Postcards from Provence and beyond

All good things have to come to an end, and today we enjoyed the last full day in France for this part of our summer cycling adventure.

What a wonderful last couple of weeks we’ve had, making our way through France from the lavender fields of the Luberon, to the beautiful granite coast of Brittany.

We have made our way through parts of France that we haven’t really visited before, and have added a few places to our list of places that we want to return to, and explore in more depth.

The ride has been rather impacted by the extreme canicule that has affected France over the last week, but in our mind, every cloud has a silver lining. Having hopped on a train to avoid having to cycle back-to-back 90km days, in the heat, we have spent a relaxing and very enjoyable last couple of days, on the Brittany coast.

We (very briefly) visited this area, many more years ago than we care to remember, and had forgotten what a stunning coastline it is, and today, we took a gentle ride, along the quiet beach-side roads, to enjoy the views, and the sound of the sea.

You can Watch a little video from today’s ride here

We started the day, at what has become a favourite spot, over the last couple of days, enjoying coffee and breakfast, spending a couple of hours watching the tide retreat, as the sun rose higher in the sky.

We will be rather sad, not to be able to amble down to the bench every morning and evening, as even in 2 days, it has become rather a habit!

But, as we had failed miserably to book the right nights, we had to move on today, so loaded the bikes with the panniers, and pedalled a short distance, to a camp site we had found for tonight.

We found the spot we had booked, put up the tent, dumped all our bags, and headed off for a little ride along the coast.

It turned out to be another day, like yesterday. A delightful ride along quiet roads, many more akin to a well-used cycle path than a road, as all we passed were other cyclists.

The road skirted the coastal inlet, passing a pretty, old water-mill

Before following the coast, towards Porsmeur, a spit of land at the mouth of another inlet. We wingled our way from village to village, turning up little roads to see different places along the coast.

It was a stunning few hours on the bikes. We stopped regularly, just to enjoy the sight of the sea, dotted with rocky islands; the water a spectacular blue, under the similarly coloured sky.

The gardens were filled with colour, with hydrangeas, roses, and even agapanthus lining the road, in some places.

The further we pedalled, the more rocky the beaches became. Low tide having left vast stretches of granite slabs, open to the sky. So different to the beach that has been our breakfast spot, for the last couple of days.

Huge granite boulders appeared in the fields too, some piled precariously on top of each other, as if they had been placed there by a Giant playing a boulder based game of Jenga.

It reminded us of West Cornwall, just with empty beaches and quiet roads. Beautiful, with an incredible light, but also the knowledge that it would be incredibly dramatic, in the midst of a storm.

We stopped for lunch at a rather nice creperie, enjoying our meal, washed down with a bowl of local cider

Before turning round, and pedalling back, pretty much the way we had come, which gave us a second chance to enjoy the coast, and the sights along the way.

Tonight, we will be sitting, simply watching the view, slightly sad that Part 1 of this little adventure is drawing to a close.

Just a short pedal tomorrow morning, to get to the ferry port, and after the early starts of the last 2 weeks, we should be quick off the mark, to get packed up, in plenty of time.

But the end of this ride, means we can look forward to the start of the next one. We’re not quite ready to slow down, quite yet.