France 17th - 21st November 2008 Actual
Southampton - Portsmouth - Le Havre - St Nazaire – Vannes – Quimper – Morlaix – Guingamp – St Brieuc – Dinard - St Malo – Cancale – Le Mont St Michel – Arromanches – Caen – Honfleur - Le Havre - UK.
It went almost as planned, had a great time, saw some lovely sights.
940 miles
17 -18th Southampton – Bain de Bretagne
It’s makes a very nice change to drive only 20 mins to the ferry, no mishaps and arrived in plenty of time, then sat around for over 2 hours because the ferry had a problem with the ramps. Such is life! But they were using a stand-in ferry because one was being refurbished.
Finally, set sail at around midnight, instead of 23:00hrs, but made excellent time, and arrived on time, brilliant! Only to find out they had the same problem with the ramps, apart from that LD Lines, provide a very good service with 2 ferries from Portsmouth-Le Havre a day.
We’re off and on our way through Le Havre, missed a sign for the first of 2 low bridges leaving, 2.6m! ARH! Too late to reverse, took it slowly knowing my roof boxes are 2.55m and my aerial being 3.2m. Thankfully the low bridges were that bit higher, and I scraped through the 1st one, with the aerial scraping along like a bumper car. Still didn’t trust the 2nd bridge, so stayed in the right-hand lane and took the “lorry” route out of the city.
Being wet on the 1st day, so went over the “Normandy
bridges” ( http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/photos.cfm?id=s0000048 ), stunning! And only 5Euros; the idea was to take A84 toll road South towards Caen and Rennes and to make Nantes by nightfall, an enjoyable trip along the well serviced French toll roads, and this section wasn’t that expensive in tolls, but it allowed me to make good time.
Eventually stopped a bit short at Bain-de-Bretagne services, had a great meal, a fine cup of tea and re-arranged the inside of the Landy to sleep in; cold, but comfortable.
19th Bain de Bretagne – Morlaix
Awoke had a decent breakfast, cup of tea and studied maps. Decided that; still being one and half hours from La Rochelle, visiting there and getting back to St Nazaire was going to take too much time on such a short trip. So decided to start at St Nazaire; a surprisingly large town, a couple of large cruise ships in, had a pleasant drive around in the morning traffic, pulled over at a cafe, croissants, coffee and watched the town wake up.
Then hopped on the coast road to La Baule, the sun started to break through when I arrived at this obvious tourist resort, though in late October, the promenade and beautiful sandy beaches were deserted. Although touristy, I quite liked it, some very historic and nice buildings amongst the modern hotels and casino, a very good shopping area, and lots of seaside cafes/restaurants.
Drove around for a while, and picked-up the D10, all this area is a sightseers heaven; loads of campsites, sandy beaches, beautiful coves and inlets and pretty small villages/towns. Drove up to and through Auray and the very scenic Vannes with all its islands and inlets. Picked-up the D768 to Quiberon, what a stunningly pretty drive to there, sandy, heather like ground along this spit to Quiberon, a very good road and cycle path, loads of campsites and Quiberon? A typically pretty small French coastal town, being 13:00, stopped walked a bit and a large lunch in one of the many restaurants overlooking the small park on one side, and the sea path on the other.
Brought some postcards, wandered around the shops for a bit, and headed back out along the same road, then headed West along the D781 towards Lorient, a really pleasant scenic drive. And found that being mid afternoon, and having done relatively little mileage, I still needed to see some scenic roads around forest area that is Monts d’Arree, and find somewhere to stay for the night. You could spent weeks doing this bit of coast and still not see all of it, lots of little roads going down to coastal villages, little bays/coves, very scenic.
Hopped onto the N165 again towards Quimper, and Brest. Passed Quimper, and turned left onto the D887 towards Crozon and doubled back along the D791, only because this road seemed to be a scenic route and it was. Straight over the N165 and joined the D18 heading into the Monts d’Arree; not as spectacular as the alpine forest areas, but still a beautiful area, with it’s trees and views over the surrounding areas, the highest point being around 300m above sea level. And some pretty, small quiet villages nestled in this area, Landerneau standing out, but all lovely to visit, though I enjoyed the coastal areas more.
Starting to get dark by now, so pulled over and studied then map, and found a decent service area just outside Morlaix, joined the N12 eastwards and found the service area. Had a reasonable meal, hot and fresh, and wandered back to the Landy, made a cup of tea and looked at the maps. Sorted the bedding out, and settled down for the night.
20th Morlaix – Caen
With so much to see, an early start was the order of the day, very early, awoke at 04:00hrs, made tea, and the took the less than scenic drive along the N12 towards Morlaix; spotted a “Formula 1” hotel, part of a chain across France, very reasonably priced at around 30/40 Euros a night, but has a decent beds and hot showers, sometimes that’s all you need when travelling.
So continued along the N12, in the dark, towards Guingamp, St Brieuc and then onto the N176 towards Dinan, before heading to the coast along the D2 towards Dinard and yet another fine French coastal town, although it started to rain, it did look a friendly place to stay.
Headed out along the coast road towards St Malo, what a stunningly beautiful place, go there now! But, don’t take a vehicle over 1.9m in height, you’ll find it very hard to park, even in late October, spent the best part of an hour driving around, could hardly stop, let alone park, the traffic was awful, and this was October!
Eventually found somewhere to park, but it was so far away, just took few shots and headed for Cancale along the coast road, what views! A very pleasant drive along this road, and I love Cancale, headed along the D155/D976 towards the very pretty Pontorson and onto Le Mont-St Michel, what a sight! Never been here before, but seen it a few time in papers and on the net, awesome! Would have liked to stay longer, but apart from the drizzle, it was well into the afternoon and I needed to make some miles.
So headed off slowly towards the N175 and the A84 toll road north towards Caen, came off at J43 and took the D6 towards Bayeux, and then headed to Arromanches and “the beaches”, stopped at a viewpoint overlooking “GoldBeach”, very poignant. Then made a cup of tea, and headed along the coast road pass Juno and Sword beaches, along with it some very pleasant coastal villages; Courseulles-s-Mer, St Aubin-s-Mer, Luc-s-Mer, Lion-s-Mer and onto Ouistreham. All of this road was pretty, clean and dotted with campsites and B&B’s; finally headed South into Caen and out the other side and made my stop for the night at Giberville services on the A13 toll road northbound.
Wanted to push on today and stop here, basically because it’s not to far to the ferry and thus allows me to take my time, yet cover me for delays in traffic or Landy problems. Had a not too unpleasant dinner at the services, but headed back to the Landy for some cheese and biscuits and a fine cup of tea. Studied the maps, and fell asleep.
21st Caen - Southampton
Another early start, well with only one life, you got to make the most of it. So, tea was made and off up the A13, the idea was to make Honfleur and have Breakfast, stock up on wine, buy a few things and enjoy the morning.
And so it was; A13 North onto the D579 into Honfleur, just love this place, just simply a beautiful fishing village, parked up, wandered round, did some shopping, had some croissants and coffee, and although it was wet, it didn’t dampen my enjoyment of the place. Walked around the Harbour, took a few photos, and went back to the Landy.
Stopped at both, Lidl and Aldi and stocked up on about 70 bottles of wine, very well priced and some very nice stuff, and headed for Le Havre. Drove over the bridges, stunning views from the top, and into Le Havre, drove around for a while looking for “duty free” type places, no luck and as it was around midday, most places were closing for lunch. So tanked up with diesel, even with the poor exchange rate of 1.10, it was still cheaper to buy diesel in France, just goes to show how much we’re being ripped-off in Britain!
Followed the signs for LD Lines, and easily found the terminal, and joined to queue homeward bound. Boarded no problems, and set sail, arrived in a nicely lit up Portsmouth on time, got off and joined the M275 and M27 west towards home. A very good ferry service, reasonably priced, but with now 2 ferries a day I will be using them again.
Got home safely, the 110 performed very well, she is in for a service now. Started her the next morning, only to find the alternator belt had shredded, a bit of luck. Could of happen anywhere, but she did it at home! Thanks.
940 miles
Southampton - Portsmouth - Le Havre - St Nazaire – Vannes – Quimper – Morlaix – Guingamp – St Brieuc – Dinard - St Malo – Cancale – Le Mont St Michel – Arromanches – Caen – Honfleur - Le Havre - UK.
It went almost as planned, had a great time, saw some lovely sights.
940 miles
17 -18th Southampton – Bain de Bretagne
It’s makes a very nice change to drive only 20 mins to the ferry, no mishaps and arrived in plenty of time, then sat around for over 2 hours because the ferry had a problem with the ramps. Such is life! But they were using a stand-in ferry because one was being refurbished.
Finally, set sail at around midnight, instead of 23:00hrs, but made excellent time, and arrived on time, brilliant! Only to find out they had the same problem with the ramps, apart from that LD Lines, provide a very good service with 2 ferries from Portsmouth-Le Havre a day.
We’re off and on our way through Le Havre, missed a sign for the first of 2 low bridges leaving, 2.6m! ARH! Too late to reverse, took it slowly knowing my roof boxes are 2.55m and my aerial being 3.2m. Thankfully the low bridges were that bit higher, and I scraped through the 1st one, with the aerial scraping along like a bumper car. Still didn’t trust the 2nd bridge, so stayed in the right-hand lane and took the “lorry” route out of the city.
Being wet on the 1st day, so went over the “Normandy
bridges” ( http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/photos.cfm?id=s0000048 ), stunning! And only 5Euros; the idea was to take A84 toll road South towards Caen and Rennes and to make Nantes by nightfall, an enjoyable trip along the well serviced French toll roads, and this section wasn’t that expensive in tolls, but it allowed me to make good time.
Eventually stopped a bit short at Bain-de-Bretagne services, had a great meal, a fine cup of tea and re-arranged the inside of the Landy to sleep in; cold, but comfortable.
19th Bain de Bretagne – Morlaix
Awoke had a decent breakfast, cup of tea and studied maps. Decided that; still being one and half hours from La Rochelle, visiting there and getting back to St Nazaire was going to take too much time on such a short trip. So decided to start at St Nazaire; a surprisingly large town, a couple of large cruise ships in, had a pleasant drive around in the morning traffic, pulled over at a cafe, croissants, coffee and watched the town wake up.
Then hopped on the coast road to La Baule, the sun started to break through when I arrived at this obvious tourist resort, though in late October, the promenade and beautiful sandy beaches were deserted. Although touristy, I quite liked it, some very historic and nice buildings amongst the modern hotels and casino, a very good shopping area, and lots of seaside cafes/restaurants.
Drove around for a while, and picked-up the D10, all this area is a sightseers heaven; loads of campsites, sandy beaches, beautiful coves and inlets and pretty small villages/towns. Drove up to and through Auray and the very scenic Vannes with all its islands and inlets. Picked-up the D768 to Quiberon, what a stunningly pretty drive to there, sandy, heather like ground along this spit to Quiberon, a very good road and cycle path, loads of campsites and Quiberon? A typically pretty small French coastal town, being 13:00, stopped walked a bit and a large lunch in one of the many restaurants overlooking the small park on one side, and the sea path on the other.
Brought some postcards, wandered around the shops for a bit, and headed back out along the same road, then headed West along the D781 towards Lorient, a really pleasant scenic drive. And found that being mid afternoon, and having done relatively little mileage, I still needed to see some scenic roads around forest area that is Monts d’Arree, and find somewhere to stay for the night. You could spent weeks doing this bit of coast and still not see all of it, lots of little roads going down to coastal villages, little bays/coves, very scenic.
Hopped onto the N165 again towards Quimper, and Brest. Passed Quimper, and turned left onto the D887 towards Crozon and doubled back along the D791, only because this road seemed to be a scenic route and it was. Straight over the N165 and joined the D18 heading into the Monts d’Arree; not as spectacular as the alpine forest areas, but still a beautiful area, with it’s trees and views over the surrounding areas, the highest point being around 300m above sea level. And some pretty, small quiet villages nestled in this area, Landerneau standing out, but all lovely to visit, though I enjoyed the coastal areas more.
Starting to get dark by now, so pulled over and studied then map, and found a decent service area just outside Morlaix, joined the N12 eastwards and found the service area. Had a reasonable meal, hot and fresh, and wandered back to the Landy, made a cup of tea and looked at the maps. Sorted the bedding out, and settled down for the night.
20th Morlaix – Caen
With so much to see, an early start was the order of the day, very early, awoke at 04:00hrs, made tea, and the took the less than scenic drive along the N12 towards Morlaix; spotted a “Formula 1” hotel, part of a chain across France, very reasonably priced at around 30/40 Euros a night, but has a decent beds and hot showers, sometimes that’s all you need when travelling.
So continued along the N12, in the dark, towards Guingamp, St Brieuc and then onto the N176 towards Dinan, before heading to the coast along the D2 towards Dinard and yet another fine French coastal town, although it started to rain, it did look a friendly place to stay.
Headed out along the coast road towards St Malo, what a stunningly beautiful place, go there now! But, don’t take a vehicle over 1.9m in height, you’ll find it very hard to park, even in late October, spent the best part of an hour driving around, could hardly stop, let alone park, the traffic was awful, and this was October!
Eventually found somewhere to park, but it was so far away, just took few shots and headed for Cancale along the coast road, what views! A very pleasant drive along this road, and I love Cancale, headed along the D155/D976 towards the very pretty Pontorson and onto Le Mont-St Michel, what a sight! Never been here before, but seen it a few time in papers and on the net, awesome! Would have liked to stay longer, but apart from the drizzle, it was well into the afternoon and I needed to make some miles.
So headed off slowly towards the N175 and the A84 toll road north towards Caen, came off at J43 and took the D6 towards Bayeux, and then headed to Arromanches and “the beaches”, stopped at a viewpoint overlooking “GoldBeach”, very poignant. Then made a cup of tea, and headed along the coast road pass Juno and Sword beaches, along with it some very pleasant coastal villages; Courseulles-s-Mer, St Aubin-s-Mer, Luc-s-Mer, Lion-s-Mer and onto Ouistreham. All of this road was pretty, clean and dotted with campsites and B&B’s; finally headed South into Caen and out the other side and made my stop for the night at Giberville services on the A13 toll road northbound.
Wanted to push on today and stop here, basically because it’s not to far to the ferry and thus allows me to take my time, yet cover me for delays in traffic or Landy problems. Had a not too unpleasant dinner at the services, but headed back to the Landy for some cheese and biscuits and a fine cup of tea. Studied the maps, and fell asleep.
21st Caen - Southampton
Another early start, well with only one life, you got to make the most of it. So, tea was made and off up the A13, the idea was to make Honfleur and have Breakfast, stock up on wine, buy a few things and enjoy the morning.
And so it was; A13 North onto the D579 into Honfleur, just love this place, just simply a beautiful fishing village, parked up, wandered round, did some shopping, had some croissants and coffee, and although it was wet, it didn’t dampen my enjoyment of the place. Walked around the Harbour, took a few photos, and went back to the Landy.
Stopped at both, Lidl and Aldi and stocked up on about 70 bottles of wine, very well priced and some very nice stuff, and headed for Le Havre. Drove over the bridges, stunning views from the top, and into Le Havre, drove around for a while looking for “duty free” type places, no luck and as it was around midday, most places were closing for lunch. So tanked up with diesel, even with the poor exchange rate of 1.10, it was still cheaper to buy diesel in France, just goes to show how much we’re being ripped-off in Britain!
Followed the signs for LD Lines, and easily found the terminal, and joined to queue homeward bound. Boarded no problems, and set sail, arrived in a nicely lit up Portsmouth on time, got off and joined the M275 and M27 west towards home. A very good ferry service, reasonably priced, but with now 2 ferries a day I will be using them again.
Got home safely, the 110 performed very well, she is in for a service now. Started her the next morning, only to find the alternator belt had shredded, a bit of luck. Could of happen anywhere, but she did it at home! Thanks.
940 miles