High in the Monts d'Arree

   The mists came down. The winds howled . Souls were crying out. We were at that place between  le monde visible, et le monde invisible....

 



A Sunny Day!!!

Blue Sky, a Rare Occurrence this Winter

   This winter has been the wettest on record in this part of the world, so when the sun came out we headed up to the north coast without wasting any time!

   We started on the beach at Saint Sampson and walked south along the coast. We walked past the Pierre Double (the Double Stone) and saw some interesting rock formations which reminded me of the Giants' Causeway in Northern Ireland. The sea was crashing against the rocks, you could taste the salt on your lips and it was fantastic...
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Le Cloitre-St-Thegonnec, Book Fair and Walk in the Wild Country (Les Landes du Cragou)

  

 We went up to the book fair and saw Wendy, who had a stall there. It was impressive to see so many writers in one place! .

   We had a picnic together, then Paul and I went walking in the Landes du Cragou. This is the last part of Brittany where wolves roamed, and we wanted to visit the wolf museum but it wasn't open. Anyway, we had a lovely walk and the sun came out!

 



 



Baie d'Audierne

 

We took a drive to the south west of Finistere to visit the Baie d'Audierne. It was our first visit to this part of the Finistere coastline, as usual the roads were good and the journey was very easy. The coastline is very different here, it is totally flat. Evidence of the force of the winter storms was very obvious with much coastal erosion and a lot of jetsam over the nearby paths.



We always enjoy exploring a new place and there were many lovely things to look at along our walk.



Menhir de Kerampeulven



  This amazing menhir (standing stone), which measures over 5 meters in height, is only a few minutes walk away from our house. It's set in a lovely little grassy area close to the forest and we often walk by it. How lucky is that!

 

 

Degemer mat: Welcome 2014 - A Storm at Le Dossen

  After a stormy couple of months in the UK we came back to Finistere - to more storms. Our first trip was up to Le Dossen again. It was a bright day with a bracing wind - just what we needed!

 

  Le Dossen is a stunning beach, really long. We walked for about an hour admiring all the (very fit) enthusiasts doing their water sports, when the sky suddenly turned very black and the heavens opened, pelting us with hail and rain. Within seconds we were drenched so the walk back was very wet. The storm itself only lasted for about 10 minutes or so and then the sun came out again. Yet another part of the drama which is the Brittany coastline!

 





Last trip of 2013 - Le Dossen

  Our final trip before setting off back to the UK was to Ally's favourite beach.....  Le Dossen!



Crozon Peninsula

  A great day on Crozon at the end of November. Beautiful weather and scenery contrasting with the memories of the horror of war....



Les Monts D'Arree and Mougau Bihan

  At the end of November we went for a glorious walk with stunning views in the Monts D'Arree
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  After that we dropped down to the Mougau Bihan which is an "allee couverte", a huge monument which dates from 3,000 BCE. It's absolutely amazing to have something like this almost on the doorstep. More information can be found by searching at www.megalithic.co.uk . I particularly liked looking at the carvings.



My Birthday - Roscoff and the ile de Batz

   I had a very different sort of birthday this year, it's the first time I've spent it in Finistere! Paul suggested that we went up to Roscoff and had lunch there, so we went to the Auberge du Quai and it was sooo nice - the fish was outstanding - well actually everything was.
  We decided to get a boat over to the Ile de Batz and walk round the island. It was great, there's something about the islands, the small towns which instantly give way to farmland, and the coast, the coast and more coast. The island was very quiet with very few people there which was a contrast to the gentle crowds of summer. We got the last boat back at 6pm and it was interesting to see that the boat had brought back some islanders  who evidently work or go to school on the mainland. What a truly blissful commute!

 

   And my birthday was wonderful, one I shall always remember.