2019 Tour of Brittany (France) Part 18 Guidel Plarge - Quiberon

Friday 6th and Saturday 7th September 2019  ⛅⛅⛅⛅⛅🌞🌞🌞🌞
Mileage 22 from Guidel Plarge to Riantec
Parking Co-ordinates 47.7137, -3.32295

On Friday we moved out of the department of Cornouaille and into Morbiahan but if we hadn't looked at a map we might not have noticed because much of the terrain remained mostly unchanged.  We're still seeing vast stretches of almost deserted white sand beach that is backed by miles of undisturbed dunes, and when the sand runs out it often means you've arrived at one of the calm muddy estuaries that occur regularly along this part of the Atlantic coast. 

Our destination for the next couple of nights was the small town of Riantec which lies near to the Blavet estuary, and which is protected from the Atlantic by a long spit of sandy dune along which a road runs and where we would ride on Saturday. 

The purple dot marks our Aire

By the time we were settled (and done the washing) our day was on the wane but just to say we'd had a bit of exercise we took ourselves out for a walk in the direction of the Fortress town of Port Louis - but we didn't quite get that far!  Instead after about a mile and a half we settled on a bench and watched folk foraging on the beach for crustations and other 'tasty' morsels that they were probably going to consume for their tea!  Apparently creatures such as mussels, cockles, clams, oysters and an occasional langoustine can easily be found on the muddy bottoms once the tide is out.  However, I recently read a very off putting article which explained that pathogens may be present in the water and that these may cause severe problems if ingested - especially if the shellfish are collected around ports and anchoring zones!  So with that in mind I think that sort of 'fishing' is a sport we'll be avoiding!

On Saturday we packed our usual picnic and ventured out for a 30 miler on our bikes.  Our first target was the settlement of  Gavres at the tip of the dune spit, and as we rode we had the inland water on one side and the open Atlantic on the other.  Additionally, when we arrived in the tiny but affluent settlement we had lovely views back over towards Port Louis with it's battlements that had once protected it from marauding invaders.

These days Gavres is all about posh yachts and fancy fish restaurants but from the pics on some of the buildings it was obvious that fishing and sardines were an important part of it's history.

From there we backtracked a bit and cycled onto the next river mouth/estuary along the coast  - Riviere d'Etel - and into the town of Magouer  where we sat on the port side in lovely warm sunshine to enjoy our picnic, and once that was gone we mounted up again and aimed our bikes homewards.

Sunday 8th September 2019  ⛅⛅⛅⛅⛅⛅⛅⛅
Mileage 27 from Riantec to Kerne near Quiberon
Parking Co-ordinates 47.49172, -3.13938

Well, John's managed to do it again!!  That is find us somewhere that is one of natures stunning masterpieces 😀!

Our Aire

We're on a very popular Aire that should have cost €7.50 but was free because the entrance barrier was out of order, and once again we were quite lucky to get a place because many that came after us weren't quite so fortunate!  It's near the town of Quiberon which lies on an island like protuberance from the Morbihan coastline that is just 9 miles long and 72 feet wide at it's narrowest point, and we reached it by crossing a causeway of tidal sediment that in places was hardly wider than the road.

As usual, once fed and watered we nipped out for a walk on the magnificent coastal path towards the resort of Quiberon which sits nearly at the tip of the isthmus, and happily for us  it wasn't overly busy today but apparently in the main season it becomes thronged with traffic jams and tourists as people try to visit it's very pretty harbour and promenade. 

Chateau Turpault which can be found just outside Quiberon

Then on our way home we got caught up it what seemed to be 'The Grand Tour de Quiberon' as probably about 100 riders raced by us in an organised event!

This was only a few of them!

Monday 9th September 2019  ⛅⛅⛅☂☂⛆☂☂
About 6 🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️miles

Today the weatherman had told us that the morning would be fine but later we could expect heavy rain and strong winds!  Therefore, rather than our usual dawdle we got ourselves sorted and out for our walk by 10.30 😂😂!

Today's walk was in the opposite direction to yesterday and took us along the western side of the island which is called Cote Sauvage (wild coast), and it certainly lived up to it's name.  We followed the coastal path and aimed for Pointe du Percho, and in so doing we found ourselves on a sandy rocky track that was steep in places and that treated to views of cliffs that have been sculptured by waves, crags with fractured rocks that have formed deep chasms and also several small beaches that were mostly devoid of bathers.  Apparently, the undertows here are treacherous and signs along the way warn that bathing isn't allowed  - but we hadn't got our cosies with us anyway😂😂!

Our coffee stop was near the tip of the Pointe 

On  the way back the rain occasionally spat at us but we managed to miss the drenching we would have got if we'd been out much later.


Tuesday 10th September 2019 🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞⛅⛅⛅
15 🚴🚴 miles

Boy oh Boy did it rain yesterday evening!  It literally came down in torrents for several hours and our Aire soon resembled a sandy paddling pool where if you went outside wet feet would be your reward!  However, by this morning it had mostly all soaked away so out came our bikes and we set off to circumnavigate this little island.

And what more can I say??  Much of our ride was coastal, and along with the mesmerising views we had the sound of the crashing waves in the slightly rough sea to keep us company.  Additionally, our trail was either off road or on quite side roads as we weaved our way around, and it also provided for a fair few stops so that we had time to soak up as much of the scenery as possible. 

I could go on and on about this island but I think I might become boring so suffice to say if your ever out this way we'd highly recommend it for adding to your itinerary if you love raw nature!

Tomorrow we'll move on again but that's all for now.
😗😗

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