Monday 30th April We started off from the ferry at Roscoff into wind and heavy rain like the last time we came on a tour. It had been a windy crossing overnight on the ship too, at times the waves made the ship come to a full stop, slamming into the bow with a smack. We arrived on time amazingly.
We stopped for a coffee in a lovely small bar in the square near the cathedral in St Pol de Leon, we managed dry off a bit, and the rain eased off too. We went by the coastal road to Morlaix, which is great for cycling, flatish and hardly any cars. Morlaix is another good coffee stop, this time with croissants ( Bar Europa).
From Morlaix it is mainly uphill to where we intended to stay at Huelgoat. The road heads up through woods, the occasional shower and gusty wind made it difficult, We stopped after a while thinking we still had eight kilometres to go, we were freezing as the higher we cycled the colder the wind became. Then a nearby sign said we were at Berrien, which is near the summit! Huelgoat was not too far away. We arrived by the little lake hours earlier than we had expected. We were in time for lunch (pasta)at the Hotel du Lac, which helped to warm us up. Laura, owner of the chambres d'hotes that we stayed at, put the heating on and we had coffee and hot showers, and the bikes were safe in a shed. Laura is a lovely hostess. We had an evening meal at Hotel du Lac too (pizza).
Tuesday 1st May The next morning we had a great breakfast, cereals, yogurt, croissants, muesli toast, orange juice and coffee. Laura also gave us baguette and cake to sustain us as she thought we may have difficulties buying food as it was May 1st, a holiday. We saw lots of cyclists on the road, all friendly, the wind was still on the nose and some of the local cyclists said 'Bon courage' when they saw us struggling into the gusts. It was a beautiful run mainly downhill to Chateaulin on the Aulne river (Brest- Nantes Canal). The sun came out as we entered into the town, what a view, looking down the valley. We had lunch of scallop brochette, rice and broccolli followed by fresh fruit salad in the Grand Cafe, it was a busy place. We were placed elbow to elbow with another couple, who helped us with the chalkboard menu, they described the starter as duck stomach salad! They also advised us not to drink the water, not dangerous, but horrible!
We had a lovely short flat cycle to Port Launay in the sunshine. We had arranged to stay at The Old Salt House with Rhiannon, she left a note on the front door saying the key was in the left hand plant pot and to make ourselves at home! Obviously a low crime rate area. Beautiful room with a view of the river, the bikes were able to be wheeled through the house to the back yard. A quiet town especially on a public holiday. Tried a sketch, but not too good. Had an evening walk, everywhere was uphill, but great views.
Wednesday 2nd May After another good breakfast we cycled to Le Faou there are incredible views of the Brest Estuary, which means there are a few climbs, but the roads are really quiet compared to Cornwall which makes it easier.Le Foau is a very pretty town, had coffee then off towards to Sizun where we booked into the hotel. We could have gone further, but we thought we'd rather stay there than go to Guimilau which only has a motel. We made a mistake of not going to the restaurant when we saw it open, in the evening it was closed, so we only had the hotel where we were staying and it was a mainly meat menu, and as we don't eat meat this made it awkward, they were kind enough to make an alternative plat du jour for us.
Thursday 3rd May This was the best cycle of the week, we went through Guiclan (great boulangerie for apple tart, and the bar has good coffee). Onwards to La Penze, where we took a nice quiet lane to Henvic and met a beautful friendly donkey on the way. The weather was great sunshine and lighter winds. We decided to have a look at Carentec, and it was just like a French resort should be. It was market day when we arrived, a really good food market with lots of fresh fish and vegetables. When the market was packing up men came along and started to clean the street straight away and within half an hour there was no sign that it had ever been there. We found a perfect place to stay on the main street, Baie de Morlaix where there was a secure place for the bikes, and we had a family room for the price of a double with tv and the best shower. Food becomes so important when cycling as you get quite hungry, and we were so pleased to find Ty Briez creperie in Carentec, at lunchtime we had omelette, frites and salad with a pichet of rose wine, it was just what we needed. Then we had a walk to the beaches, where it was so warm that people were sunbathing, it felt very holidayish. There are lots of beautiful chateaux, most of which looked like they were straight out of Country Living magazine. In the evening we returned to Ty Briez for moules frites with more wine- fantastic.
Friday 4th May In the morning we headed back to Roscoff via St Pol de Leon ( for coffee) trying to get to somewhere to stay before the forecasted heavy rain started. We managed to get a room looking over the sea in Roscoff, and the management said we could keep the bikes in the bar overnight!
Caught the ferry the next morning in torrential rain again!
