Campsite Du Vougot, Plouguerneau
After a day travelling across the most North Easterly corners of Brittany we headed back to base to chill out and do some washing.
We boiled the cockles we had found on the beach earlier……
…..[and ate them I’d like to say but we didn’t and ended up giving them to the dogs, oops….].
We drank a 2010 Minervois and decided to head further down South the following day to avoid the bad weather coming in towards Plouguernau.
Port de L’Aber Wrac’h – Dunes de Site Marguerite – Plouguerneau
We drove along the coastline to Fort Cezone nr. Landeda, a fortress built in 1694 and walked along beautiful sandy beaches.
We carried on with a drive along the coast road and stopped off at a viewpoint close to the Port de L’Aber Wrac’h for a picnic.
We sat and starred at the gorgeous landscape. And wished we could own a boat.
Then we carried on driving to the Dunes de Site Marguerite, our final destination of the day and enjoyed watching our dogs.
We headed back to the beach opposite our campsite where we watched para gliders and riders and felt like the luckiest people alive ^-^
Plouguerneau – St. Michel – Lilia
Beach day! From the Du Vougot camp site we drove to Saint Michel where we found a beautiful tiny chapel along the far Northern coast. We took a [very wet….] walk to look at the lighthouses on the Ile Vierge before continuing on into Lilia where we saw some locals heading off to the beach with buckets, wellies and some even with spades. Intrigued, we decided to follow and soon discovered that they all appeared to be looking for something. I plucked up the courage to ask one of the locals in my pigeon French what they were looking for and she replied that they were on the hunt for brown crabs, prawns & cockles. We had already managed to pick a handful of cockles ourselves [which we were going to turn into our starter that day] but also managed to see some [disappointingly small] brown crabs [which – of course – we put back once we’d taken the obligatory tourist shot ^-^]
Spending time on a beach with the water out looking for seafood was great fun and definitely one of my highlights and I’m glad we decided to stop irrespective of the weather ^-^
Mont St. Michel – Plouguerneau, Brittany
And on to Plouguerneau, our first stop in Brittany. It’s very much like Anglesey and even has bilingual road signs which makes me wonder what their spoken French actually sounds like (unable to speak French fluently myself I obviously can’t hear any variations in the accent which is a shame). Its rugged, unspoilt yet clean coastline appealed to both of us and we were happy to settle into our new home for the next two days which was about 250m from the white sandy beach and very quiet. The one thing we did overlook though was the small matter of tall trees versus the sun [apparently the higher the tree the less sun you get, WHAT????? ^-^]
We had chosen Camping du Vougot [same principle: ACSI book over bottle of vino tinto, search for *dog friendly* and like the picture = bingo]. We paid €15/night upfront and were very pleased to discover that toilet and washroom facilities were excellent and very clean and the owner – whose English was as *good* as my French – was very welcoming. This was the first site on which we had to buy shower tokens (€0.50 for each of them which gives you water for 6 minutes) and pay the local tourist tax (€0.22 per person per day). Using the washing machine costs €5 and so does using the drier. So we’re hoping that it’d be cheaper on the next one ^-^
Having arrived late afternoon after a four hour drive up from Mont St. Michel we spent some time setting up then threw some [massive!] chicken thighs on the barbie and had it with boiled potatoes (weird but available in our *veg basket*) and Tzatziki (again, stuff we needed to use up….) with our bargain Cabernet Sauvignon while watching Wolverine.
Another happy day in a camper’s life!
Mont St. Michel
Not much to pack as we had only used the day awning and had only stayed the one night so after a leisurely [cold] shower off we went to see Mont St. Michel. It’s an amazing sight to drive up to. Apparently originally built only on four pillars as a small hermitage, it eventually developed into a major pilgrimage centre in the 11th century with other buildings added around it to form an intricate labyrinth. We went off the beaten track somewhat (as far as possible, this is a major tourist attraction and even on a windy glum day like the one we went to see it on, it was absolutely choc a block with people from all over the world). Entrance is free (apart from the €6 parking charge for the day) but if you want to see any of the museums or the actual abbey you will have to part with €9 for every single one of them [you do the maths]. We decided to just take a leisurely stroll around the place and made the most of lots of fabulous photo opportunities.
I enjoyed our time at the Mont but gotta admit it wasn’t what I would consider our *most French* day. There’s too many people all trying to do the same thing and I’m not at my best crowded by snap happy strangers and dread to think what this place is like during the summer season. But it’s definitely a magical place and the things it must have seen over the years, oh my! ^-^
Colleville-sur-Mer – Roz-sur-Couesnon
Time to pack our stuff and move on. On the agenda: Mont St. Michel in Brittany and a one nighter. With Easter round the corner we decided on a *big* shop to get enough supplies to last over the Easter weekend [shops on the continent are closed on Bank Holidays and Sundays]. 5 litre carton of Cabernet Sauvignon (€12 for a semi decent one, not bad!) and 24 of the husband’s now favourite mini bieres (€4.50), some nice pork-onion-parsley saussies (typical for Normandy), fresh veggies (at least twice the size we get in the UK), pork chops and chicken thighs along with baguette, gorgeous tomatoes, lemons and new meats & cheeses for picnics came to €66.
On to La Point Grouin du Sud for a bit of Mont St. Michel spotting and a dog walk. It’s a beautiful spot overlooking some gorgeous bays and – of course – Mont St. Michel in all its mystical glory. We weren’t too lucky with the weather (think Gale force winds) but decided to have a picnic on one of the benches framing the walkway anyway, before carrying on to our next camp site: Les Couesnons in Roz-sur-Couesnon. Although undergoing some work the site was spotlessly clean (one of the advantages of travelling across the continent in Spring I guess). This has been the most expensive site so far [€18.50 plus €1 each per dog] and the only one charging extra for the dogs [although the owners did have a dog of their own, kinda makes no sense to me]. Pitches weren’t as inviting as on other sites and at this time of year it looked as if the site was primarily used by travelling workers as a cheap alternative to hotels and the like. Facilities were extraordinarily clean (albeit the water in the showers was a tad on the cold side) but I’m guessing by now you can probably read into this brief review that it was not one of my favourite sites.
This was also the first site we decided to stop at without putting the drive away awning up as we only intended to stay for one night to move on to Mont St. Michel and Brittany the next day. For dinner we cooked Beef Kebabs with a chickpea salad and washed it down with our bargain Cabernet Sauvignon while watching John Travolta in Basic and Swordfish. All good.
On Omaha Beach
Carrying on with the landing beaches *theme* we made our way to Omaha beach. Omaha was the code name used for one of the five sectors during the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the landings on 6 June 1944. The 5 mile long beach faces the English Channel & is stunningly beautiful. Landings here were necessary so that the Brits landing East at Gold Beach could link up with the Americans landing West on Utah Beach. Taking Omaha was the responsibility of US troops, with sea transport provided by the US Navy and elements of the Royal Navy.
We took time out to reflect during a dog walk along the beautiful sandy beach and then headed inside the American museum where a collection of uniforms, weapons, personal objects and vehicles is displayed. The set up includes numerous scenes, vivid archive photos, maps and a film commented by American veterans explaining the landings.
All in all a very educational day. Shame about the weather [windy] but as family members texted us to show us pictures of our house back in Wales covered in snow I think we mustn’t complain about drizzles of rain and clouds when later on we actually sat outside having a barbie ^-^
Arromanches-Les-Bains and the Landing Beaches
Wet start to the day but luckily more drizzle than rain and it dispersed pretty quickly. Over night we were joined by some caravanners from Belgium and are not the only campers on site any longer.
On the agenda today: some of the D Day landing beaches stretching along this coastline. First stop: the Port en Bessi for a trip to the supermarket. Tripe in calvados (Norman specialty) and some Norman Cidre were definitely a must on the list along with the now obligatory Bordeaux (€2.99), Baguette, cold meats & cheeses for picnic. Stocked up we headed off to Arromanches-les-Baines to have a look at the landing beaches.
Entry to the Musee du Debarquement is €7 entry per person and is definitely worth it. A guided tour in English, a short slide presentation and a 15 minute film are all included. We had obviously both heard of what happened on D Day before but were amazed to find out just HOW LITTLE we actually knew! I am a little ashamed to admit that I never knew anything about the construction of an artificial harbour [some remains of which can still be seen from the coastline this day]. We did, however, recognise the rubber doll used in the film The Longest Day [which we watched the night before].
After a dog walk on the beach and some lunch in the van we then carried on to American territory, Omaha beach.
Le Robinson camp site, Colleville-sur-Mere, Normandy
We chose our camp sites with the help of the ACSI guide & discount card as we did not want to have to rely on WiFi access. The selection process was very simple: over wine the night before we got our little book out, decided on the route for the following day (nothing on this trip was pre-planned or pre-booked as we wanted to experience the *real* impulsive travel feeling, albeit with some luxuries like laptop & candles…..) and then narrowed the area down by a) dog friendly and b) cheap. That’s it.
Le Robinson in the Calvados region is ideally located for the landing beaches and has direct access to the Omaha Beach [via a 5 minute stroll towards the back of the camp site and then across some little fields]. I suppose during the summer this would be a busy little place with a nice size swimming pool suitable for families of all ages but as it was early April we were actually the first campers to arrive on site [swiftly followed overnight by a couple from Belgium travelling in a caravan but for a couple of hours we had the whole place to ourselves ^-^].
We paid €16 for our van, electric hook-up and the dogs and although there was nothing particularly special about the place there were definitely no negative issues either. I’d score it a 4/5 [and happily admit that my personal favourites are the quiet, wild sites that ooze character and *specialness*]. Le Robinson is a bit like a pair of shoes you’ve owned for ages: reliable & comfy but not heartstoppingly beautiful or remotely exciting. Just. Well. Nice ^-^
We’ve arrived at the beaches…..Colleville-sur-Mére
We arrived @ Colleville-sur-Mére late in the afternoon. For the first time on this trip we were the only campers on site and allowed to pick our own pitch. Decisions decisions….. ^-^
We quickly set up then headed off to the dog friendly beach just behind our camp site where we watched gliders come down the hill and people relaxing on the beach. There was a whole van full of them just stopping off on some deserted beach, unpacking their kit and doing their stuff.
Back at the camper we cooked local pork sausages and vegetable kebabs on the barbie and washed it down with a €1.50 bottle of Bordeaux while watching The Longest Day in preparation for the D Day beaches the following day. And I might even have sneaked in a little candle. Life’s defo good in camper land ^-^
van plus 4 