31.05.08 Saturday Chatillon en Vendelais to Port Brillet. We knew this was a long day with no known ending, but set off in thick mist out of the village at first not even able to see the cows, but they soon appeared. Walked all day along country lanes with very little traffic and as warned …
30.05.08 Friday Fougeres to Chatillon en Vendelais. Uneventful walking,enlivened only by the occasional herd of cows. The high spot of the day the drying of the tents in a deserted masonry store in the middle of nowhere. After yesterday’s good walking on a disused railway line, we tried to pick up the same line running …
29.05.08 Thursday. Chateau de Rocher to Fougeres. Set off from the Gite d’etape that has not been open since 2000. The owner let us use it and only charged us 10 euros for the night with gas stove, hot water showers and beds that were only a bit musty. Picture of us departing in the …
28.05.08 Wednesday Antrain to Chateau de Rocher Portail. Another wet night, even our little pitch under a nice thick beech tree was soaked. Up and at it, and after stoking the baguette fired boilers of our legs we set off out of Antrain – a pleasant small town (when dry). I will not bore with …
27.05.08 Tuesday Pontorson to Antrain Wet night last night so tents soaking this morning, the evening was disturbed by 2 families of loud Brummies on holiday in the pitch next door, our fault should have noticed they were there but so used to sites being empty or nearly that didn’t think it was an issue. …
26.05.08 Monday. Le Mont St Michel to Pontorson. The campsite at LMSM is not wonderful the pitches are predictably over camped although the facilities are good and protected by electronic cards, the only place we’ve ever checked in to campsite at the hotel reception. Although the weather for the crossing of the bay was fine …
25.05.08 St Jean de Thomas to Le Mont Saint Michel. The bad weather yesterday really did us a favour by driving us into the great B&B we stayed at. Tony was lying in state on the double bed while Tim was composing the blog on the single in the corner of our room when he …
24.05.07 Donneville to St Jean de Thomas. Woke up to a dry tent, no dew, then heard the first drops of rain, Tony’s tent under a tree so a rapid packing up of stuff managed to secure dry packs and everything for the day but the rain teased us all morning never raining hard but …
23.05.08 Friday MontMartin to Granville. Started from the delightful quarry municipal site at 07:30 (if Tony Moores chose Tim’s new watch, then please select one with bigger numerals next time so that he doesn’t think that it is 1 hour later than it is!), up into village usual 2 baguettes eat one with ham and …
22.05.08 Thursday Geffosses to Mont Martin via Coutainville and Pont de la Roque Set off early at 7am. Are French campsites like offers in supermarkets buy 3 get one free? Perfectly good site though and hot water because it’s fed from the school boiler next door which seemed to fire up every hour or so …
21.05.08 St. Germain Plage to Geffosses Got bread (2 baguettes) and ate one with ham for breakfast then set off down coast over looking saltmarshes, interesting building called ‘Le corp de Garde’ (the guard room). A building built in 1669 to allow the port to be under surveillance. After the 6 miles planned as an …
20.05.08 Tuesday Barneville to St Germain sur Plage. Today after a bit of difficulty found the GR and then got on to the beach and then down to PortBail, which had a market in progress, we wandered up and down and bought a large flatfish called a something in French can’t remember but the lady …
19.05.08 Le Rozet to Barneville Carteret. Tim. We started out at about 08:30 and after some interesting twists down the green lanes on the GR223 we went over a headland to see a beach stretching to the vanishing point (well about 5 miles anyway) so we made excellent time along it on firm sand seeing …
18.05.08 Tim. A good night’s sleep for all and our gallant sailors pleased, I think, with the prospect of strong NE winds for their return home. We part company for the GRP De la Hague to take us to Le Rozel. At first we don’t pick it up but as we leave Cherbourg we pick …
!7.05.08 Tim I don’t remember a lot about the crossing (a bit like the 60s, if you can remember it you weren’t really there). I am told it was a good crossing as calm as it gets with a good wind and took just over 12 hours. However my seasickness and tablets mean that the …
We are now in the sailing vessel Teaser having transferred our kit and gone for a walk round Weymouth. Trevor managed to borrow this boat from a friend. His web site http://www.weymouth-sailing.co.uk As you can see a pretty gloomy day in Weymouth. Though speeds of over 6 knots were achieved in both boats. So setting …
We have now returned to Portland harbour and seen the boat lifted out of the water and unloaded our gear. Skipper Trevor has managed to beg borrow or steal another boat and he and Arthur have gone off to the middle of the channel to fetch it. We are in the Cafe at Aqua Hotel …
A pleasant amble without rucksacs into Weymouth to find the boat in the harbour and have some lunch, meet with Betsy, and set up tents for us and the gallant crew of the sailing vessel Sapho in Pebble Bank campsite. A pleasant little field above the bank of Chesil beach and Fleet Lagoon (along which …
10 miles out from Weymouth the skipper (Trevor) noticed water coming into the bottom of the boat. It was deemed appropriate to return to Portland and lift the boat out of the water. The new plan is to borrow another boat, check it out this afternoon and sail again in the morning. Link to where …
14.05.2008 The Big Day. Tim does not intend walking this far in one day again, 25 miles with pack and around 3,000 ft of up and down is a bridge too far, so we were glad to be rescued by Betsy with cold Cokes at about 17:15. Tony on his third day out decided enough …