To the West…

That’s the inspired title of the regional tourism magazine in Brittany (although the play of words really only works in French), since this week we left Normandy (in style) to head to neighbouring Brittany. We are now in the land of Asterix, menhirs, and crêpes (and Calvados, marinières, bagpipes, Kouign-amann, and… lots of other things!) 😁

General statistics of the adventure so far…

Total Distance (km)

Gasoil (L)

Countries Visited

9.850 km

1.568 L

World Heritage…

13/07/2025 – Dunes de Biville -> Mont Saint-Michel

If the idea was to end on a high note in Normandy before heading down to Brittany, we could hardly have done better!… Mont Saint-Michel exceeded our expectations, and being able to see it under a bright sun on the evening of July 13th (with the fireworks on the mainland), and with a tidal coefficient of 81… what more could you ask for?… The place is simply splendid! An imposing abbey perched on a rock in the middle of the bay, surrounded by water (at high tide) or a huge beach (at low tide), and at its feet, a tiny medieval village nestled against the rock. At low tide, you can walk around the island, on the sand and through the few lagoons stranded there… At night, everything becomes even more majestic, once all the tourists have left and the lights in the alleys are lit. Thanks to a nighttime exhibition about the moon, we were even lucky enough to return to the abbey and its terrace just before midnight to enjoy the fireworks and the magical light show along the bay… If there’s a better way to leave Normandy, you’ll have to tell us what it is… 😋

First Steps in Brittany…

14/07/2025 – Mont Saint-Michel -> Saint-Guinoux

Our first steps in Brittany took us to Saint-Malo and its pretty ramparts overlooking the bay. The old town is rather curious, with its buildings almost all identical, which seem to have been built at the same time. A bit like an American suburban housing estate where all the houses are identical, but with four-story townhouses, all made of stone, neatly aligned behind the ramparts. As it was July 14th, we also came across the Saint-Malo military parade: two groups of soldiers on foot, 4 fire trucks and 2 municipal police cars… Impressive!… 🤣

The Harsh Reality…

15/07/2025 – Saint-Guinoux -> Motte féodale de Plorec

The original idea was to go for a walk at Cap Fréhel… But that was also the idea of the million and a half French people on vacation in Brittany, half of the Belgians, Swiss, and Dutch also on vacation in the area, and three-quarters of the Germans who seem to have left their country en masse to seek refuge in Brittany… When, on top of that, the municipality of Fréhel has the bright idea of installing height barriers in all the parking lots at Cap Fréhel, it creates a real mess. A U-turn as soon as we arrived, and… we went for an impromptu walk a few kilometres further, to Fort de la Latte. Too bad for Cap Fréhel…

Brittany is big!

16/07/2025 – Motte féodale de Plorec -> La Roche Jagu

Perspectives are sometimes deceptive, and so is Google Maps… Even with longer stages (150-200km), it seems impossible to reach Quimper and Pointe du Raz without adding a whole series of stages in between… So, today’s journey took us to La Roche Jagu (and its castle of the same name), almost at the end of the great Trieux estuary, a small, 100% Breton river, 72km long, including 18km of estuary. All of this makes for some very pretty scenery, and so we settled down on the edge of a jetty, a few meters from the water (both in distance and height), with the only question being how high the tide can get around here… We will get the answer around 11:53 PM tonight… 🤓

Spoiler alert: the tide didn’t come in as far as us. However, we did discover a great spot, managed by the Calvados Department: the Chateau de la Roche Jagu and its magnificent garden, overlooking the estuary. The ideal place to take your time and wander among the different species of trees and plants, before returning to contemplate the tide at the edge of the estuary…

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– Always travel on public ways and respect the signs.
– Limit noise and interfere as little as possible with wildlife.
– Respect the other users.
– Leave rocks, plants and other natural features as you found them and respect historic sites.
– Take your waste with you and throw it into the appropriate containers, in the nearest village.
– Do not camp inside protected areas and do not make any fires.