Plonévez-Porzay and Trégarvan

Sunday 17 September 2023

Nido's parked up on the old quay side by the estuary in the tiny hamlet of Trégarvan.  It looks very much like similar estuaries found in Cornwall.  It must have been a port at one time given the many bollards along the jetty, but time and silt have clearly made it impossible to now moor alongside.  The parking area is noted as an official aire, but there are no facilities here except for a couple of bins.  

We stayed another night in Kerhillio on Friday, mainly because the forecast was decent and we fancied another sea swim.  Salty had a good walk in the morning, including some beach time but also excitedly investigating the many rabbit burrows in the low level sand dunes - one of his favourite pastimes!  He then stayed in the van in the shade while we walked through the huge municipal campsite and on to the beach; by the late afternoon the tide was in so we had an hour of alternating between swims and drying off in the warm air and hot sunshine.

Yesterday was a Super U shopping day and a diesel top up.  Super U is one of my favourite French supermarkets; the variety and quality of produce is always good and at a reasonable price, although most supermarkets in France (except Lidl and Aldi) are more expensive than at home.  The pile of live crabs and lobsters on the ice table in the poissoniere section were very tempting, but would be extremely messy to dress in a small campervan!

Last night's park up was on the free aire in Plonévez-Pornay, a few miles inland from the coast.  It has space for about 20 vans on grass, although by the end of the day they were tagging on the ends or any space they could find.  Again, all were French vans except for us.  We've seen very few British vans over the past month, not even many Dutch, who are usually around in large numbers. We took a walk into town to get our bearings, having noticed there would be a market the next morning.  This is the first time a night stop has coincided with a village market, so we were keen to have a look.  The town has all the usual shops, plus some selling Bretagne products to tourists.  I cooked a fish Thai green curry later.

This morning was showery although still warm - in the low 20s - and a couple of times we had to take shelter from heavy downpours at the market.  There were some lovely fruit, vegetables and cheeses on sale, some from local organic producers.  There was also the usual olives and saucisson stall, another selling hot cooked couscous and another selling rottiserie chicken; at €14 per kilogram though it was a bit too pricey for us. We were already topped up with food, so nothing was bought.  

On the way to Trégarvan we visited a couple of beach park ups to see if Salty could have a bit of a run around.  The first now had a sign banning all motorhomes from parking at any time and the second had a sign banning dogs from the beach at any time, so we just headed here instead.  This part of Brittany is very much like Cornwall (and Anglesey), with small fields enclosed by hedgerow and rolling hills.

On arrival I sat on one of the bollards with a pot of tea and just watched the wading birds in the estuary mud and the skies as dark streaks of cloud marked the blue sky.  The tide was on the turn and on its way in. After a quick lunch the idea was to take a walk along the estuary, but we had an hour of very heavy rain, so chilled out in the van instead.

Eventually the rain cleared and we set off along the path running by the estuary.  It took us through temperate rainforest, which was now steamy and humid with the hot sun shining through the greenery as we walked.  Salty managed to get in the flowing stream which runs into the estuary and enjoyed himself pawing at and biting the waterfall!  The route took us up and onto a lane for a circular walk back down into the village and the van.  

Dinner was eaten overlooking the still water of the estuary at high tide and as the sunset, peace and quiet followed.  And what a sunset it was.