No idea where we are heading – yet! (aka all the gear and no idea …) Days 1-3

More so than in previous years, we boarded the ferry with no clear plan on which way we’ll go after we’d overnighted in Auffay, our usual first night stop after leaving on the 1700 ferry. It’s a short hop of about 45 minutes and although it’s a small free Aire (4 designated places) it has loads of potential for overspill into the adjacent station car park if full.

As we pulled into the Aire, we were pleased to see that there was one designated place left, and a few vans already making use of the overspill. Pleased that we had arrived in the dry, as we we settled down for the night we were greeted by the familiar patter of ‘welcome to France’ rain that seems to greet us on most trips these days!

As regular readers may remember, we love the Aires for their availability and (usual) proximity to local shops. They are almost always unsupervised, and usually come with a ‘code of practice’ or local ‘board of rules’, that include, amongst others, not putting tables and awnings out and being considerate to others. Unfortunately, our overspill fellow campers thought otherwise and we were treated to loud conversations into the small hours. Luckily, as it was all French, it blended in with the rain!

The first photo below shows Evie in the designated Aire (next to the slightly larger motorhome) and looking in the other direction, towards the adjoining area. It might have been vexing to have experienced the noise, but equally, it was reassuring to see that it would be ok to park up there if the Aire were to be full on a subsequent trip.

Departing in the rain, we decided to head west rather than immediately south, as we could just keep heading west into Breizh to explore the parts we ran out of time for last autumn, or, drift south along the Atlantic coast, and review from there. As the temperatures in the Med were already soaring, we decided to swerve the risk of another ‘canicule’ that had seen us heading north away from scorching 40c+ temperatures in the past, and hope that heading west might deliver some sunshine at levels we could stay out in!

Arriving at Camping Les Pommiers Pays d’Auge in St. Sylvestre-de-Cormeilles (to the east of Caen) after some wet and windy conditions on the roads, we were pleased to park up in a large pitch on what is a very rural site (think very narrow roads, farm traffic, difficult to turn around…) after having sailed right past it! Glad to have arrived safely, and enjoying some evening sunshine at last, we were just about to get the table and chairs out, when the heavens opened and we beat a hasty retreat indoors!

Vexed at still being confined to quarters, we enjoyed our first of what we hope to be many meals making full use of the fabulous seafood so readily available (not to mention lush wines!). So as the rain battered down on Evie’s roof, we enjoyed a platter of bulots and crevettes that Mrs B had spotted when we shopped earlier, with a very cold Provence rosé. The sea snails were a first for Mr B (he loved them), so we decided to keep an eye open for any more of these delights whilst we were still so close to the coast.

Waking to a dry day with some sun, we headed further west to explore a castle/museum that Mrs B had read about, at Crèvecoeur-en-Auge. We may not know where we’re heading but we will be taking a deliberately slow pace on this trip, taking time to explore places that happen to be close by/serendipitous finds. Having spent the previous day driving through one picture postcard medieval village after another, it was a real treat to find Crèvecoeur-en-Auge, a recreated medieval village and visitor attraction.

Based on the site of a 12thC castle and with some historical buildings moved and/or rebuilt in its grounds in the early 1970s, at the Château de Crèvecoeur we gained an insight into the lives of both rich and ordinary folk at this time. Mrs B particularly enjoyed the archery…

...whilst Mr B loved the Schlumberger museum in one of the ancient buildings; home to some amazing artefacts from mining and oil exploration in the early and mid 20thC, complete with this awesome truck and early ground penetrating magnetometer/radar…

as well as a number of interactive displays…

The museum is an interesting mix of oil/mining industrial history, as well as a bit of greenwashing for the Schlumberger foundation, current owners of the castle and grounds!

It’s certainly a big hit with local kids (and adults!) who turned up in large numbers to have a go at fishing in the moat...

By now we had decided that wherever we might end up, we would start by returning to explore the parts of Breizh we ran out of time for. Partly because of a sense of unfinished business from the autumn, but also as a result of our very recent discovery of the novels of Daphne du Maurier! We had both loved reading Frenchman’s Creek and decided that we should have a go at putting a van trip together in the future, based on locations Daphne had written about (as we had with M. Perdu from the Little Paris Bookshop novel on our return from Sardinia and Corsica some years ago!). So although the Cornwall locations will be for another trip, we both fancied the idea of exploring the area around Pointe du Raz in the ‘Cornouaille’ part of Briezh.

And so, as we left our historical sojourn at Crèvecoeur-en-Auge in Normandy, we set off with the intention of crossing over into Breizh and heading west towards the home of the pirate Jean-Benoit Aubéry!

Making full use of the free autoroutes in Breizh and heading towards Rennes, Mrs B spotted what looked like a good Aire off the A84 at a place called Maen Roch which we could arrive at in time to have a wander around before dinner. It all looked pretty straightforward as we followed the directions on Park4Night, but, even though we knew we were on the right road (D102) the complete absence of roadside signs for our destination was a little alarming to say the least. Watching us live on P4N Mrs B was just saying that we ought to be there when Mr B spotted a bunch of camping cars and then a sign for an Aire!

And sure enough, here was the Aire as described, pretty busy with only three out of 18 places empty! Parking up in what could only be described as one of the most generously spaced and sized Aires we have used so far, we were further amazed as we had a wander about to find fully functioning and very clean toilets, a modern waste disposal point, and to top it all, free WiFi! Payment was only needed for electric hook up and fresh water – neither of which we needed.

The Aire was situated alongside the local cemetery, so the neighbours were nice and quiet and there would have been water there too, had we needed it.

A brief walk around the village the next day revealed why we had been confused about the destination – Maen Roch was a new commune created in 2017 out of two nearby hamlets – and the road signs had not been updated! 

After fulfilling our usual plan to buy at least bread and croissants as a gesture of thanks (as well as making breakfast extra enjoyable!) and with the sun shining on our first day in Breizh, we set our sites for the southern coast of Cornouaille, with a rough plan of drifting our way along the coast to the home of M. Aubéry!

S&J

15.06.25