Sunday 12th October 2025 – Pléneuf-Val-André….

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A beautiful day for us today as we leave Erquy behind, not very far behind admittedly as we travelled a mere 8 miles further along the coast to Pleneuf-Val-Andre – stopping to take a quick snap of Plage de Erquy in the sunshine as we drove past…

Arriving in Pleneuf we went straight to the Aire and got ourselves a nice pitch before setting out to explore, stopping first at Plage de Val Andre and walking along the beach in a north easterly direction….

Pausing to enjoy the pretty little harbour….

We then made our way up the coastal path above the harbour and along the cliff tops, affording us spectacular views of the coastline along the way with our destination soon in sight….

Soon we were on our way down to the lovely long stretch of sand being Plage de Nantois and then Plage de la ville Berneuf….

Here we enjoyed a lovely long walk and of course a bit of downtime before making our way back through the villages to the van.

We are not done yet, so after a break and something to eat we set out again to a much busier beach and promenade – the French love to promenade especially on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Our mission now was to cross the beach at the southern end and access Plage de l’Anse du Pissot which is only accessible via the beach at low tide….

We were not disappointed and from the beach climbed up the steps to get a vantage point from which to look down on the beaches and village of Pleneuf-Val-Andre….

We also haven’t done one of these for a while – a room with a view through a derelict lookout up on the cliff tops…

We also took the opportunity for a sneak preview of the rugged coastline still to come…

Thoughts of the day:

  • Suddenly at about 4pm on a sunny day these French coastal villages come to life with people appearing from wherever in their cars or on foot to enjoy a stroll along the beach or promenade
  • The promenading French were all dressed in their Autumnul finery – spot the Brit in her sandals, T-shirt and cut off jeans!!

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 8
  • Miles walked – 8.5
  • Beaches – 5
  • Aire – £9.26 (EHU)

Saturday 11th October 2025 – the beaches of Erquy….

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Another grey day and a little chillier but good for walking – we have a fairly ambitious walk planned for today so set off in good time and were soon on the route of the Plages Sauvages – which I am taking to meaning ‘Wild Beaches’ rather than ‘savage ones!’….

Arriving at our first beach – Plage du Guen – I’ve noticed that the sand has changed to be almost pink though the Pink Granite coast is still a little further on….

We didn’t linger here – though we did come back later on when the tide was much lower and enjoyed a late afternoon stroll….

Our first main stop of the day was the stunning Plage de Lourtuais which we had to ourselves (in fact we didn’t see another soul until we were up by the main path to the Cap de Erquy) and was well worth the trip up and down the wooden steps….

From here we cut across the headland rather than continue on round as we still have a ways to go and we’re soon peering over the cliff edge at Plage du Port Blanc – definitely pink though not sand and down on what I can only assume was a former lifeboat station – though how you would get down there remains a mystery…

After this it was rather a long decline down into the centre of Erquy to the main beach….

Clearly a completely tidal beach, as we tried to walk along it it was way too squidgy and heavy going so we opted for the promenade instead and then up and over by means of a series of footpaths to our final destination beach – Plage de Caroual….

Here we sat for a while, at least I did – Tilly however has discovered the thrill of chacing sticks and doesn’t seem to care that we have a long walk back uphill to the van!

Thoughts of the day:

  • Space – there is so much of it here in France – the roads are wide, the pavements are wide the building plots (not in the village centres) are wide
  • There is building work going on or planned almost everywhere you go but I haven’t seen any ‘estates’ of new builds just the odd infill here and there and pleasingly some renovation works of some of the older buildings.
  • I have been wondering why some people turn up quite late to these Aires and am now thinking that it is as a result of a lot of the more scenic car parks prohibit use after 9 or 10pm and so maybe the French motorhomes park up somewhere pretty to spend the day and then move on for the night as these aires tend to not be anywhere scenic or particularly attractive – who knows?

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 0
  • Miles walked – 11.5
  • Beaches – 6
  • Aire – £7.51 (no electric)

Friday 10th October 2025 – Fort la Latte to Lanruen….

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Another grey one today and this time it didn’t clear but that is ok – we had a good one and that is what counts. Moving on from our Aire we popped up to see if we could get a proper look at Fort la Latte or Chateau de la Roche Goyon and to be fair it did not disappoint….

Next up was a visit to Plage Sables d’Or-les-Pins – an absolute beauty even on a grey day and looking positively tropical when the sun did come out briefly….

We spent a very happy couple of hours here, walking the beach from end to end and just sitting – there was hardly another soul to be seen and it was with reluctance that we moved on around the coast to take a look at Mont st Michel in miniature….

A very rough causeway was our way across and at one point I was a little concerned that everyone seemed to be scrambling back from the island but that was just the way it went and amazingly we got this little island to ourselves to explore….

The glass doors were very crusty with salt hence the rather awful photo – the chapel is used as a place of pilgrimage on 29th Sep (the feast day of St Michael) each year- so we are about a week late! We scrambled back over the causeway, by now frequented by mussel foragers and onto the lovely sandy beach….

One more brief stop at Lanruen to visit Plage sauvage de Lanruen before calling it a day at an Aire in nearby Erquy….

Thoughts of the day:

  • The coastal driving route has disappeared so I think that must be a Normandy thing – shame
  • To be honest I am enjoying the Brittany coast more than the Normandy coast as somehow a beach where you can see either end is more appealing.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 24
  • Miles walked – 6
  • Beaches – 3
  • Aire – £7.49 (no EHU)

Thursday 9th October 2025 – Cap Fréhel peninsula….

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A grey start to the day but it did improve with age. Having bagged myself a quiet corner spot in the Aire last night it slightly backfired this morning when we woke to this….

Yep time to harvest the maize – still I’m not complaining as they didn’t actually appear until just before nine but now the can does seriously need a good downpour to wash off all the dust!

We set off out about 10.30 heading south to start off with to the first beach – Plage Grèves des Fosses – more of a shore fishing beach with not much sand in sight…

We didn’t venture any nearer and about turned heading northwards towards Cap Frehel the most northerly point of this small peninsula – following the coastal path GR34 we walked along Plage l’Anse du Croc….

Before climbing up the cliffs and down again to our next beach – Plage Greves d’en Bas where we enjoyed a break whilst watching a surf school in action ….

The next two beaches were stunningly remote, in fact I’m not sure that the second one was accessible without a scramble – Plage de la Fosse and Plage de Port Sud-Est….

Eventually we arrived at Cap Frehel, the lighthouse and the most northerly rock beyond and enjoyed some quiet time just taking in the amazing sea and sky in front of us…

Next stop Jersey just about visible to the naked eye – we had considered walking around to take a closer look at Fort de Latte or Chateau de la Roche Goyon that we admired from St Cast yesterday but decided that that was just a step too far and so made an about turn and made our way back to the van – the views weren’t bad company ….

Thoughts of the day:

  • We are really enjoying the walking along this section.
  • Most of the photos used here were taken on the way back as the sun finally broke through.
  • There were motorhomes parked up in lay-bys along the route – but all the car parks were prohibiting overnight camping so I’m not sure if the lay by dwellers were taking the chance or just out walking and enjoying the day.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 0
  • Miles walked – 10
  • Beaches – 5
  • Aire – £12.10

Wednesday 8th October 2025 – St Cast-le-Guildo….

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Another fabulous walking day today as we left St Jakut behind and headed the short distance over to the next small peninsula and the small town of St Cast-le-Guildo – we did make one quick stop on the outskirts to take a quick look at Plage de Pen Guen….

Before finding free motorhome parking just behind our first beach Plage St Cast-le-Guildo a wide expanse of mostly tidal sand….

Heading along the beach northwards to join the coastal route GR34 as it winds around the headland, taking a moment to look at the flotilla of craft glittering in the sunshine as they lie moored off the bay this side of the busy fishing port of St Cast….

The port itself is busy with sacks of Oysters and Mussels being dispatched to wherever. Here the coastal path takes us up and winds its way around the headland, I almost feel at home – though the inclines are as steep they are not quite as long, for which my legs, that are now accustomed to very little climbing are grateful! Shortly we arrive at our next bay and wend our way down to the deserted small beach – Plage de la Mare, for a sit down and a coffee…

Onward and indeed upward the coastal path picks out a route hugging the cliffs and affording us stunning views out to sea and across to the next peninsula and Chateau de la Roche Goyon….

Our next beach is tidally split into two halves and is the stunningly remote Plage de la Pissotte – there were steps down to the beach but we passed on by as we still gave a ways to go….

Just how amazing are these colours? Our next cove was Plage de la Fresnaye where we did stop awhile – this beach had an active slip and quite a few small pleasure boats moored off there was also a good sized car park just above….

We cheated a little on the way to our final beach of the day by cutting off a bit of the headland section of the coastal path and ducking inland along the quiet residential streets to get there – Plage de la Fosse…

Less of a beach beach more of a mussel foraging destination judging by the cars in the car park and the number of folk attired in stout wellies wielding large buckets on a mission now the tide is more or less out.

We make our way back through the streets still undecided whether these houses are shuttered up to keep them cool or whether nobody is home – arriving back onto the main beach for the final bit we are surprised how many people are foraging down at the waters edge – maybe that is how the French can get away with eating so much bread – they dine on ‘moules’ fresh from the sea each day….

A stunning day and walk.

Thoughts of the day:

  • Pretty cheap way to live – I can’t think of too many meals you can just go and help yourself too – pity I don’t like shellfish (honestly the thought of it rather than the taste!).
  • The tide never seems to be fully in although many of the beaches we have visited would appear to be completely covered at high tide – am I missing something or just forgetting?

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 21
  • Miles walked – 9
  • Beaches – 6
  • Aire – £12.16