From Rennes, we rented an Avis car for our drive around the Brittany coast. We had booked a manual VW Golf, but you never seem to get the car you ordered and the model assigned to us was an automatic Toyota Corolla hybrid with a big enough boot to hold both our large bags. It had a built-in SatNav which we used in conjunction with our own portable Garmin, one spoke to us in English (American actually, with a hideous pronunciation of French place names), the other in French (much easier to program, but we couldn't save favourites). Our first stop, about 150km away, would be Quiberon in the French department of Morbihan in the region of Bretagne.
Quiberon is the main town on the 8km x 2km Quiberon Peninsula which would be an island if it wasn't joined to the mainland by a long sandy isthmus. In the Seven Year War between Britain and France, the Battle of Quiberon Bay (1795) was fought here, and won by French Revolutionary Forces against the British assisted monarchists or royalists. The victorious General Lazare Hoche is celebrated in the town, with statues and the main street. Britain and its allies eventually won the war which set it on the path to becoming a global superpower.
Fisherman sculpture plus the lighthouse at Port Haliguen near Quiberon.
To get to Quiberon, we drove through the smaller commune of Saint-Pierre-Qiberon (almost totally closed down for the winter, although we managed to buy a baguette sandwich) with a delightful little harbour. In light drizzle, we took the scenic route into Quiberon around the Cote Sauvage which followed a rocky and rugged coastline and beside what looked like a long and excellent walking track being well enjoyed by a few hardy locals.
Drizzle doesn't deter walkers and their dogs on the rugged "wild coast" walk of Quiberon.
Our hotel was about a km out of town, the Sofitel Thalassa Spa which was large, modernish, fabulously located facing south and the Atlantic Ocean, and rather too expensive. Being almost the only hotel (of dozens) open in town, it was also quite busy, the clientele being wealthly French there to enjoy a Thalassa Spa (whatever that is, but we discovered that it refers to "seawater therapy" and locals claim that it was developed here in Brittany in the 1800's, no doubt to create a marketable niche) in the off-season. Glamorous people wandered around the hotel in bath-robes all day, and this was clearly the main reason to be here.
Pleasant view from our hotel room at Quiberon Sofitel.
In our four days at Quiberon, we explored the area rather than used the saltwater spa facilities. The weather was unkind most of the time, heavily overcast and lots of light drizzle. In these conditions, it was hard to see what appealed to visitors here, but obviously summers are entirely different. Of scores and scores of cafes and restaurants, almost all were closed, and even when they were open (very limited hours), all they were serving was coffee and alcohol. Meals seem to be served at very precise hours, typically lunch from 12:15 to 13:30, dinner from 19:00 or 19:30 and don't bother arriving outside those windows, you'll be waved away. It was hard work to avoid eating at the Sofitel. It even took us a day or two to find a boulangerie open to buy a sandwich, be early for those too, or miss out!
Panorama of Quiberon, casino on the right.
Quiberon main beach as seen from the ferry terminal.
Strategically positioned starboard light as seen from the harbour.
Sculpture in Quiberon Harbour tells of the town's maritime history.
Quiberon has a small harbour where the ferries dock, protected if not actually created by huge groynes, and at least one or two even smaller ports which run dry at low tide. Fishing and pleasure boats must have to watch their clocks to time departures and returns. There is a wild rocky coast punctuated by long wide surf beaches. The water looks uninviting, and the waves are wild and unruly, but those observations may be just because of the windy weather we've encountered. These beaches are no doubt packed with swimmers and sun-bakers in summer time - we wouldn't want to be here then, there's almost nowhere to park as it is.
Quiberon railway station looks exactly like this, but only buses ply the route at the moment (maybe seasonal?).
Mural showing Quiberon cathedral shows the Breton spelling of the town name (which gives us foreigners a hint at pronuciation!).
We would have done more of the wild coast walk if it wasn't for the uninviting weather. But we did manage a visit to the 18thC
Fort Penthievre
at the northern end of the Quiberon Peninsula. This fort played a major part in the Battle of Quiberon during the Seven Years War beween Britain and France, and their respective coalitions. On 03 July 1795 the emigrant royalists from Britain took the fort, but only two weeks later, the French republicans took it back and pushed the monarchists back (into the sea?). The fort has a memorial to the murder of 50 home guard forces by the German occupiers in 1944 - their bodies were hidden in the fort and not discovered until a year later.
Fort Penthievre at the Quiberon spit faces an unforgiving sea. In 1795, it was takne by the Breton royalists, then two weeks later by the French republicans. In WW2, 50 home guard troops were murdered and hidden here by German occupiers.
War memorial at Fort Penthievre.
And, most interesting, we visited the neolithic site (5000BC) in Carnac (just off the Peninsula) where there are kilometers of aligned stones (menhirs, 2-3m high, some bigger). The alignment is obvious but illogical, not based on astrology or seasons, and its purpose is really just speculation, although we can discard the divine intervention theory. This is a huge site, and we only got to explore a fraction of it. It's open free of charge in winter, but in summer, when visitor numbers are high enough to justify fee collection, its about 8EUR each. The museum there is free and open year round had some fine exhibitions and a great video (with English), and very helpful staff who made useful lunch suggestions. Signage around the boundaries of the site suggest that its existence as a government protected museum is controversial. The signs argue that the site should be free and open to all at all times. We suspect that such freedoms in the past has led to widespread destruction of the alignments!
Amazing 7,000 year old lines of "menhirs", no purpose known.
The 5km length of the Carnac alignments is interrupted by farms and housing. Who knows how many were lost in the past?
Pleasant forest near the Carnac alignments.
We had crepes at Chez Marie while we were waiting for the Museum of Megaliths to open.
Beachside mansions at Carnac.
High and dry boats at low tide in the tiny harbour of Carnac.
Detail at Carnac's Saint Cornely church.
The big manmade mound of the neolithic Tumulus Saint-Michel was a burial place for just one (very important) person (excavated around 1900).
Sun peeking through the watery view of Carnac from the tumulus mound.
Interior of the Eglise Saint Michel atop the neolithic tumulus, luckily open because a professional photographer was working here.
As if to reclaim this sacred place from the pagan rituals of 7000 years ago, churches have long been erected atop the mound. Excavation access apparent.
Quiberon was a pleasant place to stay, our hotel being very comfortable. Planning mealtimes was a bit disconcerting for people used to the "eat when you like" mentality. But then, it was time to take our ferry to Belle-Ile-En-Mer.
Privately owned, the Chateau Turpault is an imposing building on the Quiberon waterfront, looking over to Belle-Ile-Sur-Mer.
Belle-Ile-En-Mer, its ferry, and a navigation marker as seen from the Sofitel.
No comments:
Post a Comment