I had a return trip booked to Northern Spain and Portugal for early May 2020, but after subsequent postponements it turned out that Brittany Ferries (via Motorrad tours) requested more money and had rescheduled the crossing to include two nights on board the ferry to Santander instead of the usual one night as originally planned. Myself and Steve didn’t like the idea of embarking Thursday tea time and disembarking Saturday morning so we decided to cancel our reservations, and with some initial resistance from Motorrad tours we received a full refund. The cost of an organised bike tour to Spain is spiralling now, and that was before increased fuel costs, it seemed ridiculous to spend so much time on a boat in the Bay of Biscay and more money to ride roads we had already covered before. After a quick look at the map we decided to put together our own trip and ride a lap of Brittany instead, using a slightly shorter time period - Sunday to Friday sailing from Poole to Cherbourg and back in to Portsmouth.
I came up with some daily routes between locations and hotels selected by Steve who had toured Brittany by motorcycle before and even sailed his own yacht into the Cherbourg peninsula so we had the makings of a good trip. On the run up to departure we shared route files for our GPS units to confirm all was good, slapped the new mandatory UK sticker on the panniers and on the Saturday morning I had an excellent ride down via Marlborough and Salisbury before heading past Stonehenge to meet Hayley who I hadn’t seen in a while. She’s really enjoying her time being an instructor down at Calshot near Southampton and she took me for a walk along the beach to the cafe for lunch followed by a guided tour of the converted Air Force hangars now used for indoor activities to include an excellent cycling velodrome, several climbing walls and even an indoor ski slope.
Calshot is the original venue for the Schneider Trophy back in the early 1900’s the famous air flight speed competition for flying boats and seaplanes, an amazing location I can see why she’s enjoying her time down there on the water, teaching sailing, kayaking, paddle boarding, skiing, snowboarding and climbing. She has a nice little set up, and loving her job. It was so good to have her show me around and later followed by a nice little ride through the New Forest and Lymington, still sunny and warm to meet Steve at the Premier Inn in Poole.
A reasonable evening meal in the pub/restaurant full of entertainment with Steve playing up the head waiter by telling the rest of his staff he was useless, and mocking the new Dad on the next table wearing his baseball cap in reverse had me in stitches. I cannot repeat the term used but he was certainly on form as usual. The following morning we opted for breakfast on the boat, an early start setting sail at 8.30am we met up with some lads on Harleys from Northern Ireland who had some ordeal due to a cancelled ferry ended up coming via Wales. Also met a couple on an older R80/GS embarking on a 3 month tour heading to Provence and the French Alps.
Great to see bikers venturing out abroad after all this time. The requirement to hand over Covid vaccination evidence at the port and mandatory face-masks when moving about on the ferry but thankfully no other restrictions in France now it seems. A calm crossing with views of the upmarket ‘Sandbanks’ as we left Poole, this crossing taking about 5 hours to Cherbourg leaving us to tuck into a small English, followed by a snooze in the lounge after we were soon suiting up on the deck ready to leave.
Our initial ride in France was a short one designed to take us down the western edge of the Cherbourg peninsula with a brief stop at Barneville Carteret for refreshments on the ‘plage’ before riding through splendid empty countryside to our remote stop over at La Verte Campagne near Trelly in Normandy. Steve had selected the ‘Logis’ chain of independent hotels and restaurants and our first was a cottage run by an English couple Andre and Lynn who were surprised there were two of us booked in due to some confusion about a special booking rate aimed at lone working people. Thankfully, they had spare rooms and soon accommodated us and Andre even checked (being half French) our remaining bookings were valid and in order.
And so, a fine time we had drinking beer in the evening sunshine followed by an excellent three course meal to include steak and wine in the traditional Bretagne kitchen admiring the fireplace spit and rustic charm. We retired for the evening feeling quite content with Steve’s choice of accommodation. Breakfast was good too, the whole stay really was excellent value, I would fully recommend La Vert Campagne (the green countryside you know!) to anyone heading down this way. I do hope to return someday.
On the road at around 10am after a classic French breakfast of Croissant, Baguette, soft cheeses and Apricot jam, our route took us through the remainder of the Cotentin peninsula and on past Mont Saint-Michele before heading West into Brittany. Unfortunately you no longer ride/drive across the causeway to reach that incredible island that looks like a location from Lord of the Rings. Nowadays you have to park up and catch the bus across that didn’t appeal to either of us, having both visited in the past, so instead we got as close as we could and continued on riding some spectacular countryside in an around Dinan with I seem to recall a brief coffee stop before continuing on to stop for lunch along the Emerald coast to the picturesque fishing port of Cancale.
Parked up in a convenient motorcycle bay and swapping biker gear for shorts and t-shirt we soon realised Cancale is famous for Oysters and Shellfish. We couldn’t resist ordering a plate of Prawns, Oysters, Shrimp and Snails. Steve being the expert on Oysters I’ve tried them in Florida where I found them quite gritty, but after he had prepared them for me with lemon juice and some pepper these were most enjoyable and went down a treat. The Langoustine was good too, the Snails were tricky to get at using the ‘pick’ implement they supply but quite meaty and fresh, ideal with the Garlic mayonnaise like Aiola. We sat for a while under shade from hot sunshine, people watching and admiring the scenery. An excellent afternoon I could have stayed in Cancale much longer.
Later in the afternoon we set off to cross the Arguenan River after Steve’s negotiations with workmen to let us pass on a closed bridge, I lost count of the number of pretty Bretagne villages we passed through before arriving late afternoon at our next Logis just outside Ploufregan. We were greeted by the owner a rotund sociable man who bounded up to us keen to show us our accommodation and book us in to his restaurant for our evening meal. This one was clearly a few stars below the night before, a strange courtyard I can only think the buildings were converted stables. The room was small yet clean with an en-suite at the back but our evening meal of one single choice included mountains of fusili pasta on a plate with unrecognisable meat .. pork I think in some weird French gravy had Steve almost wretch with displeasure. His face was a picture, astounded at the other workmen guests were obviously enjoying it leaving us to mask the taste with wine and cider and an apple tart before retiring to our respective rooms for the night.
I had a fitful nights sleep, someone in the next room coughing their guts up, I thought it was Steve struggling with that meal, all I kept thinking of that old ‘slipper’ we found at the port in Calais many years ago where Steve slotted it amongst Jeromy’s cargo net for him to take home and how that piece of meat we had eaten resembled its sole! Thankfully Steve was fine and had a good night. Our breakfast was much better at least the total cost for the night was cheap and represented ‘reasonable value’ but I think in hindsight we should have caught a taxi into town for our evening meal. A big days ride today right out south west, avoiding the ‘N’ roads wherever possible I’d plotted a route to take us through the most scenic parts of Brittany including forested twisty sections near Huelgoat. I’m sure we stopped for cafe au lait along the way too but I can’t remember where now.We did stop for lunch just as the weather turned to light drizzle in a very pretty town called Le Faou. I tucked in to a wonderful cheese and ham baguette from a very nice Deli’ and as we left, the light rain subsided, although much cooler to warrant our change of gloves, not for long though, it soon warmed up again.
The next leg of the route took us on to visit ‘Chapelle Saint-They’ at Pointe du Van. It seemed the French Honda Goldwing club were at the cafe nearby so we pulled up next to them for an ice cream seating ourselves outside for a while as we marvelled at the machines with trailer tow bars. Not my cup of tea to be honest but they were quite impressive seeing them lined up. From the cafe a short ride and walk down the path led us to this remote chapel. Unfortunately, it was closed and locked but good to admire the 17th century stonework nonetheless, perched above the bay and cliffs beyond. Lots of wildlife around with a good selection of birds too. Amazing peaceful location and the weather warm and air quite still.
While riding we had our intercom connected so as we crossed the bridge at Audierne I let Steve know I’d chose to stop and take a few photos allowing him to continue on. We were heading to Penmarch right out to La Joie on the coast taking a route out West past Quimper, or ‘Kemper’ as it’s known in the Bretagne language. After my fuel stop at an automated station we contacted each other and agreed to meet at our next Logis hotel, Le Sterenn a much better one than last night and both our rooms had a sea view. First though, as is customary on these trips a few beers with a nice drop of local Brittany blonde to wind down after the ride before taking a walk out along the coast to see the weather worn chapel before Dinner in the hotel restaurant next to the formidable looking French Poodle!
We both agreed the restaurant didn’t disappoint as fish had to be the order of the day as I chose the set menu, Steve going for a plate of six Huitres (Oysters) to start and Sole for main. I went for a mixed Sardine dish followed by the catch of the day. Wonderful cuisine and the Oysters were even better than Cancale. Great choice Steve, well-done! I do enjoy the local cider or ‘Cidre’, a much more peaceful nights sleep too.
Wednesday morning it was an early 8:30am start to help cover the 230 miles in good time. We adjusted the route slightly to avoid the slow moving traffic around some of the coastal towns. The main objective would be a stop in Rochforte-en-Terre followed by the city of Rennes to see the famous cathedral and staying the night just outside Moulay.
In hindsight the additional motorway stretch we did should have been avoided, perhaps a slightly different route but it was a challenge to cover the miles and arrive at our final destination at a sensible time (beer o’clock), however, we made the historic town of Rocheforte late morning just right for the first Crepe of the tour. They were so good, I had to have two!
Steve had visited before and stayed in the local hotel that was now a Bretagne biscuit shop with his two sons on a Harley trip, so a quick wander around this sleepy village as the temperature now rising to 23 degrees we were back on the road to Rennes to cool off.
A few more miles along the Motorway brought us right into the city and a route waypoint right outside the Basilica Saint-Saveur. After lighting a candle we stopped for a coffee at great little cafe set in the arches ran by a pleasant Italian chap from Sardinia. He directed us toward the rear entry for the famous Cathedral San-Pierre. Breathtaking decor and architecture we entered to the loud organ recital I at first thought being played especially for us. I’d never heard anything like before, filling the cathedral with this huge sound I couldn’t name the tune being a bit more classical than ‘Here comes the Bride’. We stood and listened in awe for a while, before returning to the bikes to start riding the final leg of the day.
As we came close to our accommodation it seemed we might be too close to the Motorway on the outskirts of the town, I had concerns we would end up in a budget Logis of a few nights ago, but then the scenery changed as we went all pretty ‘countryside’ again and Steve came over the intercom to say “you shouldn’t miss this place it’s a bloody great Chateau!” As we rounded the corner towards the river the driveway opened out to reveal Chateau Marjolaine, “yep, I think I’ve found it” I replied. Wonderful location and grounds, Steve had done well here I thought. A most enjoyable evening spent in the restaurant after a few beers outside followed by the set menu to include the Asparagus to start and Filet de Beouf I entrusted Steve to the wine choice with a bottle of red to share. After dinner I went for a pleasant walk near the riverside before retiring to read my book in my grande room overlooking magnificent countryside. Not a bad spot with bed and breakfast costing a very favourable 90 Euro.
For Thursdays ride I had selected 130 odd miles North, back into the Cotentin peninsula. We both set our GPS’s to avoid motorways and adjusted the route to take us through many miles of wonderful Bocage and on to Bayeaux. On the way our first coffee stop was at a traditional bar-tabac in the sleepy town of Le Teilleul. It was still quite early yet a few locals were sat around drinking beer and we were amused by the barman showing off the rugby ball behind the bar marked with six nations result - Wales 9, France 13. Obviously quite a proud result for France winning the 2022 Grand Slam, perhaps they were still celebrating! As we headed out of town we passed by this amazing Norman church. Quite something to behold considering the size of the town, we couldn’t resist riding back around and parking up for a visit (pictured left). Later in the afternoon we found ourselves dodging cyclists much to my amusement with him shouting over the Intercom “MATIL Alert”, Steves modified less gender specific version of MAMIL.
Finally, we managed to order omelette for lunch at a Cafe just outside Bayeaux Cathedral (pictured right). A regular tradition on these trips, not the worlds most expensive this time thankfully unlike the one ordered in the Swiss Alps, but a really nice cheese and ham nonetheless though despite Steve requesting non-frites, he still managed to get charged for them. What is it with us and omelette? We abandoned the original idea to visit the D-Day beaches .. Omaha, Utah and heading for Arromanches to visit Gold. We had both visited these before on previous ‘Harley’ tours yet I did have a yearning to ride through Carentan and take a look at the town the site of the US 101st Airborne Divisions most intense battles and liberation as depicted in part 3 of the excellent mini-series ‘Band of Brothers’. The series follows ‘Easy Company’ from their D-Day drop-in to liberation of Europe, all based on the book written by historian Stephen E. Ambrose. Not much there though, our brief ride through passed quite a few museums and cafes with the 101st insignia, might make an interesting visit someday if I’m ever out this way again, but with this latest war in Europe; the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, neither of us were in the mood to visit battle sites.
We arrived at Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue for our final night all in good time with Steve leading the way to the harbour to view the tidal lock gates used to keep water in at low tide. He explained how he had sailed into the harbour a few times from the UK after a night crossing and had to time the arrival before the lock gates were shut otherwise boats ended up out at sea for the night until high tide the next day. Really interesting town and port, and well kept too. We sat at a bar on the harbour enjoying a beer in the sun before riding a short distance to Hotel Les Fuschias a charming old French House in the back streets of the town parking up on the cobbles at the front entry, and at the rear there’s a wonderful ornate garden connecting the main house to an annex with other rooms. Our rooms were in the main part at the front, and I had a very pleasant double room. The restaurant an airy conservatory offered another wonderful A la Carte, and for our last evening meal I went for the Foie Gras to start with the very fresh Cod Steak dish and local Calvados to drink.
We paid a visit to La Maison Gosselin, the famous emporium of fine food wine and other provisions serving visitors and locals since 1889. Steve explained how people sailing in to Saint-Vaast would call ahead and Gosselin would select a hamper of groceries and deliver it by vintage truck to dockside and had been doing this for years. The shop is a bit like Fortnum and Mason and I was fascinated by the huge variety of produce and items on offer. I was quite taken by the selection of cheeses and decided to return in the morning to fill my top box with some goodies including some rather strong smelling soft cheese similar to Camembert that I can confirm tasted really good despite leaving my top box with a strong aroma for quite sometime!
After a very filling breakfast it was time to say farewell to Saint-Vaast and Northern France and ride our short journey to the Cherbourg ferry port ready to sail back to the UK. We had fun with two couples on bicycles after being cheeky and managed to hop the queue lane to board the ferry just behind them. This would give us faster disembark in Portsmouth later. Our crossing was quite calm, and after a spot of lunch in the restaurant six hours later docked in Portsmouth around 4.30pm. Myself and Steve said our farewells at Chievelly services near Newbury and go our separate ways, both arriving home around 7.50pm.
A nice little trip away with Steve who is always a pleasure to tour with, we had a lot of fun and very few mishaps at an enjoyable pace allowing us to see the sights and enjoy Brittany and parts of Normandy with ease with some interesting routes, pretty French countryside, unique towns and villages great coffee and lunch stops and of course in most cases some very fine dining. It really was a good idea to sail from Poole to Cherbourg and I’d certainly do it again sometime, Northern France down to the Loire has a lot to offer on Motorcycle and it was a great idea to choose the Logis chain for accommodation too. Hopefully we don’t have to wait so long to ride together again next time! 😎
