Tuesday 14 May 2013
Today was a bit of a rest day on the account of the rain....So we inhaled the internet all day doing a bit of research, Blog and the like. To be honest, when we are on a campsite we really need to do it and we cannot waste a single second of Internet time. We also had a lovely chat with Josie and Kev’s Dad on Skype. What a fantastic tool that is.
Wednesday 15 May 2013
We were ready to move on today, not that we couldn’t have stayed longer on the site with all the electric hook up and wifi but the road calls and we want to move on. However, we were in no hurry to move on so taking advantage of the last few hours of our entitlement to stay, we did a bit washing and of course last bits on the internet and boosting of chargeable devices.
We eventually left at about 11.30 and made our way to an area recommended called Pointe de Pontusval. The north coast of Brittany is very rugged and some of the rock formations have simply been breath-taking. There are huge worn boulders everywhere and at Ponte de Pontusval they spill out of the sea onto the land and are scattered everywhere amongst the local houses. It is very interesting to see how the locals have built around them and in some cases built in the lee of the rocks to protect from the prevailing wind which in this region can be very wild indeed.
We parked Bertie in a car park facing the sea and had our lunch. It was great to look out to sea and watch as the sea crashed over the rocks in the distance. It turned out to be a really nice sunny day and it was really up lifting for the soul. From out seats we could see in the far distance to our left, ‘Phare de I’Ile Vierge’ the tallest lighthouse on Europe. To the right a much nearer lighthouse at Brignogan-Plages. There were tiny boats near the shore which despite being in the lee of the rocks breaking the waves, were still bobbing about quite violently. Oh, and fantastic sandy beaches with large clumps of grasses...
After lunch, we decided to get the bikes out and cycle to the nearer of the two light houses at Brignogan-Plages. It didn’t look very far away but, it was situated on the other side of an inlet so we had to cycle the long way round. It was a very nice ride though as the roads were flat and cycling was effortless. We found the ride there and the views of the lighthouse more rewarding than the Lighthouse itself once we were there it took only a few moments to look around and we were off again. Going back we took an even longer route that took us right into the countryside and at times we really felt we had gone to far. It all worked out in the end and we arrived back at the van a bit more tired than we had planned for but quite satisfied with our efforts.
Next on the agenda for the day was to find ‘Men Marz’ its a 26‘ manhir topped by a cross (the Miracle Stone). we had a good look around the stone and the area before setting off again this time to a small village called Meneham.
Often shrouded in mist (but not today), the village nestles where masses of rocks defy description. Dwarfed by boulders we found the stoned-roofed 17th Century post, once a protector of the coast from invaders. it used to have a wooden roof but the locals kept pinching the wood? There are also dwellings that have been restored and have thatched roofs. Personally, it all looked a bit new for my taste and would benefit from a bit of weathering. There was also a few Artisan shops and a cafe.
By now time was moving on and it was 16.30. We would normally be tucked up on our Aire for the night by now thinking it’s only half an hour to the G&T. Our chosen stop for the night was at a place called Portsall, A French holiday village with small beautiful Gites and only 1min away from the sea. As it turned out it really is a good site, a large grassy field. free which we like and it has the facilities we needed.
Thursday 16 May 2013
As the site we are on has turned out to be so nice, we decided we would stay for three nights. So today was a free day, but it rained in the morning which put a bit of a dampener on things. As it happens we had a leisurely get up and it was 10am before we started to thing about breakfast. By the time the rain had cleared away it was approaching lunch time so we occupied ourselves doing stuff.
The sun came out all afternoon so we got the bikes out and went for a nice long ride down to the port. We sat on a bench admiring the views and waiting for the chandlery to open at 14.00. Kev collects Burgees and wants a Brittany flag for his collection. Unfortunately, they only had cheap nylon ones and he wanted sewn cotton.
We cycled back up the hill towards the Aire but took a detour along the coast and through the street after street of holiday homes. Some of them are quite lovely, stone built cottage sits comfortably next to contemporary wood glass and steel. We didn’t see a soul.
Back at the van, it was chairs out and Petra studied the travel books whilst Kev emptied and gutted the garage. Although the van had been valeted before we picked it up it really wasn’t up to our standard and bit by bit we are claiming it as our own. It took a good couple of hours and a couple of mugs of tea before the job was done.
In the evening we played our games, we really look forward to our matches of Backgammon, Drafts and Rummicub. all washed down with lashings and lashings of Cab Sauv.
Friday 17 May 2013
Today was another doing day, well the morning was. Kev had been really bothered by the seats in the sitting area and wanted to investigate why they looked a bit baggy. This was especially the bench seat. He took it apart and it was soon clear what the problem was. After years of sitting on the cushions they had slipped round on the pad. They were carefully unzipped and pulled back into shape. Petra went round each cushion with a needle and pushed in all the loose threads. The result was amazing, it immediately transformed the look of the living area and the somehow made the upholstery look like new again. We did the same with the rest of the seats resulting in a very satisfying morning indeed.
This spurred us on to have a go at other superficial things that had been niggling us like the pile on the carpet in one particular spot was all fluffy from where it had been folded and had piled. Out with the fuzz-away and in that’s another satisfying bit looking like new.
Petra did the washing and after it had stopped raining the sun came out and we had a great afternoon relaxing reading, sewing and sitting outside in the sun. In the evening Petra cooked a roast dinner (as well she could without an oven) and again we played our games in the evening.
Tomorrow we are off on our travels again.
Saturday 18 May 2013 - Tuesday 21 May 2013
We had heard on the grapevine that Monday was yet another Bank holiday in France. We have no idea what this one is all about, but all the shops will be closed on Monday. On the way to our next destination we stopped off at Supermarket to get stocked up on food and water. Again we couldn’t find Lidl from the satnav directions but found it later on the way out .
The weather has changed and is less settled at the moment and being by the coast is not such fun at it could be. We decided we would find a bolt hole for a while and free camp in a village. We found our sanctuary for the next four nights in a really small village called Ploumonguer. We did try different site but it turned out they were having a pop concert and vintage car rally and well, we were off!
The Aire at Ploumonguer is really nice indeed. Each van has its own space surrounded by a 4’ privet hedge. There is room for about 20 vans but when we arrived there was only us there. We settled in really quickly and went to investigate.
Nearby, were some football pitches and a club house which had toilets and washing facilities (two sinks) but free access to water is rare indeed and something we were going to take advantage of. We then walked into the village just 100m away. It is a very small village but does have everything you need including a small supermarket, patisserie and a bar (no WiFi). In the centre of the village is a church with the customary Brittany type spire. It all reminded us a bit of 'allo 'allo. It really didn’t take long to walk around the remainder of the village and before long we were back at the van.
In the afternoon the football pitch became alive with football matches and we could hear the game going on and the cheering every time a goal was scored. Then came the horns, the French really like their horns.....
Over the next couple of days we decided that we would continue with the clean up of Bertie. We do realise it must seem strange to spend a few days cleaning the van but we believe its the only way to get to know it and find out what needs maintenance, repair or replacing. It is through doing this that we have discovered a large list of things that need sorting on the van when we return to Premier to have some agreed repairs done. We have also got together a list of things that we want added to the van. For example we want to have fitted a external gas point to run the Cadac BBQ and have a better battery management system fitted to the solar panel. Most of the jobs are superficial or even cosmetic but we want them done. After all this is our house and home.
In all we have about 20 different jobs that need doing and we are planning our return journey to the UK to coincide with going to see Ben Waters' music festival at his home in Dorset 1st June. We do not have a date from Premier yet so the dates are all a bit vague and are reliant on all parts arriving.
Anyway the next few days were spent really cleaning the van. Kev even went on the roof of the van and spent the entire morning washing and polishing. One of the worst jobs was sorting out the cables from the Satellite dish and the Solar Panel which had been stuck down with mastic and a cable tie. The ties had perished leaving the cables flapping around. It was a devil's own job to get the mastic off. If anyone knows a quick way to remove mastic please let us know. It was a really hard days graft we both had and by 4pm we were done in and it took a couple of days for Kev to get over it. Still Bertie now looks as good as we can get him. Get the jobs done by Premier and we will be ready to go anywhere.
Tomorrow we are going to do a bit more sight seeing and make our way to a proper campsite. The internet calleth.
Wednesday 22 May 2013
When we awoke this morning it was a beautiful sunny day and it filled us with excitement for the day ahead. Today we go to La Conquet the furthest west we are going in Brittany and therefore France. After this trip out we head back to the UK for repairs to the van.
It wasn’t very far from our Aire to the coastal town of La Conquet some 20 minutes and we arrived at 10.30. We parked up in another Aire (free parking town centre) and walked into the town. Where would you get that in England? We really liked the town it is very beautiful and right now quiet. The streets have shops that you would expect that are geared up for the tourist and we visited them all.
We then walked out of the town and up the hill towards a mast at the hill top.The aim being to get the view of the town across the bay. As we approached the top there was a walled complex and a sign saying it was a place of natural beauty. We walked down the road and it was obvious that this complex used to be a military camp which has now been turned over to civilian use. We walked out the other end of the camp and we were met with the view we were searching for. It was right on the cliffs edge and we could walk down to what were once gun emplacements was now a beautiful wild flower grassy plateaux.
We stayed for quite some time at this spot basking in the sunlight and smelling the grass, sea air and flowers. It really was a nice place to be. Walking back to the town was great too as we could see a different way to that which we came and we happily chatted and took photo’s as we went. Back in the town Petra went into a Patisserie to purchase our second breakfast, Kev had a whopping slab of Flan (custard tart) and for her an Pomme Bretton (Apple Cake) and a long bagette for lunch.
On the way back Petra was marveling as to how cheap it was here and how little the cost of the food somehow seemed. When we got back to Bertie and had made the tea we found out why, the girl had miss understood Petra’s 'perfect' French and given her a plain Croissant instead!! Still, the Flan was far to big for Kev so we had half the flan and half a Croissant each.
By 12.00 that was that and we drove the 50km to the same campsite we were on on the 13 May. We intend to stay here for a couple of nights mainly to use the internet and do clothes washing etc. We were greeted by the owners who remembered us and we put Bertie on a really spacious plot in the full sun. Brilliant day all round.
For our dear friends Gaby and George....x
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