Found a perfect Van for Lya
Campsite was owned by Adele and Colin British people who have been there 14 years -wanted the kids to be brought up in France and who can blame them. The site had a small indoor pool but not much else - was clean and lovely
Cycled to Poulan Sur Mer for lunch on Saturday ate at Creperie opposite the church owned by British woman who ran it but was not there. Ian and Gail had Complet with Mushroom which he said was lovely.
Lit candle in the church for Mum.
In the evening we ate outside it was lovely and warm.
On Sunday we went to Pont Croix (curious no entry signs)
We then cycled on Audierne where we had lunch. Ian and I made the mistake of ordering a fish we did not recognise and it was pretty tasteless. Also the service was not great.
We decided to move on the Monday as did not seem loads more to explore and the forecast was not great so we moved over to Camping Du Lac on the Lac Du Duc.
We also went to Locronan which " wows all judges, elected both a Breton Petite Cité de Caractère and one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France. Its beauty stems from the success of local weavers and merchants, who supplied fine sails not just to the French navy, but also to English and Spanish clients. Locronan’s grandest houses, with their remarkable dormer windows, are mainly 18th century. As sails died out, trade dried up, and Locronan stayed pickled in the past. The village museum covers the weavers, and the area, in paintings. Filmmakers have frequently shown Locronan’s charms on the silver screen, and tourists flock here in large numbers, hence all the tempting boutiques.
We stopped at Pont L'Aven en route and ate in a restaraunt where Ian managed to find Steak Tartare. Le Moulin de grand Poul Guin Parked outside the town near the Intermarche as there was nowhere in town to park. There was the strangest toilet and a Durex machine on a wall in the middle of the street
It was raining hard on arrival day. We moved from the lake shore to further up the site as there were a lot of flies about.
On Tuesday we stayed at the site and chilled - Found baby owls in the trees that had been screeching for feeding the night before - turned out that there were three of them and they were Eagle Owls.
At first we only found one but the following night there were two then three but I could not get a photo of all three
Wednesday we walked around the lake which was flooded in parts and caused us to have to detour. We came across a bizarre noise which we eventually realised was frogs.
The place that we were told would be open for lunch in Loyat was not and so we had Bounty bars Twix and Beer instead - None of us had brought snacks as the campsite owner had assured us the creperie would be open and there was no indication of why it was not
On arrival back to the site we came across a unicorn an ancient piper. So friendly and told us about an Arthurian castle about 15km away -we thought he was saying Quimper but it was Camper and sounds quite magical .
The piper played a tune just for us and as we left he asked us to make a wish that the lady of the lake (on the unicorn) would grant and he wished us the Blessings of the universe - it really was magical
Thursday cycled to Josselin which had a beautiful chateau -
we were hoping for mussels for lunch but they did not have them so Tez and Gail had pizza Ian had foie gras and warm gizzard salad I had omelette and chips. Would go back there - the cycle route there was along the Nantes Brest Canal and on the way back we went via road which was much quicker and not too hilly. Covered about 23 miles round trip. IN the evening the owls were flying about quite a bit and was just brilliant to see.
Friday we had a rest day and walked into Ploermel for dinner.
Saturday we moved to St Pol - ate in the Dans La Grande Rue and the food was excellent once again. Gail and I had cod and Ian had veal and Tez had a vegetarian crepe but it was much more interesting than the average crepe.
At the cathedral in St Pol showed Tez and Gail the skulls in boxes and Ian took a photo of the explanation
Skull boxes.
Called "Les Etagères de la nuit", these wooden "skull boxes" or "boîtes à crâne" are kept behind a grill in the cathedral's ambulatory. Each box holds a skull and the box is inscribed with the name of the person to whom the skull belonged. The box takes the form of a small chapel surmounted by a cross with a trefoil shaped opening. At one time these "skull boxes" were common in Brittany and it was the practice up until the 19th century to remove skeletons from the cemetery after they had been buried for 5 years in order to create space for new remains. The bones were placed in the ossuary or charnel house but the skulls were passed to the deceased's family and many chose to have the skull placed in these chapel shaped boxes and kept on display. The skulls seen on the shelves come from all classes of society from a baker, a health inspector, an infant aged only 6 and a priest to Hamon Barbier the archdeacon of Kéménédilly who owned the famous Kerjean château.
Here lies the head of. ........
Here lies the head of. ........
- Les Etagères de la nuit
