Days 7 and 8: Bright and Breezy Brittany

We were a little late disembarking from Brittany Ferries, l'Armorique, which was in new condition and yet, we found, has been in service since 2009. A carefully designed and built Finnish vessel. The wind continued strong all day, though without any rain, at least. The twisting, up and down, nature of the Vélodyssey in the first section to Morlaix was beautiful but combined with head wind, it was exhausting. We stopped for lunch because the route had passed no food shops and we needed supplies for that evening, to make a meal at our destination, Robin and Lory's cottage near Huelgoat, just off the véloroute. The roadside épicerie and restaurant clearly majored in onions, judging by the strings of onions and garlic outside.

As it turned out, Comptoir des Johnnies was dedicated to the bicycle-riding, beret-wearing onion vendors of the Roscoff Peninsula and was teeming with a lot of news about the history of that trade. They managed to squeeze us in on the sharing table along two elderly couples, one couple turning out to be the parents of one of the owners and the grower of the potatoes (variety Samba) which made the excellent chips that accompanied our battered cod.

By the time we got to Morlaix, it was nearly 4 o'clock and we were pretty tired. We had done only about 35 kilometres but I suggested finding a hotel and continuing the following day, as it would be very late before we would have reached the cottage. This was a good call as we got to explore Morlaix, which is ancient, quite prosperous and dramatically set in a deep river gorge. Property prices are very low, like most of Brittany and a rather nice looking 1,000 sq ft flat (probably 3-bed) was only €79,950. Lovely medieval houses in the back streets and a great wine bar, with a zinc counter, run by an ageing French gauchiste, playing jazz and Leonard Cohen LPs.

Monday, day 8, dawned sunny with low wind speeds, for which, much joy. We eventually found the route out of town, which involved a steep walk up to the line of the former railway - the centre of the town is bisected by a monumental viaduct across which the TGV passes. The old line runs south through national park and is well-surfaced and maintained, resulting in a very enjoyable trip today. The countryside is heavily wooded under a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. We turned off and had a stiffish walk up to the cottage ending a total of about 50 kilometres today. The cottage is lovely and beautifully kept by L&R, to whom many thanks. They have even left us lots to eat and drink and we are currently sitting by the wood stove after a relaxing Radox bath. Tomorrow, on through Carhaix, along a canal, continuing our crossing of Brittany.