A long weekend in Brittany and Normandy has become a twice-annual occurrence of late (and I'm not complaining).
Rather than doing it as a full camping trip I've started doing it as a 3 day, <200 mile, "credit card" tour using budget hotels. That way it's easier to attract members of my cycling club (Whitchurch Social Cycling).
Once again we had a perfect, and I do mean perfect, 3 days. Summary:
- 10 people (some couples) arrive at Portsmouth Ferry Terminal at 6pm on Thursday evening (specifically the Ship & Anchor).
- Beers and food
- 8:15pm..set sail...head to the bar.
- Bar closes....head to cabins
- 7:00am breakfast on-board then disembark at 7:45am Friday
- Coffees in St Malo and then a look around on the ramparts (St malo is one of my favourite towns).
- Head along the coast to lunch at Mont St Michel (which never stops looking stunning and amazing). Despite rumours to the contrary you can cycle right to it along a new boardwalk. There were plenty of officials about and nobody minded.
- From Mont St Michel we headed, via another village cafe, to our Hotel (Hotel Patton) at Avranches.
- We found a beautiful restaurant, on it's opening day, by a fountain, in front of a lovely church. Truly a great location.
- Beer, Wine, Cidre, food...hotel.
- Hotel Breakfast on Saturday before heading back to the coast road via more deserted roads.
- 2nd coffees at Jouloville before heading to Granville Harbour for a delicious Seafood menu.
- Overcoming the urge to snooze our lunch off we headed along the coast to Coutance, a town whose medieval defences seem to comprise of a road so steep that any potential invaders would get knackered before reaching the town centre.
- You guessed it...hotel..restaurant.....drinks...hotel
- Brekky in Coutance hotel then back to the coast. We had to use fairly big roads to make time but they were so quiet on a Sunday morning, and the tarmac sooooo smooth and flat, that it was no hardship.
- We got to Portbail for coffee and cakes and then Carteret harbour for a sandwich and cidre snack/lunch shortly after.
- From there we headed inland to Cherbourg and some loong climbs. It all gets very much like England's South Downs as you approach Cherbourg. A change from some of the pan-flat roads we'd got used to but, quite tough all the same.
- We hit Cherbourg around 5pm on Sunday and ordered drinks until they started serving food at 6pm.
- Cherbourg is a bit of a dump but we found a nice restaurant on the harbour and the food was great. I finally had my Moules Frites & Cidre.
- At 7pm we head over to the Ferry, boarded at 8pm and were back in good old Blighty at 10:30pm. Back home at 11:30pm.....for a few more cold ones.
Highly recommended.
Spit Bank Fort - Portsmouth Harbour
The Motley Crew at St Malo
A coastal cycle path leading to.....
Mont St Michel
It's as amazing as I remembered
Avranches. Opening night at Restaurant "DT"
I want to go back..
Coutances, the view from the Restaurant
The lumpy bits nearer Cherbourg. Still gorgeous..just lumpy.