Erquy

10th July - Cassac
70 miles from Sadroc

Developed a desire for beach (and hopefully some sun) for a couple of weeks. Headed off in a north-westerly direction towards Brittany. Stopped overnight at Cassac, alone at a small aire in the centre of the town next to a small park and the ubiquitous 'boules' field. Odd church in the centre of town in that a couple of houses were built into the fabric of the church. 

On the way passed through the Parc Natural Regional Perigord Noir and through Segur-le-Chateaux - a quaint picture book medieval village not overly restored. Later in the day stopped off at Chateau Chalus, where Richard I was died by an infected wound from a cross-bowbolt while laying siege to the castle. His body ended up in the Abbey at Fontevraud (where his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and his father Henry II were also interned), his heart is in Rouen Cathedral and I think his entrails were buried at Chalus - but I never found them.

Cassac- Church with house attached, there were more on the other side

Segur-le-Chateau  - quaint with very ruined and un-restored castle

Chateau Chalus - A disappointing pile considering its historic association with the death of Richard I

11th June - Chirac
54 miles from Cassac

Had a morning walk around Rochechouart with its impressive medieval castle, later redeveloped as a Renaissance chateau, and a town church with a twisted spire. Couldn't find out if the twist was intentional or not - so Chesterfield has competition in the twisted spire stakes. 

Parked up at lunch time at the large aire at Oradour-sur-Glane. Very busy with a lot of people visiting the remains of the village burnt by the SS 'Das Reich' Division in retaliation for the local Resistance disrupting the mobilization and movement north of the Division to the Normandy front, on the 10th June 1944, following the invasion of 6th June 1944. 

A total of 622 villagers were massacred by a contingent of the SS (the men by firing squads in the village whist the women and children were herded into the church and burnt to death there). The remains of the village have been preserved as a memorial. This was one of a number of massacres by the Wehrmacht and SS in western Europe - but pales into in significance compared to what happened on the Eastern Front - a panel in the museum noted that in Belarus -some 29 towns together with 209 villages were destroyed in a similar manner and a total of 2.3 million people were massacred in the process. Which is unimaginable. 

Not really wanting to spend the night at Oradour, I moved on to a gorgeous aire in Chirac, a small hamlet in the Vienne Valley. Free water and free unlimited electricity! Followed a marked footpath, the blue route, in the evening for about 12km - lost the route after about 10km - but got back to the van OK thanks to the sat-nav on the phone!

So many English in this part of France, many living here. It's certainly not excessively expensive with reasonable looking places for sale between 70,000 and 120,000 euros. Often in the supermarkets you here more english than french spoken.

Rochechouart-The twisted church spire

Rochechouart - The Chateau - now an art museum

Oradour-sur-Glane  - The church

Oradour-sur-Glane - The main street  

Chirac - Evening view from near the Aire

12th July - Vendrennes
134 miles from Chirac

Headed on towards Brittany. The initial drive along the valley of the Vienne was great; but, the landscape quickly changed to the dreary wheat covered plateaus of Poitou and the northern Vendee. I should have remembered this from previous trips down to La Rochelle and Les Landes and gone north following the Vienne and then west along the Loire into Brittany via Nantes. Must retain a mental note for the next visit!

Stopped over at a pretty uninspiring place for the night - but the aire was free and in a pleasant park away from the fairly busy main road.

13th to 15th July - Pointe de Corsen (Plourzel)
243 miles from Vendrennes

Wet and grey all day so just kept on driving (just as well diesel is about two thirds the UK price at about £1.03 a litre) to Nantes and on through southern Brittany to Finisterre.

Ended up at a aire, next to a campsite, a couple of hundred metres from the sea. Although there was a daily charge (pretty typical of coastal aires) the campsite facilities were all available and it was only 4 euro a night. Can't imagine anywhere in the UK where you could stay for £3.20 a night - heck, wouldn't even pay for most car parks in the UK. Which reminds me, I was well p******d on the way down to England form Edinburgh, back at the end of April, when I had decided to take a look at Hadrian's Wall. Every damn car park was £4 just to stop in the middle of no where! Even £4 to park at the picnic area! So avoid Hadrians's Wall if you have short arms like me! I never did see Hadrian's Wall close-up!

Pointe de Corsen is at the western tip of Brittany, west of Brest. Geographically, it is where the Channel, or La Manche, becomes the Atlantic. Off shore there a number of large islands, including Ushant, reefs and skerries - it must be a graveyard for shipping.

The weather remained pretty changeable; although, fortunately fairly warm, in the low twenties; but, often a lot of low cloud, drizzle and fog!

Great beaches just ten minutes walk away a number of which are naturalist - so I was able, when the weather permitted, to work on the all-over tan. 

Lynn, if you are reading this - thank you for the 'Factor 50' - it's still working well for vital parts!

Plourzel - Looking north - Aire and campsite on right

Plourzel - The 'naturalist'beach - much wider when the tide is out

Plourzel - North from Pointe de Corsen

16th July - Treguier

109 miles from Pointe de Corsen

Wet,grey and rainy again most of the day. Initially planned to stop at a guide book  'recommended' aire at Roscoff. Great view of the bay - but the book didn't say that there was a busy main road between the aire and the beach! Decided to move on and spent the night at a busy aire (about 20 motorhomes parked up) in a wooded location next to a tidal river at Treguier further east along the north coast of Brittany.

Large cathedral with the local saint in the town centre together with a busy harbour for yachts and boating types. Odd thing about the cathedral was that the main tower - built in masonry and spired - was at the south entrance above the southern transept. Also, the spire was pierced. Not sure if this piercing was purely decorative or a means of combating strong winds! After noting this, it became apparent the next day that most churches have pierced spires in this part of Brittany! 

At the back of the cathedral there is an interesting and poignant war memorial based on a sculpture of a widow in traditional brittany mourning dress.

Treguier - War Memorial

Treguier -  Cathedral
Pierced spire over the south transept

17th July - Erquy

64 miles from Treguier

Decided to try the beach for a week and have booked into one of the two Municipal Campsites at Erquy for a week. 

The weather forecast remains 'iffy' with partial sun and some thunderstorms promised. Erquy is a typical small, but fairly busy civilized French coastal resort. There is some great coastal scenery and walks around Cap Erquy and Cap Fehel. Also, some great beaches nearby for that holiday essential - the  'all-over' tan. Candid photos to follow next week.