Great Brittany (Part 1)

Our journey began with a long drive to the south coast, broken by a visit to a National Trust property, Upton House located just outside Banbury. The house isn't much to look at from the outside but its interior holds the treasure. Formerly a home of Lord Bearstead it is now owned by the National Trust and houses a large collection of paintings that would put many museums in the shade. There are works by Canaletto, El Greco, Brueghel and Hogarth to name just a few. In addition it has a terraced garden with a pool. We had not visited before and had intended a quick visit and lunch but spent a good couple of hours enjoying an unexpectedly good start to our travels.

The gardens at Upton House

By contrast the next few hours spent crawling along the M25 were not so enjoyable but eventually we arrived, somewhat tired and hungry, at a seaside hotel in Folkestone. After checking in we decided to walk around the block to look for somewhere to eat and found a fish and chip restaurant. Taking the plunge we gave it a try and were treated to better than average fish and chips. Mrs B had a very large fillet of grilled salmon and I had grilled lemon sole. By the time we had finished we were well and trulty stuffed!

It was an early start the next morning as we had booked a reasonably early departure on Le Shuttle. Despite border control delays we arrived in France more or less on schedule and started the 315 mile drive to our first destination: Dinan.

The weather was wet on arrival in France and quite blustery too, but as got further west the skies cleared and temperatures climbed from an unseasonably low 14€° to 20°. By the time we arrived in Dinan in late afternoon the clouds had more or less cleared and some blue skies appeared heralding the start of a warm and sunny spell of weather. Our hotel was directly opposite the railway station a striking building dating to 1931, dominated by an unusual clock tower.

The railway station at Dinan

After checking in and unpacking we took the 10 minute walk to the historic centre. Dinan is a medieval walled town,surrounded by ramparts. It has conserved its historic buildings and many buildings date back to the 13th century. We found a network of cobbled streets oozing history. It was very relaxing wandering around exploring the compact maze of streets in the centre. Shops selling Breton food, restaurants and creperies all offered something to tempt the tastebuds. 

Although quite peckish we resisted the gastronomic treats on offer and walked about 10 minutes along the steep cobbled Rue du Port, lined with artists shops, downhill to the old bridge that crossed La Rance, the river that, like many historic towns, brought prosperity to Dinan. The old port quayside had a few bars and bistros and the river was now home to leisure boats bringing a different sort of prosperity to the town. 

Views of the Old Port, Dinan

The climb back up the cobbled hill was one that got the heart pumping and lungs gasping for air so we were pleased when the gradient levelled out and we headed straight to a Pizza restaurant called La Tomate, that turned out to be a good choice. Mrs B ordered a calzone and I had a pizza and both were absolutely packed with toppings and both very flavoursome and filling. 

After paying the bill and feeling well and truly stuffed we wandered around some more of the cobbled streets before heading back to our hotel. It had been a long drive so I slept well that night and the hotel was wonderfully quiet. 

We had only booked one night in Dinan. Our next drive would take us to the westerrnmost part of Brittany, the region of Finistere ,but after a good hotel breakfast we decided to have another walk around Dinan. I asked the hotel proprietor (who was very friendly and helpful) if it was possible to walk the ramparts but he told us that most of the walk was closed off as resoration work was underway, but there was one section we could visit by Le Jardin Anglais. Ten minutes or so later we had walked through the quiet streets and were standing overlooking the old port and the impressive viaduct.

Views from the ramparts in Dinan

After taking in the views we continued walking, passing an antique/religious artefacts shop with a rather creepy display of dolls dressed as nuns before we reached the much less creepy and solid chateau that unforunately was closed.

Dinan Chateau

It was now time to move on after a brief but very enjoyable first night in France so we returned to the car and looked for somewhere to head towards on route to oiur next stop. 

I did some very quick research and headed towards a village called Lochronan about 120 miles to the west. After an uneventful drive we arrived a couple of hours later and parked up at the edge of the village. Signs entering had proclaimed Lochronan to be one of the 'Plus Beaux Villages de France'. This marks it out as one of the most beautiful small villages in France and it lived up to its certification. The walk into the village on a cobbled street with stone built houses, some adorned with flowers growing out of the stonework. Our first priority was to find somewhere to have lunch and we found a table in a creperie - The Three Fairies - that specialised in a Breton staple - buckwheat gallettes. We both ordered a glass of apple juice - another regional speciality (along with cider) and my gallette was filled with goats cheese, apple, onions cooked in cider and smoked bacon, folded over and drizzled with honey. It was absolultely delicious. 

Buckwheat gallette - very tasty!

After polishing of our gallettes we continued walking around the corner and stumbled into a confectioners selling kouginettes. We treated ourselves to one each. Kouginettes are small pastry rolls made with a sweetened bread dough a bit like a compact cinnamon roll - and then soaked in syrup. I close a mandarin and cointeaux kouginette whilst Mrs B went for one filled with raisins. We ate them in the shade on the steps of the church. It was close to a religious experience.

After all this food a bit of exercise was needed so we walked around the village, up the hill from the central square and then around in a sort of figure of eight. From high up we had views of the surrounding countryside and our first glimpse of the coast. 

The view climbing out of Lochronan

Lochronan

Lochronan is only a small village so after completing our walk and buying a bottle of cider for consumption later we headed to the port town of Douarnenez not more than 15 minutes away. Parking near the harbour we found a much more down to earth place.Douarnenez has been a fishing port for centuries and there is still a harbour where fresh fish are sold and landed. In the 1920's huge fish canning businesses had grown and most of the workers in the factories were women. They were treated appallingly and went out on strike for better pay and conditions. The canning factory owners tried to resist the strike - even trying to assasinate one of the strike leaders. The women held firm and eventually the factory owners caved in. The womens struggles are recounted in a information board on the quayside and in a mural.Douarnenez was one of the first communist communes in France and my impression, from a brief visit, was that this was still a working class town and would resist genttrification.

Mural commemoration the women who fought for better pay and conditions

The harbour at Douarnenez

By now the time had come to find our base for the next 6 nights - a gite - on the edge of a village further south called Saint Jean Trolimon.

On the edge of the village,tucked away behind the church and overlooking an orchard with fields beyond,we found our gite and were welcomed by the owners who lived next door. 

Our gite with the church in the background

As a welcome gift they provided a jar of home made kiwi jam and a bottle of apple juice pressed from the apples in their orchard right next to our gite. It was a very peaceful spot and we planned to use it as a base to explore this part of Brittany. 

The weather forecast was still looking settled for the week ahead with plenty of sunshine for most of the week so after settling in and looking at maps of the area, we decided that the following day would be a good one to spend by the coast.