit of culture to go with our GR34 experience.

Today was a quiet stroll through rich farming country, past vast fields of artichokes, and cauliflowers for which Brittany is famous, so a day of rural vistas rather than seascapes. We even came across a tomato farm with a greenhouse covering several acres and plants already 12 ft tall, I wonder if the tomatoes are the size of footballs?

We arrived in Treguier about lunchtime, and then wandered around its ancient centre full of half timbered buildings. The town was in preparation for tomorrow’s Pardon, a religious festival, many of which take place throughout Brittany every year. Most of the buildings were decorated with beautiful yellow broom.

We had a superb dinner in a little restaurant, the highlight was the mint mousse with a feuilette of white chocolate decorated with borage flowers. We then wandered into the cathedral where a tableau was taking place as part of the festival.

After two shorter days, tomorrow is another long day arriving at the Pink Granite coast with its spectacular rock formations.

Today was billed as a tough day and it was!! We started slowly and ambled along for the first couple of hours, meeting on the way a group of fellow GR34′ists who were planning a day of 15k. Are we mad or what!

Godfrey admires the view

We got to the beginning of what was going to be the tough bit along the highest cliffs in Brittany, at over 180m, and managed to have a lovely coffee break, just at the base of the first really tough climb. Perhaps the bar owner knows a thing or two. So off we went climbing and descending for two hours or more until we arrived at Brehac, which is on the only sandy beach of this part of Brittany. We sat and ate our goats cheese quiche and, as an introduction to the delights of Brittany pastry cooking for Godfrey, a kouig aman, which is the local version of our own lardy cake that it is full of butter and sugar - a great calorie intake for the afternoon’s exertions.

The afternoon took us though towering cliffs and quiet tree covered valleys with wonderful wild flowers with hardly anyone else to break the spell.

We then did our good Samaritan’s act by advising a group of French walkers to turn around and return the way they had come as the way forward was a very difficult climb and not a practical way back to their car.

The approach to Paimpol

By four o’ clock we were expecting an easy run in to Paimpol, our stop for the night, but it turned out to have a real sting in the tail as we again spent the next hour ascending and descending a never-ending series of steep inclines whilst all the time being buried in steamy woods.

We eventually arrived in Paimpol around six for a very well earned rest and another super local menu with the local specialty of salt cod in a creamy sauce. So everything in the day is not hard work.

St Brieuc Viaduct

As we had 40k to cover today we made an early start leaving the hotel at 7.40.

What we thought would be a boring first two hours turned out to be quite interesting as we followed the track of a former narrow gauge railway, passing the restored engines. As we approached St Brieuc we deviated to pass a spectacular viaduct which took the railway into St Brieuc. We then managed to get bit lost, but with expert navigation(!), managed to recover without much lost time.

Today we decided to be more organised with our time and walk for only two hours before stopping, this worked very well and will be the plan for the rest of the week.

Canon Ball Heater

Much of the day was spent pleasantly strolling along the coast without too many problems. The country side was typically Breton with lush growth, fantastic flowers and generally very pleasant countryside for which Brittany is justly famous. Around lunch time we passed an unusual building which was used to heat cannon balls to fire at the unsuspecting British during the Napoleonic wars, has anything really changed!

Mid afternoon found us strolling across the beach to the lovely port of Binic. We stopped for a quick Earl Grey tea – very English - at a cafe we have visited before during one of our planning visits.

The last stretch from Binic to St Quay started very pleasantly with us meeting a lot of local walkers who said hello, and one in English – how did he know!. We also came across our first fellow GR34 fanatic coming the other way who was working his way around all of the France coastline (Tour De France). The worst was a new section of 100 steps between two properties – this must discourage the locals, even Jeremy complained.

After having doubts about Le Kreisker, this night’s accommodation, we have ended up at the local, it is buzzing, and we have a good room and some excellent beer.

Rubbish start to the day, heavy rain so we had to fully kit ourselves up. The forecast was for rain all day but in the event it eased off after about two hours, not before we got soaked! But then stopped after lunch.

Although we had the idea that today at 30k was going to be an easy day there were headlands to climb that were quite difficult. But there was worse to come. When we arrived at the valley of the Gouesant river we had to walk up the river valley for 40 minutes, then another 40 minutes back again just to cross 20 metres of river.  It was really difficult walking lots of ups and downs along narrow paths with lots of wet grass, not very pleasant. However, we survived, and later were able to cross the Anse de Morieux (famous for its mussel beds). It was just after lunch and the tide was low the mussel fishermen were rushing out on their tractors to catch tonight’s dinner for us.

The rest of the day was quite uneventful except when we passed a group of local walkers, who were surprised at our progress from Val Andre as they recognised how difficult the walk was, but cheerfully recounted how much more difficult it would be around Plouha which is during day 4. We have just looked it up on the map and it looks a bit daunting, well so says Godfrey, as that day we also have to cover 41k.

Oh well, off to catch our mussels for dinner. Will report again tomorrow after our first long day of over 40k.

We  here we are at the end of day 1. It was an early start in the UK but a lovely morning. Surprisingly the crossing was quite rough and the weather started to cloud over as  we arrived in Cherbourg. As it  is Godfrey’s  first  trip to Brittany I thought it would be a good idea to visit Mont St. Michel which was convenient for a lunch stop. We arrived at Erquy on schedule for a 4.00 start.  As the tide was out we decided to walk across the beach, well, some beach! We were still walking an hour later having covered nearly 4 miles, with a really strong wind, luckily at our backs.  We then hit the first steep ascent, and followed the cliff path around into Val Andre arriving at 6.00.  It’s really quiet in the town but there are enough restaurants open to indulge in some traditional Breton cuisine  for our first night.  Off the the bar now for a few beers.

Well departure time is on us and we are now putting the final touches to our plans. The weather forecast is not too good with cool days and some rain, but you never know what will really happen on the coast.

Monday will be an early start for a 8.00 ferry from Portmouth to Cherbourg, then a 3 hour drive to our start point at Erquy, then a 10k afternoon amble to Pleneuf St Andre for our first night. The best bit is looking forward to all that seafood again, mussles and chips and sardines what a treat!

We will report each evening, after a few beers and a leisurely dinner.