Apologies for the late posting of this first entry - a combination of having too much fun, and an elusive search for decent WiFi!
Arriving at Newhaven port before catching the ferry, we almost always have time for a cuppa before boarding – and today was no different – except, rather than bemoaning the fact that it would be great to have something to put our cups on (and we’ve been saying this for over a decade…) Mr B has at last made a folding tray to keep our Kenyan tea cuppas safe and sound. He snapped this photo as we’re not quite sure how long it will last…
The crossing was relatively calm despite our anxieties over the potential sea state, and by the time we had enjoyed a surprisingly delicious short rib of beef in the canteen, and got stuck into our current books (the latest Richard Osman for Mrs B, the latest Lottie Brooks for Mr B…) we were suddenly in Dieppe! And we were just as suddenly disembarked in record time, which meant that we were one of the first campervans to hit the road… something we were pretty pleased about, as we had never seen so many in the Newhaven ferry queue before – (we reckon 50+ easily)… and our destination Aire in Auffay only has four authorised places, as regular readers might remember…
With Mr B at the wheel, we raced past the only other campervan in front of us and arrived in Auffay to find just one space left – again! It’s usually a faff to reverse into the hardstanding bays in the dark, as they are all at different angles to one another – but this time we had a rather late-in-the-day epiphany – we just drove in forwards – doh – a doddle! Feeling pretty silly that it has taken us all this time to realise this easy option, we settled down to a peaceful, starry night – a treat for it not to be raining!
Over breakfast the next morning we had a chat about where we might actually be heading. Then Mrs B remembered the conversation we’d had with a very helpful Breton woman in Pointe du Raz about the best place, and time of year for oysters – Cancale, on the Northern Coast of Breizh, in September. So with no more discussion needed, we set off to the excellent nearby Super U in Yerville to fulfil all our start-of-journey French food and drink clichés in one go, before heading off to the A29/A13 Autoroutes, remembering the slow (very) pace of our first trek across west last autumn when we’d taken the N/D roads!
It’s not expensive to get to the free autoroutes that start at Caen (a total of €23.50) including the Pont Normadie, and using them meant we were able to arrive on the Baie de Mon St Michel not far from Cancale before it started to get dark. Mrs B had found what looked like a great ‘home stay’ on Park4Night – where you get to stay in someone’s garden/orchard etc for a small fee – in this case €8. As there were only five places, Mr B phoned ahead and left a message in dubious French that we would be arriving between 1900 and 2000, and to please leave a message and let us know.
With Mrs B talking us in on the P4N App, we pulled up outside a house and orchard at exactly the location – but with no helpful signs… But then a woman came out of the house, clearly intending to chat to us...and before she could say anything, Mr B explained that he had left a phone message, and was this the ‘home stay’ on P4N? She explained it was, but seemed confused about the phone message, disappearing inside to be replaced by Monsieur, who kindly directed us back to a chained entrance to the orchard and invited us to park for the night – after we had handed over our €8 of course!
Settling in for the night under a clear sky, Mr B checked his phone to find a text and a voicemail waiting, confirming that yes, we would be most welcome to stay. Perplexed by the confusion upon arrival, it was only when he activated the location link that had been sent in the text that the centime dropped – there were two home stays in the same hamlet (la Fresnais) – both with orchards and both at €8 – Mrs B had chosen one, and Mr B had phoned the other – neither realising there were two! Feeling very embarrassed, Mr B quickly dashed of an apologetic text, receiving a very sweet invite for ‘perhaps another time’ by return – oops!
Who would have imagined such a small hamlet would have two homestays – and at the same price – clearly not us!
Next morning we looked at the campsite options for Cancale – where our focus was oysters and walking, and hopefully cycling. With a combination of P4N and ACSI apps at our disposal, we had a choice of a site a little away from Cancale, or one just on the outskirts and a short walk to a Super U and the seafood restos on the quayside. As neither was very far from our idyllic, if confusingly chosen home stay, we decided to have a look at the ACSI site first, Camping I’Ile Verte in a small hamlet on the coast, St Benoît-des-Ondes, en route to Cancale.
Arriving just after reception closed (1200-1400) as is usual for us, we were invited to park Evie up and return at 1400. The site looked very welcoming, and we had already discovered on our first route barré of the trip that it was very close to a run of interesting restaurants, local oyster sellers, beachside walking/cycling so we decided to take a wander around the site to check out the pitches/facilities etc. There were only 5 out of 40 pitches vacant, so we decided to have a wander along the coast and return promptly for 1400.
After a short walk along the coast, and observing an endless procession of campervans heading in both directions, it was very easy to decided that we would stay where we were, and maybe get a bus into Cancale. We also booked lunch for the following day at an amazing oyster seller that also ran a small restaurant upstairs three days a week – and luckily for us, those days were when we were there.
Returning to the site in time to form an orderly queue in front of some Belgian campers that had arrived after us, Mr B managed to persuade the receptionist to let us have the pitch we had seen as the best of the vacant five, even though the site policy is normally to allocate. He put this down to his burgeoning Gallic charm, but Mrs B pointed out that it was probably to get him out of the way, so Madame could deal with the Belgians…
After parking up and a swift cuppa, we wandered off to have another explore of the beach.
Reminiscent of the Baie de Somme, the sea could be seen some distance away over the miles of mudflats – the perfect environment for seafood, but not for bathing! So we headed off away from Cancale, pausing for a quick photo op on a bench…
… admiring the locals enjoying a horse and trap ride…
...the amazing shoreline covered entirely in seafood shells and wormcasts…
...an tree decorated early for Christmas maybe…
…chatting to some friendly Americans from Michigan (equally despairing of their orange leader), who taught us how to tell moving weather systems by putting one’s back to the wind, where a low pressure will be to the left, and the high moving to the right (northern hemipshere only). It turned out that Jeff and Michelle were retired USAF meterologists!
We also discovered an Aire de Camping car not far from our site for €9 alongside the coast road. Good to know there are options given the occupancy level at our site! Which, when we returned from our walk, was full!
Waking to a lovely sunny day, we ambled off for our lunch, pausing at the nearby church which, whilst serenading us with bells on the hour (and the half) until 2300, had then mercifully stopped until 0800 – providing a useful revellie for sleepy campers!
We chose our lunch destination on the basis that we probably couldn’t get seafood any fresher…
...and the menu was the sort we love – short and simple…
Feeling suitably stuffed after an excellent lunch (we both particularly loved the sweet flavour of the local huitres plates), we decided that perhaps we should exercise some of it away and make the most of the still sunny afternoon. Having seen the flat cycle path along the back of the beach, we soon discovered the local char-a-voile school making full use of the blustery conditions…
...and more oyster carnage…
Our final day saw a change in the weather, with rain and strong winds forecast. So we decided to drive Evie over to Cancale, rather than try for the ‘on demand by app’ bus service which we were keen to explore, but figured it might just be easier to drive! Which is how we found ourself parked in the campervan allocated bays at the Super U, marvelling at the huge and decently priced wide range of fully stocked shelves – so unlike the UK of late – but in particular at the awesome ‘too good to waste’ box we took away for €2.50…
Given we had come to Cancale for the oysters, and even though we had shared a plate the day before, we went full on tourist and enjoyed a mixed platter of ‘plates’ and creuses on the blustery harbourside overlooking the oyster beds…
including disposing of the shells over the seawall, as advised and customary...
...maybe this explains the make-up of the beaches here!
There was even a dedicated bin for used lemons!
Cancale is very much a one mollusc town, with the working of the oyster beds taking part alongside the consumption of them…
...and celebrated in the local statuary…
With the wind picking up, and storm clouds gathering…
we decided to head off to the Pointe de Grouin to get some post-oyster exercise, before the rain hit us…
We were very lucky – partly not to have been blown off the headland, but, as we discovered on our short drive back to the site, to have swerved the rain altogether. The site was pretty soggy when we got back, and we were grateful to be parked on a hardstanding pitch – not usually our choice but inadvertently well chosen here!
So where next? Some of you may recall that Mr B has been twice denied the opportunity of exploring the submarine pens at L’Orient or St Nazaire when we have opted instead to head south. Maybe it will be third time lucky?
S&J 24.09.25
No comments:
Post a Comment