Day 14
After the by now regular ‘deviations’ en route, we arrived into the small town of Brignogan Plages with plenty of time to spare before reception closed, which was just as well, as the ACSI description of the location was as good as useless, as the yellow ‘route barrée’ signs that greeted us, directed us back into the countryside and away from the coast! Luckily we managed to check the route on Apple Maps (we have given up on Google with its high count of mistakes) and before long we were pulling into the site.
After what seemed like a very long time with Mr B in the reception office, he returned all smiley-faced, complete with loads of useful leaflets, recommendations on where to eat and what to see, the news that we could choose our pitch (including those right on the beach/coastal path), bread and pastries ordered for collection the next day, and, the enjoyment (for him at least) of practising a bit more French!
Bearing in mind the advice from reception that tonight was an exceptionally high tide, and that some people camped away from the beach because of the loud noise, we were delighted to find a spot right down at the front of the site where we would be able to hear the sea –
something we love to experience rather than avoid. So, parked up and plugged in, we decided to use the campsite gate near us to get onto the coastal path and have a wander before dark, admiring on the pitch opposite the imaginative terraced outdoor seating at one of the rental lodges…
The gate opened straight onto the GR34 (of course!), and we were greeted by the beautiful horseshoe bay of Brignogan Plages, complete with lots, and lots, of beached seaweed – luckily not the sea lettuce type with its attendant risk of death by rotten egg gas! After a quick wander towards the town, we agreed we had lucked out with the ease of walking in all directions, and we returned intent on planning some adventures without needing to drive Evie anywhere. And, at last, it looked as if we would be able to go out to eat within easy walking distance – and maybe more than once - woohoo!
Day 15
The next day we woke to more sunshine, so we decided to combine eating out with a coastal walk. Mr B had discovered in reception that we were close by somewhere that served a Breton treat that he had read about – Kig ha Farz, a mixed meat concoction with a buckwheat flour ‘pudding’ that’s famous in the Finistère department we were now in – yum! (Editorial note here – Mrs B was perhaps less enthusiastic, after discovering it was a hefty and pretty basic boiled meat and dumpling version of the more widespread Pot au Feu…)
But nonetheless we set off mid morning, with a couple of emergency Karg crackers in the rucksack just in case, and we were soon enjoying the fascinating coastline with its many rocky features…
Our destination was the restored village of Meneham, complete with its interesting history. The village has a story set over 300 years, ranging from a watch/guard house (smugglers and state enemies) nestled in the rocks…
…to Coastguard barracks and family cottages (in support of the above)…
…to being rented to fishing families and seaweed gatherers, eventually abandoned and then restored into what we see today – a mix of craft workshops, restaurant, tourist accommodation and, at the time we visited in the run up to All Souls, an amazing and imaginative display of pumpkin art!
Unfortunately for us, although the restaurant was open, there were no tables available and so we had to make do with our emergency crackers, followed by an equally pretty walk back to Evie – where we had a late lunch/early dinner!
We also discovered that we were now in French half term, meaning that although places were busier, more of them, like La Corniche (see below), were open during the week, which isn’t usually the case in October.
Day 16
So, not to be caught out twice in a row, we booked lunch at the seafood restaurant recommended by the reception staff, which meant we had a lazy start to the day, followed by a 30 minute walk along the coastline and the village harbour to La Corniche – which whilst not busy when we entered, soon filled up – so we were super glad we had booked.
And what a treat it turned out to be, as can be seen in this pic of the menu, as we had clearly lucked out for local seafood…
…as well as the satisfied look on Mr B’s face! You can probably see it’s also tinged with relief that the oysters, which were served looking like they needed shucking, just had their lids on!
Leaving La Corniche with the idea that we might also want to go back for dinner one evening before we left, we waddled off our luscious lunch via a circuitous route that took us to see the local Menhir de Men Marz, the largest ‘christianised’ Menhir in France (the practice of carving crosses on the rock, and/ or putting crosses on top)…
…and the famous elephant rock…
…which we couldn’t see at first…
until we went around the side! Lucky for us the sunlight was clearly at the right angle to allow the eventual epiphany…
Day 17
The next day we decided to get ourselves out in Evie for an adventure to the westernmost town in France – the fishing port of Le Conquet. And after the usual, and this time multiple, deviations, we arrived into the town to park up in its free Aire and gather up the by now obligatory info leaflets from the Office de Tourisme, conveniently right by the Aire.
Which is where we saw that we could do a circular walk out to the lighthouse on the northern side of the estuary (we do love a lighthouse!). In winds that must have been close to gale force, we braved the precipitous walk and were rewarded by a bracing and beautiful view up and down the coast as we approached, and then we circumnavigated the lighthouse – a very elemental experience!
Arriving back at Evie thoroughly windblown, we realised we had enough time to press on further south to see another lighthouse, this time, and in very French style, built inside the ruins of an Abbey! The 6th Century Abbaye de St Mathieu stands in ruins with the current lighthouse (built in the early 1800s to replace a much older one) soaring through the roof of the Abbey…
It’s an incredible place, and we would have stayed longer to see it in the dark, had storm clouds not started to gather out at sea, so we wandered over to see the very moving monument to all French sailors (military and civilian) who have perished at sea and have no known grave. We didn’t have time to do the 4km circular walk that commemorates the lost ships and sailors, but with the darkening sky, it was easy to stay for a quiet and respectful introspection before legging it back to Evie before the rain arrived.
Day 18
With the site starting to feel very much like a second home, we decided to have a ‘van day’ to catch up with washing and odd jobs, before a short walk to the east of Brignogan Plages. Driving Evie a short hop along the coast to the other side of the bay, and still on the GR34, the terrain was suitably different for us to feel that we had in fact gone much further!
Day 19
Our last day at Camping de la Côte des Légendes and we thought we should explore one of the many ‘abers’ we were surrounded by. With obvious similarities to Welsh (the closest of the Gaelic languages apparently) and thinking of the many coastal abers in Wales, we set off in Evie to explore the nearby town of Guissény. Parking up in the convenient free Aire,
we couldn’t help but wander around the very typically Breton church, complete with its incredible display of graveside flowers ready for All Souls…
…dropping into an amazing Boulangerie/Patisserie to stock up on buttery delights for lunch (we had thought of eating out but decided to make the most of the weather and explore more GR34!) whilst taking in the vast scale of the vegetable growing in the area (Breizh is the region for supplying most of France’s veg as well as a huge amount of its seafood)…
We then used P4N to find a parking spot that was right on the beach and the GR 34 – but it took a while (the scale sometimes defeats us in really rural areas) and we were further delayed when we were flagged down by an elderly French woman, clearly in distress. Noticing that all the cars in front of us had just ignored her and driven on, Mrs B suggested we pull over and see what she wanted. On hearing that her husband had taken a tumble and couldn’t get up, Mr B was dispatched to offer what help he could. With his limited French and the woman’s non existent English, it soon became clear that Mr B needn’t rush back for the First Aid Kit, he just needed to help an old chap get back up off the floor into a chair – him being too heavy for his wife to lift him. After helping him back into his chair, and making the most of references to the entente cordiale, Mr B beat a hasty retreat and declined the kind offer of a drink and a bite to eat!
We eventually found the P4N location and, after munching our buttery delights in Evie, we set off on the GR34 for what looked like a very interesting and pretty walk up the estuary to the headland.
The pictures hopefully speak for themselves, but we were of one mind that we’d love to come back and explore the area in more depth in the future…
…especially as we came across this amazing free camper van parking area, complete with its own beach…
After returning to Evie and having failed to eat out for lunch, we dropped into the SuperU to stock up before tomorrow’s departure. Whilst Mr B phoned the seafood restaurant back in Brignogan Plage to see if they could fit us in for dinner on our last night (they could!) Mrs B stocked up on local fare, which included some new to us fish ‘Julienne’ or ling in English,
as well as some ‘Johnnies of Roscoff’ onions, learning on the fly that the stereotype black bereted, blue and white stripy jumper chap selling onions on a bike that we could both remember from childhood, was, in fact, related to a real and direct trade between Breton French onion sellers and buyers in the UK!
Possibly dating back to the 1820s, and then declining by the 1950s, the ‘brand’ has been resurrected since the 90s – although this was the first time we had seen any in all our trips to France – another example perhaps of the very regional nature of some French cuisine and goods. (And also, Mr B wondered, perhaps the origin of the phrase ‘Johnny Foreigner’ in colloquial English?)
Feasting on a simple dinner of Moules à la Brettone (cider and bacon – yum!) back at La Corniche, we reflected on just how much we had enjoyed our time on the north coast, and how different it had been to our expectations (as in much more varied and interesting!). The good weather had no doubt helped, but, as we started to plan our return to Dieppe via a trip south to the excitingly named Valée des Saints in Carnoët, we were both certain that we would be exploring this bit of Breizh again for sure!
S&J
(covering 21st – 26th October)
It all looks lovely -- sunshine, gourmet scoff and those smoothly curved rocks -- what more do you need?
ReplyDeleteMore sunshine!!
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