Camino 2008

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 by the helpful campsite manager in Fougeres no one goes there. The mist eventually turned into a warmish humid day and on a rise outside Port Brillet we found enough wind to help dry the tents as well as a welcome rest for the legs. We had covered around 20 miles and were entering Port Brillet and resigned to spending a night in a forest about 2 miles further on when we saw a sign for the Auberge du Village and since it is now a week since our last B&B we felt a night of comfort and a day not smelling too bad was called for. So a sit down meal in the restaurant tonight followed by a night inside for a change.

Link to where we are on Google Maps

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 south out of Fougeres. This line however still had the lines and ballast on it and so was unwalkable. Maybe sometime SNCF (the French railways network), will turn this line as well into a walkable and cycleable route. I am sure that it will be much appreciated by both the locals and long distance walkers.
This is the last campsite before we step off tomorrow in to the wilds of rural France where only cows go.
It is however a great place, by the side of a lake created probably between the 2 world wars and inhabited by a few French people and no more than 6 at present on this Municipal site.
Les Municipals are a supremely French creation and are camp sites sponsored and run by the local council, some are now falling into disuse but many like this flourish on the earnings during the high season and are open during an extended summer season from april to end sept. They deserve support!
We arrived and pitched tents and then went into the village a little rain happened and on our return another hour of rain was followed by a very pleasant early evening of sunshine allowing me to cook outside my tent.

Link to where we are on Google Maps

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 morning – note Gite d’etape sign of tree above door. These Gites d’etape are found on the main GR walks, they are usually in a small village or other obvious place on or close to the line of the route and are a cut above a good Scottish Bothy and a step down fron a Youth Hostel. Beds and cooking facilities plus a shower, ? hot are the level. We were also given a litre of fresh milk probably straight from the cow. Audette, the lady who came summoned by her son to look us over and approve our ad hoc visit, lamented the closure of “her” Gite in 2000, as “ in the 80s it was the best in the area” and still attracts occasional stopovers like ourselves.

The walk today was uneventful and rapid progress was made down the route marked by the Pilgrims de Compostelle , following a disused railway line rather than the GR34 which wandered around the countryside a bit. We arrived in Fougeres at 13:30 and had just put up tents when the thunderstorm broke. Not too bad, we could have been walking.

We then spent a second downpour in the supermarche buying a paper map and stocking up food for 2-3 days as we may not see a significant town for that long.

We plan to follow the pilgrim route almost to Vitre as it seems generally superior to the GR in direction and condition of paths and then a GRP to Laval (3-4 days).

Link to where we are on Google Maps

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 more detail of mud etc, suffice it to say that after a while we found ourselves on an old railway track (permissive path for the GR) that went up the valley of the River Loisance, a tributary of the Couesnon that we had followed vaguely from Mont St Michel. After following the GR way marks and not going through a tunnel we found we had done 1.5 km that could have been 100metres (maybe the permissive nature of the path affected the willingness to mark through a well maintained short light tunnel). The day continued and after a few more bits of river bank and puddle we reached our lodging for the night, Chateau de Rocher. See Pic A, most imposing building but unfortunately the Gite d’etape was not the main building but an old somewhat decaying stableblock or farm building out the back, and at that we had to cajole our way in as it has been closed since 2000! The sun came out as we arrived and the tents soon dried (less weight tomorrow with a longish day into Fougeres ahead).

Link to where we are on Google Maps

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. They really could not see why anyone would want to go to sleep before 11 pm.
Still a nice site and we were off at 07:30 when the bread man arrived. 2-3 miles of road to warm us up and cut off the meandering of the GR34 and 39, and then we hit the mud farm tracks with ponds of water from the rain in previous 24 hrs, up on to banks at the sides and hopping from patch of reed to patch of rock we made our way into the Foret de Villegartier, the way got easier in that there were still pools of water in the route but it was easier to circumnavigate them. Sights of the day (for Freddie) a stork with half a tree in it’s beak (didn’t know they came this far north), and a crested grebe on the lake in the middle of the forest diving among Kingcups.
Lots of old stone crosses around from the 1600’s plus some with very weather worn figures on them with a more celtic feel than most french religious icons.

Link to where we are on Google Maps

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 a full thunderstorm rained most of the night. This tested our little Laser Competition tents properly for the first time. They were not found wanting although Tim woke with the well known feel of a puddle under the groundsheet, a little water shipped over the edge of the groundsheet due to the presence of all the gear in the tent distorting it, and both rucksacks got wet under the flysheet porches due to ground water these were the fault of the pitch we were on not a tent problem.
We woke early and walked without gear back into LMSM proper and did the standard walk around as Tony had never done this including the cloistered garden high under the spire. This way we avoided the crowds but had a ridiculously priced petit dejeuner. We left the citadel just as the coaches were arriving, having got pilgrim passports stamped in the museum. An hour slowly taking down camp in sunshine allowed them to complete drying and we departed the fleshpots of Le Mont St Michel in good order.
A gentle amble for 4 miles up the River Couesnon stopping for lunch at one of the many well provided picnic spots arriving about 1400 hours (on our rest day) at a very nice 3 star campsite in Pontorson by the name of Camping Haliotsis to be asked if we were pilgrims for Compostella and given free camping when confirming this with our Pilgrim Passports. This site is on the main route south from LMSM so it is expected they would know of the walks but unexpected and very pleasant to be helped.

Link to where we are on Google Maps

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 discovered that there are guided walks across the bay of St Michel from Genets (5 miles down the coast), to Le Mont St Michel. Great this saves 20-30 miles and at least a days walking. Having done the walk across the bay, this does carry a ‘do not attempt this at home’ sticker. We did it with a guide and a party of 30ish French from the same street in Caen who had come for a picnic and a day out on the sands. The four miles across the bay zigzagged across 3 main water courses (to mid thigh depth) and several mud flats and sinking sand bars. The youngsters in the party took great delight in jumping up and down on any quicksand they found which is much like walking over a layer of semi solid porridge. The crossing took 2 hours and there were 8-10 year olds in the party. We also passed a memorial on the shore to a rescue helicopter crew who died on surveillance duties only 10 years ago The weather across was perfect and the views make it a trip worth doing, to say nothing of the feel for the pilgrims of old who would have done it as we did in bare feet as no real option (I think their feet may have been tougher than ours though).

Link to where we are on Google Maps

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 occasionally needing the capes. We arrived in Carolles just as the shops were closing at 12:30 m- anaged some shopping but the small supermarche was closed till 14:30. 2 bieres of elastic time ensued as the rain had now started in earnest. After doing the necessary shopping (tomorrow being Sunday) it was still raining and so we started to walk the final 4 miles along the cliff path to St Jean de Thomas. The path was a true cliff path and went up and down a bit and was somewhat overgrown so everything from mid thigh down was soon soaking wet and making squelching noises. There should have been fine views of le Mont St Michael (of which more over the next few days), but the visibility was too poor to see anything.
As we arrived in St Jean the wind picked up and signs for Chambres d’hote started to look very appealing. Trying to dry out in tents the size of ours while still raining is impossible. After the bureau of the campsite was not open at 17:10 and the temperature was starting to drop we found lodging with an elderly French madame (Madame Bollet) with no English who lit a fire to dry out our boots, using a bellows to get another log going, I don’t think I have seen someone use a bellows for real since I was a child.
On the way through the various villages en route, there were some very interesting styles of architecture, here a turret in the roof, there a boat mosaic built into the wall.

Link to where we are on Google Maps

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 start walking, reach sea and an estuary uneventfully and walk up to the crossing place and then through more salt marsh and back lanes for a while to reach the beach. A final tramp along the beach saw us almost reach our goal for the day when the large black cloud that had been threatening for ½ hour started to pour. We just reached the bar at the edge of the campsite in time, to the amusement of the locals. It stopped after only 2 bieres (Betsy is right a pint is a unit of time).

Set up tents and did the usual things and were just discussing the next day when the elderly French couple in the camper van next door went off out in their Quad Bike with dog in the front carrier. ‘Wallace & Grommet Abroad’ could be Aardman’s next animated hit.

Link to where we are on Google Maps

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 even through the night.
About 2.5 miles to the coast and then down the littoral again to Coutainville, lots of little beach huts with bright coloured roofs in the dunes.
Did a bit of shopping and then some road walking out of Coutainville followed by a couple of miles of salt marsh with sheep on which we had lunch. It was very peaceful.

All really going well until the Pont de La Roque. This is a bridge where the allied forces removed the central section by bombing in 1944. It took 3 straffing runs to remove it so it must have been well built. How long will the remainder of the bridge last for?

Then down into MontMartin to find the municipal campsite located in an old quarry (Andy Malkin eat your heart out!).

Food in town plus a couple of glasses of pression (first yet in France!) and back to the site for tea.

Link to where we are on Google Maps

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 easy day to let Tim’s shin recover, arrived in Lessay had a coffee and found the campsite did not exist. 2 trips to the tourist office and we were on our way to Geffosses where the helpful tourist office lady said the camping was open. It wasn’t but the grass was being cut and the man said no one would care if we wanted to stay any way, there was hot water but no electricity. Still, tired pilgrims can’t be choosers.
The way was down Green lanes often more brown than green and sometimes passable only by hanging on to hedge branches and keeping feet on near vertical side walls. It did relieve the weight from the feet but we both came near to a close encounter of the muddy kind.

Link to where we are on Google Maps

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 fishmonger expertly filleted it and we will eat it shortly, also some fresh garlic (not dried) never cooked with that before! After that across the foot bridge (a better crossing than yesterday) and back gradually to the beach.

Along the beach for a way brought us to another minor estuary with the tide out, this one was much more to Tony’s liking and there was no need for persuasion to save another 2 miles before lunch on the other side above the high tide mark. We have really been lucky with the tides in cutting these corners. At two points on the beach we saw locals racing horses with the French equivalent of Irish Jaunting carts, we think these were training exercises as there were no crowds or bookmakers!

St Germain really is out of season, so we were lucky to find a small supermarket which opened at 4:30 to pick up some liquids for supper.

Link to where we are on Google Maps

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 maybe 3 people in 5 miles. As we approached the headland at the far end we struck inland to pick up the GR/ Way of St Michael into Barneville Carteret. Disaster struck soon after, we could have followed roads 3 km into BC but elected to follow the GR, it soon became obvious as one old fence gate followed another that it was heading for the end of the headland and then back again along the port and minor estuary of the stream on which the town is founded. Mistake 2, we tried to cut off the corner ending up after a slog through sand dunes in a holiday development and trying to cut downhill required us to exit to a road via the garden of a fortunately unoccupied house. Either neighbourhood watch does not exist in France or it is just not functioning in Barneville Carteret. We made our way to the portside to find the tide right out – this was fortunate for us as there is no bridge or artificial crossing to the other bank (the trip round would have added another 2 miles). At that state of tide the water was only ankle deep and the solution to me seemed obvious. Tony was most reluctant, the word nutter among others were used as I descended a ladder to the sand/mud of the harbour and changed boots for flipflops and paddled safely across, not to be out done he soon followed. About another couple of miles brought us to a campsite near the shore at about 14:30.

Tony
It was a lovely morning as we left the campsite, and the nice lady at the reception had even raised a Union Flag on one of the campsite flagpoles in honour of her UK visitors.
Just outside of Barneville Port I really didn’t believe it when Tim said he was going to wade across the river as I envisaged him disappearing up to his neck in quicksand. I stayed on the bank waiting to rush off to find a fireman or something (fat chance as all of France was at lunch), and felt faintly stupid when the water only came up to Tim’s ankles. Well we all live and learn.
After we arrived at the campsite we walked back into Barneville Carteret to find the nearest place to buy food as nothing seemed to be open in Barneville Plage this far out of main season. This added another 2 miles or so to the day but it seemed so much easier without a heavy pack on.

Link to where we are on Google Maps

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 up some markers and cutting off a corner via some meadows at Sideville to Pont Roger we saw two otters in the large stream passing through the meadows. Really the sight of the day. The markers for this and most other GRPs in France are Red and Yellow, the GRPs are the system of local 1 or 2 day paths across France, the true GRs or Grande Randonnees are marked in red and white, these are the true long distance, multi day or week, place to place walks across France.
The rest of the walk was really similar to Dorset – occasional beech wood and open fields with cows (spotted French ones not Friesians as in England). We thought that we could stop at a campsite in Les Pieux but once again it had been turned into a play area come holiday village for children, so we had an extra 2-3 miles to the coast and the Camping Le Grand Large site. Now a bit tired after 18 miles but the shin seems to be holding up if not improving.

Tony.
Trevor on the boat last night complained about a buzz saw running all night. What was that all about?

Link to where we are on Google Maps

!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 memories of it are ones I would rather not have.
I seemed to improve as we sailed through the entrance to Cherbourg harbour and was glad to see land and the port facilities for a shower etc.
Penny Arthur and Cheryl went shopping while we walked to the nearest camp site, the plan being an early start to the crossing for them and us to return for food in the evening. However the camp site had changed into a play area/football pitch/ and skateboard park. So we walked back again slept on the boat and left at 08:00hours to start walking.

Tony.
I don’t believe that I have travelled before on a medium sized boat as in my past I have done a bit of dingy sailing and used ro-ro ferries to get to various places. Life on a 36’ boat is a bit different, like camping with even less space.
The sea was very flat but even so I took some sea sickness pills twice on the voyage. These seemed to do the trick but I stayed out on deck as much as possible as down below tended to make you queasy very quickly. We all took turns at the helm on the voyage.

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 off at 05:00 tomorrow should see us there in Cherbourg well before dark.

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 Dive Dorset, been here before diving. We shall spend tonight in Weymouth aboard the new boat and try again tomorrow.

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 we walked to get into Weymouth).

A gentle day and at last a chance for the shin to sort its self out. Little did we know that a longer rest was in the near future.

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 we are on Google Maps

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 was enough and graciously accepted a lift (what is this? a pilgrimage! I’m supposed to suffer?). Tim however, albeit minus pack, completed the last 5 miles to Portisham just as the rain started. But the tents were already up.
The day began in the B&B Longburton and his shin was very happy for most of the morning and afternoon. We wandered over fields and the tops of the downs via green lanes and bridle ways. Including a long ascent through Melbury Park now owned by Ilchester Estates who seem to be most concerned about the deer living in the park. Very nice gates with a fox in wrought iron as well as more interesting stiles. See that post later.

Tomorrow the coast path to Weymouth to meet with our sailor persons. and to work our passage across La Manche.

Link to where we are on Google Maps