PETER CUNNINGHAM takes the ferry to France fora whistle-stop tour around the villages of Brittany and Normandy
WE REACHED Roscoff on a sunny Saturday morning at 10.30pm. This would be a six-day trip – four nights in France, two on the Oscar Wildeferry – driving east across Brittany, then north through Normandy to catch the ferry home from Cherbourg four days later.
After an hour strolling through Roscoff with its pretty sandstone pink buildings, we set out east for the Île de Bréhat.
The archipelago that includes the Île de Bréhat lies north of the town of Paimpol. From the promontory overlooking the tiny ferry port at Pointe de l’Arcouest, the pink islands – the same colour as most of the buildings in Brittany – were spread out across the sea floor at low tide like the gums of the earth.
The neap tides in these parts allow spectacular opportunities for shrimp fishermen – every island-bound family on the foot-passenger ferryboat had shrimp nets and Wellington boots.
We didn’t have much time to spend on Île de Bréhat, just enough to get a warm impression of the remoteness of the little port, with its houses on the cliff tops, and their wonderful gardens that bloomed with startlingly blue hydrangeas, montbretia and, above all, glorious agapanthuses.
Our final destination that day was Plancoët, not far from the town of Dinan. We had booked into Hotel L'Ecrin, which was recommended by the Michelin Guide.
The creeper-clad hotel overlooks a beautifully restored old mill, and a river, and several bridges with abundant floral arrangements. L’Ecrin’s service was flawless, the food delicious. The owner, M Creuzil, struggles to keep standards high – business is down 50 per cent on last year, he has let staff go and reduced the price of his rooms. We strolled after dinner along the riverbank under a new moon, hanging thread-like in the clear Brittany sky.
Dinan, 20 minutes east of Plancoët, is really two towns – the old fortified town on the hill, with its castles, churches, shops and cafes; and way below in the valley, the port of Dinan, linked to the coastal port of Dinard by a canal and an estuary. The port in Dinan, beneath a massive stone viaduct, is pretty and popular. On Sundays there is a market on the river bank.
After a pancake in Dinan, we drove east, skirting the famous Mont St Michel. Since it was Sunday, Mont St Michel would be choking with tourists like ourselves; we decided to give it a miss.
We turned north soon afterwards, crossing into Basse- Normandie about eight kilometres south of Avranches. We had now arrived on the Cotentin Peninsula.
The main towns of the Cotentin are built in the hills overlooking the coast. This is orchard and dairy country; the cider makers of the Cotentin are renowned throughout France.
Outside the pretty town of Villedieu-les-Poêles, famous for its bell foundry, is a wonderful 17th century farmhouse-guesthouse, Manoir de l’Acherie, that provides accommodation and hearty meals based on the produce from the surrounding area.
In summer, the majority of l’Acherie’s guests are families who head off to the seaside every morning and return for evening meals of soufflé of langoustines and salmon cooked in cider sauce.
NEXT MORNING, Monday, we set out in rain for the hilltop cathedral town of Coutances. On the outskirts of the town, the famous cathedral suddenly appears on the skyline. It is an astounding building. Built on the ancient site of a previous cathedral, work was commenced in 1048.
The consecration of the cathedral in 1056 was attended by William the Conqueror. A classic example of the Gothic style in Normandy, the cathedral’s octagonal lantern tower stands more than 57-metres high and its twin spires can be seen from the island of Jersey.
At around 3pm, we cut a line west, headed for the coastal twin towns of Barneville-Carteret. Barneville is the seaside resort; Carteret is a tidal port with a marina.
The beach at Barneville is long and sandy with miles of sand dunes. We hired bicycles and cycled along the head of the beach for an hour.
We stayed for two nights in Hotel des Ormes, a cosy, mid-priced hotel in an old stone building in Carteret, beside the marina. On the second night we reserved a table at De La Marine, Carteret’s well known hotel, which has a one-star Michelin restaurant.
This was the gastronomic highlight of our four-day French jaunt. De La Marine’s set menu kicked off with a stunning oyster soup, followed by skewers of lobster, then by baked John Dory. The desserts were enormous. The price of the set menu was €34 each.
Next day we spent on the beach, swimming. It took less than 45 minutes to drive north to Cherbourg and hop on the Oscar Wilde for the journey home.
, Peter Cunningham’s new novel, is published by New Island, €14.99.
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