Road Trip Report – Brittany Part 1
Having established ourselves at the Hotel Brittany, we spent the next couple of days exploring the region around Roscoff. There were a few things we knew we definitely were going to do, including hiking along the sentiers côtiers (coastal trails).
When we left Chateau Richeux heading toward Roscoff, we stopped in Perros-Guirec, a seaside resort that is the starting point of several coastal hikes. We wanted to check out how to access them and what the parking situation was around them. But first, we stopped at Plage Trestraou, the main beach in town. The boardwalk is really pretty and I enjoyed taking a few photos, I loved the steel and wood combo.
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We walked along the beach and saw the most curious sight, little circular piles of sand all along the beach, I am sure they are made by some animal, but I never saw evidence of it! Does anyone know what does this?

We staked our bearings and headed over to the other side of town where there is a pretty little port. Most of these little coastal towns have a post area (majority of the time they are called Port de Plaisance) just follow the signs and you will land yourself in a marina (as opposed to the working port where fishing boats are coming in and out). There are typically cafes and restaurants, benches, walks, and access to the water (if available). We looked around a bit, but not too long as we knew we would be back to go hiking.
Up and at it early the next morning, but not forgetting to partake of Hotel Brittany's amazing breakfast, we headed back to Perros-Guirec for several hours of hiking/walking along the beautiful coast. One thing you should know about Brittany is that the weather is a bit like Seattle, with lots of days of overcast skies and rain. Incredibly, during our entire stay it was sunny and around 65 degrees, our definition of perfect weather. So walking along the sentiers côtiers (coastal trails) and sentier douanier (customs trails) the colors of the water, the sky, as well as the flora and fauna, were stunning. I usually don't take a lot of photos of flowers, but I couldn't help myself, they were so beautiful!

We wandered onto a beach loaded with rocks and spent nearly an hour climbing over them (carefully!) and taking photos. Have you ever seen seaweed this green?

As we walked around we noticed a ton of these butterflies which I have never seen before, they are so colorful.

We ended up at a lighthouse which we explored the grounds of for quite a while until we decided we were getting hungry! We had been walking for a couple of hours and had to do the return trip to get back to the car. What had been nice about taking the sentier douanier from Chateaux Richeux last October was that at the end you were rewarded with the town of Cancale where we had a delicious lunch prior to doing our return hike. In this case, with no place to refuel (we didn't pack a picnic which is what we usually do) then the further out we walked meant that we would have to repeat the same distance to return!
We stopped at a creperie back in the port (nothing impressive to report there) and headed out to find cider.
A certainty for this trip was finding the producer of the amazing apple cider we tried at the Cafe Breizh last year in Cancale. It was darn good stuff! We even convinced the cafe's owner to sell us a few extra bottles so that we would enjoy it during our lunch picnics. (You can see it in the last photo in this post from Le Loire last October.)
When we returned home last October we took the photo of the label we had taken and found out where he was located and if he sold direct. Given the fact that it is not unusual for Mr. Misadventures and I to drive hours and hours to seek out amazing food and drink, getting lost in the back roads of Brittany to find this cider was going to be no trouble at all!
And that is exactly what we did.
Random question, but have you read A Secret Kept? I read it a few weeks ago after devouring the author’s first book, Sarah’s Key (also based in France), a few years ago and now I have an overwhelming desire to revisit France. It takes place in some quaint seaside resort town on maybe the west coast? Sounds lovely, as does Perros-Guirec.
@Kristin, I have not, but I am going to download it up on my iPad right now, I am always looking for new books to read, and one based in France would be fun. The seaside towns are fun unless it is July or August and then they are invaded and, in my opinion, impossibly crowded and horrible. The rest of the year it is amazing, the food alone is worth the trip!
Love these photos and now you’ve got me dreaming of making a road trip through France!
@AndP, thanks, I am sensing a girl trip is in order!
That looks like a lot of fun. I love the beach.
@Linda, it was, particularly since it wasn’t super hot, which I don’t like.
I was thinking exactly the same thing as Kristin (Camels & Chocolate) while reading — I just read A Secret Kept, too, and now hope to see Brittany in the future! The setting of the book plays a major role, and it looks really cool.
Those piles of sand are weeeeird! So funny! I smiled when I saw them. I’m guessing, too, that some wee creature tunnels out of the sand and leaves them behind? They look kind of like poos, lol. They crack me up. (Yeah, the kid in me is easily amused, haha.)
And such pretty flowers and butterflies, too. Thank you for sharing another segment of your trip!
@Karin, I am going to start reading that book this week – now with two recommendations it is a must-read!
oh this was a LOVELY trip down memory lane. I spent every summer in Perros as a teenager. I had a ‘French exchange’ girl..she’d spend 2 weeks with me…we’d go back to France and I’d spent 2 weeks with her family in Perros. What a lovely lovely place it is!
@Spudballoo, so glad that I could do that for you – must have been CRAZY in the summer though!
This is lovely! if only i have given a chance to have time to travel around then maybe i have witness a similar things like you have witness.
The sandy piles on the beach are lugworn castings. You can read all about it on wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lugworm). I have seen these on the beaches for as long as I can remember, but never actually saw the animal making it.
Sounds like you are having a wonderful trip. I wouldn’t mind going back to Brittany, so many wonderful sights there.
@Ingrid, oh thank you! I am going to check out the wiki page – so cool of you to let me know! I did have an amazing trip!
This is a part of France I haven’t read much about, so it’s fun to see your photos and learn about Brittany. The beach and flowers are charming!