Mileage 41 from Dragey Ronthon to Le Vivier sur Mer
Parking Co-ordinates 48.60341, -1.77231
This morning we left our free spot at Dragey Ronthon and travelled a short distance to Avranches for shopping and then crossed over into our main target for this tour which is The Department of Dol de Bretagne that is better known as Brittany. We're planning to spend the next 8 or 9 weeks in what is described as France's northwest ragged dog toothed peninsula, and for the most part we're going to hug the coast and dawdle as we go!!
Our first stop (and probably the only one for this blog) was just about in the middle of The Bay of Mont-St-Michel in the town of Le Vivier sur Mer, and once again we're using a Camping Carpark Aire.
We often choose these Aires because they only cost €10 -12 (and as we're in peak season campsites are mostly charging more than €30 per night), they provide 6 amp EHU, and water and drainage is included, so other than not having showers and toilets they compete with campsites very well, and additionally, they're usually very near to beaches and other village facilites, thus they suit us down to the ground.
And another reason we choose here was because we needed to be on a site where we could get our washing done - we've been in France for over a fortnight now so we had rather a large pile but my little twintub soon made short work of it and it was quite satisfying to see it all flapping on the line.
Then just to round off our day we toddled out for a coastal walk, but once again we needed a telescope to be able to see the water because at low tide the sea recedes for over 3 miles and almost leaves the Bay of Mont St Michel completely!
But as I've said before, this is certainly a phenomena that is fully exploited by the fishermen who farm these areas for shellfish, and tractors and wheeled boats are always in evidence on the muddy sands.
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| Beds where the shellfish start out before being taken out to the sea farms |
Wednesday 17th July 2019 🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞
33 miles on our 🚴🚴 today
Today our aim was to get nearer to Mont-st-Michel for a bit better look, but as we knew it was another tourist honey pot we'd no real intention of actually crossing over onto the island on which it stands. To get there we rode 17 miles along part of the Euro Velo 4 which in France runs from Cherbourg to Roscoff, but in it's entirety it's 2485 miles long and runs through France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Czechia, Poland and Ukraine!
Nearly all of our ride was along dedicated cycle track and the first part was very pretty because it was coastal. However, after about 3 miles the route turns slightly inland and follows a path through woods and agricultural land so it became slightly less inspiring! But having said that we often caught glimpses of Mont-st-Michel looming up in the far distance, and once we were within 3 miles of our target it filled our vision for the rest of the way!
But what I hadn't realised was that there was more to see near the site than just the Abbey that crowns the granite island that sits embedded in grimey slimey mud flats, and that is an attraction that brings more visitors here than to any other religious site in France.
It seems that this area had a huge problem with silt and in the recent past it was uncertain how much longer the 'island' would remain separated from the mainland. This was because vegetation was embedding into the sediment and the spreading plants would have eventually reached the edges of the Mont and prevented the sea from surrounding it, and the cause of this was partially related to the causeway that was built many years ago to enable people to cross more safely. However, the consequence of the structure was to reduce the tidal movements of the sea and thus silt had built up. Therefore a solution to the problem needed to be found and it was eventually addressed in two ways!
The second initiative was to replace the 140 year old causeway with a 760 metre long bridge that leads from the coastline over onto the island! I don't suppose crossing that way is anywhere near as exciting but at least it preserves the Mont as an island.For lunch we picked a quiet spot actually on the Dam itself so while we scoffed our sarnies the only company we had were several hungry sparrows and fantastic views of the abbey
Thursday 18th July 2019 🌧️☔🌧️☔⛅⛅⛅
5 miles 👣👣
Today the sunshine seemed to have taken a day off - so we mostly did too! We spent a very lazy morning in the van, and then in the afternoon, once the wet stuff had stopped, we opted for another walk along the coast! This time we got as far as Hirel, and once there we sat just above the beach and watched the sand yachts swirling around a course on a huge expanse of sand.
Then by the time we'd walked home we were quite happy to sit outside the van in the sunshine with a cold beer!
Friday 19th July 2019 ⛅⛅⛅🌞🌞🌞🌞
20 🚴🚴 miles.
Now, to start with for today I want to tell you about one of my Husband's habits😳😧 - but before I do bear in mind that we're supposed to be in a very flat part of France! However, it doesn't really matter where we are because somehow he always seems to be able to find us a nice steep hill to ride up, and our stay here was no exception!! He picked out Mont-Dol which is a strange flat topped granite mound just a short distance from Le Vivier Sur Mer. It's only a modest 210 feet high but that height was achieved via a short but very sharp partially cobbled climb and all I can say is 'Thank God for E-Power😲!!! But the effort was more than made up for by the views from the top which encompassed many miles of low lying land and seascape.
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| The views were to distant to photograph but maybe you get the idea! |
In Prehistoric times the granite cliffs of Mont Dol were once an island surrounded by the sea, and in more recent times they were the site of quarrying activities and the houses in the area are virtually all made from the local stone. Now, on one side of the hill there is a small chapel that is built on the site of an ancient pagan temple that is thought to date back to Celtic and Roman times, but more recently it was converted into a telegraph post. That became obsolete with the invention of Morse Code and it was only after that that the building was converted into a chapel, and alongside the chapel stands the 'Tour Notre Dame' which is topped by a stature of the Virgin Mary!
Now, our trek up the hill might have been a bit of a slog but going back down was a much more jaunty affair, that landed us right in the pretty village of the same name Mont Dol! And from there, although our ride was very entertaining for us as we passed through more little villages and back to the coast, there really wasn't much more of interest to tell you about!
Saturday 20th July 2019 ⛅⛅🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞
🐌🐌🐌 Mileage 14 from Le Vivier sur Mer to Pointe du Grouin
Parking Co-ordinates 48.70436, -1.8552
Well, we're really only going at a snails pace but in doing so we're giving ourselves plenty of time to enjoy this marvellous bit of French coastline. Today finds us at the far tip of the Mont-St-Michel Bay at Pointe du Grouin, and from our door we have fantastic views all the way out to the Grande Ile (which is a little archipelago), and on the mainland we can see back to Dragey Ronthon with the aid of binoculars. |
| We were not alone 😂😂 |
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| Pointe du Grouin |
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| Saussaye Beach |
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| Part of the Bay of Mont St Michel |
And it would seem that there's much more to come because this point marks the start of the Emerald Coast that is not given it's name by the sea but by the grassy clifftops and lush fields. Our guidebook promises more jagged cliffs lunging into the English Channel, more rocky headlands and lots of deeply cut sandy bays and river estuaries.
But for now that's all folks and I'll let you know if this area lives up to the above promises next time.
😗😗
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