Les Ilots near St Malo to Pleslin
Parking Co-ordinates 48.53655, -2.05001
I think I have to start this part of our blog by doing the good old British thing and talking about the weather. If you read my last post you might remember that I was moaning about it being a tad too hot for us to do much yesterday (Tuesday 23rd), and wishing that it would be a bit cooler today 😟😱 - but my wish certainly wasn't granted! Amazingly our night hadn't been too bad with temps of only about 22, but by 11am this morning it was already over 30 degrees and as the day went on it only got worse!
Our plan for the next day or two was to drive around the Rance Estuary which lies within the flooded Rance River Valley with St Malo and Dinard being the coastal points on either side of the estuary and Dinan lying slightly inland forming the furthest tip of a narrow triangle. The valley flooded a long time ago when the sea levels rose and tipped over the steep shoulders of the former Rance river resulting in a wide fjord like inlet which is now a playground for tourists.
We started our journey by passing through the very busy streets of St Malo and soon after that we found ourselves crossing over the huge concrete barrage that blocks the mouth of the Rance and supports a resevoir further upstream. The dam opened in 1967 and it spans 2,475 feet, but although the watery views in both directions were quite pretty it was really nothing to write home about because our views were fleeting due to the impossibility of stopping at that point!
Therefore we pressed on to the Aire at Dinan but by the time we got there T4rdis2's internal temperature had risen to about 36 degrees, there was absolutely no shade and because we were parked in something of a basin there was no breeze either.
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| T4rdis2 was sweltering!!! |
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| Promenade de la Duchesse Anne |
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| Dinan Castle (which is now a museum) |
After about an hour we found our way into the Jardin du Val Cocherel where we enjoyed a cooling drink and also observed quite a funny sight that I wasn't quite quick enough to capture with my camera. The garden is flower bedecked and home to several small animals and fowl, but as we sat and sipped we noticed a keeper leading a donkey down one of the paths - however the donkey didn't seem to want to go no matter how much he tugged and pulled! And even when he got behind it and pushed with all his might it still wouldn't budge!! I think maybe he needed a few 🥕🥕🥕 to tempt it on it's way 😂😂😂
Next it was back to the van but when we opened our door it was like walking into a solid wall of heat and the temperature gauge was registering 41 degrees so we had no choice other than to move which we did but with hardly any benefit. We travelled a short distance to a free Aire at Pleslin which we'd visited earlier in the day to fill our tanks with water, but it made very little difference to T4rdis2's sauna like interior and a very uncomfortable night was had by both of us!
Thursday 25th July 2019 🔥🔥🔥🔥🌞🌞🌞🌞
Mileage 8 from Pleslin - Saint Jacut-de-la Mer
Parking Co-ordinates 48.5902, -2.18905
I know I'm going on about the heat but when we got up this morning it was already 24 degrees and the weatherman suggested it would be another very hot and humid day😱! Also at that stage we were having trouble with our sun-cream because it kept just sliding off with our
However, before we went we nipped out to get a baguette and also to see the nearby Menhirs/Standing Stones/Megalithic Rocks of Pleslin. There are 65 standing stones arranged in 5 rows in the same orientation as those at Carnac, but it seems that over time many of them here have 'fallen over' and now the site just looks like a field of rocks and it isn't any where near as impressive as Carnac which has the largest collection of standing stones in the world (3,000 ish). We couldn't really get very excited by what we saw but it was a good place to play 'hide and seek', and the legend that tells how 'fairies were carrying stones to build Mont-Saint-Michel but got tired of carrying the heavy rocks so they dropped them in a field' was quite cute.
We got underway around 11.30 and the draft that blasted through our wound down windows was so good that I really just wanted to keep going for miles and miles, but when we got to our destination we found we didn't need to because there was a delightful sea breeze and drop in temperature that made us both feel much much better.
Friday 26th July 2019 🌦️🌦️⛅⛅☁️☁️☁️☁️
About 6 🚶♀️🚶♂️miles today
At the mo we're perched very near to the town of St Jacut-de-la-Mer which is situated on a narrow peninsula that sticks out into the bay of Saint Cast. One night has turned into two so that we had time to walk to the tip of the peninsula (Pointe du Chevet) that looks out over the rocky Ebihens archipelago, the main island of which is connected to the mainland by a causeway that can be crossed to at low tide.
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| The Stairway that leads down to the causeway. |
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| The Ebihens archipelago |
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| One of the many beaches |
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| And Another |
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| Us at the tip of the lovely breezy peninsula |
Saturday 27th July 2019 ⛅⛅⛅⛅⛅⛅⛅
Mileage 29 from Saint Jacut-de-la Mer to Pleherel Plarge near Cap Frehel.
Parking Co-ordinates 48.65055, -2.35287
This morning we travelled the short distance to an Aire that would enable us to walk along the coastal path to the renowned beauty spot of Cap Frehel. It's said to be one of the Emerald Coast's most dramatic promontories and it certainly didn't disappoint with it's gnarled grey cliffs that jutted up out of the sea majestically.
From our parking spot we were soon on the coastal path, and once there the Lighthouse that marks the Frehel prominentary quickly came into view and looked as if it would only be a short distance to get to it. However, as is usual with coastal paths this one darted in and out around numerous coves, outcrops and places where the cliffs had eroded away altogether, so what had looked nearby was actually 4 miles away!
But they were 4 breathtaking miles because not only did we have the dramatic sea views to look at we also had the beautiful heather clad hill tops that were a perfect colourful picture because they were in full bloom!
We eventually made it as far as the lighthouse which is one of the top five most powerful in France, and because it's light stands 330 feet above the sea it can be seen for 33 miles!
On the seaward side of the lighthouse gulls were crowded on the fissured Fauconniere rocks, and it didn't take us long to find a perch for our picnic from where we had a birds eye view of their aerial manoeuvres, but because we'd got food occasionally the big buggers came a bit too close for comfort and had to be shooed away!
Our walk back followed the same route, but was just as lovely with new vistas meeting us as we travelled in the opposite direction, and as the day was quite clear we're fairly sure it was the Channel Islands we could see on the horizon!
Tomorrow we'll probably move on a little further but I'll have to tell you about that next time.
Bye for now. 😙😙
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