Brittany Christmas Markets, 30 November

Guipavas, Brittany, France

It has been lovely and sunny all day. We had a leisurely morning, and at about 10:30 we used the services and set off to the local P&R, which was really nice, and positively welcomed motorhome! You took a ticket to enter, and this also entitled you to 24 hours' free travel on local buses in Saint-Malo. The bus timetable was easily available on-line, and we had about 20 minutes, so the Swan Whisperer had a quick cup of coffee, and we arrived at the bus stop just as the bus did. 

The bus terminus at the other end of the line was just by the Old Town and the Christmas markets, and we spent a lovely morning walking around both. We explored the Old Town first, which is sort of within a walled fortress, and then walked back down to the harbour where the Christmas Market was. By then it was pretty much lunchtime, so we treated ourselves to a galette and mulled cider from a stall, and very good it was, too. Not quite as good as the one we had in Caen two days ago, but not bad! 

When we had finished eating, it was nearly time for the next bus back to the P&R, so we caught that, and ate ice-cream for our pudding before we used the services and set off to drive here, which is near Brest. It is a France Passion place, but there was nobody around, so we have parked up and will introduce ourselves in the morning. They grow cacti, of all things, and I gather one can have a guided tour of the greenhouses. We shall see. 

There has just been a sharp shower of rain, and I am not sure what the forecast for the next few days is. I hope we will have as much sunshine as we did today, which was really lovely, and not too cold, considering we had both forgotten to put on our hats! Photos on Facebook, as usual. 

Brittany Christmas Markets, 29 November

Les Ilots, St-Malo, Brittany

There was a huge band of rain crossing Northern France and Southern England this morning - I gather it scuppered our usual tai chi class in the park, and it certainly made our morning rather unpleasant.  First we couldn't get out of the Camping-Car park, but when I entered the code the person on the phone gave me, the barrier suddenly stopped sulking and worked, although the person behind was obviously still having trouble by the time we had used the services (outside the barrier) and were ready to leave.  When we had arrived the previous day, the barrier had been completely broken off, probably by someone who had got fed up of it, but by the time we got back from our visit to the town, someone had put it back.

Our first port of call was a local supermarket, where I did some shopping and the Swan Whisperer tried to get gas, but they didn't have the kind we used; however, we called in at an Intermarché in Villedieu-les-Poeles en route and were able to get some there.  We had to wait, though, as the kiosk was closed until 14:00, so we had some lunch while we waited, and then there was no problem except for the rain!

We asked the Satnav to take us on a more scenic route to Les Ilots, despite the rain, and it was very pleasant driving along the coast, although rather slow, as it was village after village, so 50 kph, with random blasts of 30 kph, all the way.  However, we eventually arrived at this motorhome park, which is not a Camping-Car park, although about the same price and with the same amenities.  There is, however, a staffed reception, which is nice.  And the band of rain had passed over, so I am hoping that tomorrow's weather will be better.  The forecast is for it to be colder, though.

The original plan was to have been to get a bus to Saint-Malo to their Christmas Market, but when push came to shove, I felt really tired and slightly unwell, so the Swan Whisperer went for a long walk - and took some lovely photos, two of which are reproduced below - while I knitted and then rested on the bed while he got our usual Saturday sausages and mash!

Brittany Christmas Markets, 28 November 2025

Caen, Normandy, France

We didn't hurry all that much this morning, but nevertheless were away by 10:00.  We drove down to Caen via the motorway, and were interested - or startled, perhaps, is the more appropriate term - to discover that the A13 now has what they call "free-flowing" tolls; in other words, they have removed the toll booths, and just pick up ANPR; you have 72 hours then to pay your toll, although if you have a Liber-T pass, as we do, that is also picked up so the tolls are already paid.  At least, we hope so.  I don't know how well this will work in practice, but it is certainly a great time-saver.

We arrived in Caen shortly before 13:00, after a hideously wet drive,

and decided to lunch out.  Google Maps showed us there was a creperie about 10 minutes; walk away, and we went there.  The Swan Whisperer had the day's special - I forget what it was - but I was intrigued to see that they had what they called "Galettes burgers" all named after the D-Day beaches, so of course I had to get the Gold one, didn't I, since my father landed on Gold Beach a few days after D-Day in 1944!  It was delicious, but far too much - two fried eggs, a burger, and various bits underneath - I think onions, cheese and tomato, and bacon, too.  And a bowl of lettuce. 

I ate half of my helping, and the Swan Whisperer demolished the rest of it, although I did leave some salad.  We had cider to drink.  And very good it was, too, but we only wanted coffee after that.  The waiter was so nice, and told me all about his English friend who had driven one of the barges across the Channel, as I'd mentioned that the Gold was because of Daddy.

By this time, the rain was away, and, indeed, the sun came out. We caught a bus into Caen - memo to self: do try to find out how the buses work and how you buy tickets before you try to catch one.  Fortunately the driver was very patient and showed us what to do.  Basically you get issued a card on which he or she programmes the number of tickets you want, and then you validate them on a machine.  So coming back we got new tickets loaded on to the same card, which must be a great saving of paper!

Anyway, we got off the bus in the centre of Caen, and had a lovely walk round the centre; we didn't get as far as the Cathedral, but we saw the Eglise Saint-Jean, and wondered how badly it had been damaged in the war.  Sadly, although there were posters explainng the damage and the reconstruction, they were in a side chapel, which was full of people praying a rosary, so we couldn't go in to look.  

After that, we walked on to the Place de la République, where the Christmas Market was busy setting up; it doesn't open until tomorrow, but some stalls were selling things already, although most weren't.  We agreed it was rather nice to wander around without feeling obliged to buy something, even if only mulled wine!  

We then headed on further towards the Castle, wandering down at least one lovely alley en route; I was beginning to flag by then, so we didn't go up to the Castle itself, but walked round it until we found the bus stop that would take us back to the campsite.  After a much-needed cup of tea, the SW decided he would go out for another walk, picking up bread for supper on his way back, and I knitted for a bit, and then did part of the tai chi form before settling down to write this!  More photos on Facebook, as usual.

Brittany Christmas Markets, 26-27 November 2025

La Mesnière-en-Bray, Normandy

Our annual visit to various Christmas markets (probably only 2 this trip) actually began yesterday.  Wonderfully, with a text from the opticians saying my new glasses were ready - since I had cataracts and other impedimenta to my vision removed, I have been managing without glasses, but the operations did not correct my astigmatism, so I still need them most of the time, especially for computer work, which was being very difficult.  So that was delightful, and I rushed up to get them, and then to the second half of my bi-weekly tai chi class, while the Swan Whisperer loaded the car and came down to meet me.  We headed straight to Sussex, stopping at Tesco's in Sutton to buy a sandwich lunch, and spend the rest of the afternoon and evening with my mother and sister, except for an  hour spent participating in the first Advent Bible Study on Zoom.

We slept in the motor home and were up long before dawn; we showered in the house, and then slipped away to start our journey; it must have been about 07:00 when we left.  First stop was Clackett Lane Services, where we cooked breakfast, and then a straight run to the Channel Tunnel, where we got a crossing 30 minutes earlier than scheduled.  It felt odd not having unpacking or bedmaking to do during the crossing, but I did various anti-senility puzzles and was actually surprised when we came out into daylight again.

Next stop was Cité Europe, where I did a quick shop in Carrefour while the SW got diesel, and then we had lunch.  We then discovered that our beloved coffee grinder had broken, in that  the charging socket seems to have died.  So we will have to get another one when we return to the UK; meanwhile I dashed back into Carrefour to get some ground coffee instead.  

We had planned to spend the night at Neufchatel-en-Bray, but when we got there, we found that the motorhome parking was closed for the winter, which neither of us had realised it was going to be.  However, the SW remembered that we had recently stayed here, at Mesnière-en-Bray, only a few minutes' drive away.  The only problem is that it doesn't have electricity, but we can manage without, especially as we now have a new leisure battery!

I don't seem to have taken any photos today, so here is one of me yesterday with my new specs.

The Richmond Draw-Off, 13 November 2025

 IanVisits recently posted an interesting article about the Richmond Draw-Off, so we decided that, as we hadn't been out together for ages, we would go and have a look.  Low tide this evening was scheduled to be around 16:45, which is, of course, nearly dark, but not yet outdoors dark.  We thought we might try to get there about 16:00, so left here about 15:15; we took a 35 to Clapham Junction and then a slow train out to Richmond - this may have been a slight mistake; we might have been better to  have waited a few minutes for the express.  Anyway, we got to Richmond eventually.  I should have got my phone out to take a picture of Richmond Station, which has been restored, and, indeed of a M&S that is still selling clothes - I didn't think they did any more; all the ones round here have been turned into upmarket supermarkets, indistinguishable from Waitrose or Sainsbury's.

Anyway, we walked down to the river, but I don't think  IanVisit's timetable was quite accurate, as the tide was already beginning to come in.  But it was much lower than usual, and the slipways all went down to mud.  We walked along a bit, but it was getting dark, so we decided, just for fun, to take a 190 bus to West Brompton - which took ages, but we knew it would.  I did take a very bad photo of Richmond Station, as the bus went past.  It went over Chiswick Bridge, and eventually along Lillie Road.  I would have quite liked to have turned off to see the house where I lived when I first came to London, over 50 years ago, but somehow we didn't.  We didn't have long to wait for a Mildmay line to Clapham Junction.  When we got there, the rain had started.  A 35 bus took us home, via En Root, where we bought a takeaway but - disaster - it was so wet that the carrier bag disintegrated and most of our supper landed on the pavement!  The Swan Whisperer very kindly went back for more, but it was a sad ending to a pleasant afternoon!

October Break, 12 October 2025

 Home.

I had set the alarm for 06:00 this morning, and we got straight up, showered, dressed, and had a quick cup of tea; we were away before 7:00!  We did stop at a services to have breakfast - and as said services had a McDonald's, we enjoyed one of their delicious breakfasts!  I had a sausage and egg McMuffin, and the Swan Whisperer had a bacon and egg one.

The drive turned into a bit of a nightmare, though, as we think we turned where we ought not, as we got confused by road works, and this added 30 minutes to our journey.  And then it didn't want us to go on the M27, probably because there was a huge tailback on it, but instead of sensibly taking us on the A272 and down through Lavant and Goodwood, the way I used to go to school, it took us on all sorts of tiny roads, and then on to the A27 before Chichester, all those dreadful roundabouts!  We ended up not getting to No 6 until just after noon.

We did quite a lot of the sorting out and then had lunch with my mother and sister, and the latter's partner, and then after lunch my older nephew and his family turned up, including the latest addition, 12-day-old Rowan!  It was lovely to see them, and to meet Rowan as well as the two older boys, who we have, of course, seen occasionally.  

Then it was time to go - we wanted to get back in daylight, or at least get the first part of the journey done.  And nearly 2 hours later we were home, and had to unload the car and unpack, and then get the first loads of washing on.... 

October break, 11 October 2025

Heightington, Shropshire

The Swan Whisperer went for a short run this morning before breakfast, along the Lancaster canal! After breakfast, we both went down to explore a bit, and saw varies narrow boats,

as well as trains on the WCML in the background, one of which must have been a special, although I don't seem to have any photos of it. 

We had a fairly long drive down today, and went a rather more scenic route via Chester and Shrewsbury, which meant we didn't have to negotiate the Birmingham system. We arrived at the Swan Whisperer's brother-in-law's place about 15:30, and had a cup of tea with him and his son who popped in later. Then we all drove down to our niece's place, where we are parked up for the night. Their local church had its Harvest Festival service this evening, so we went to that with them and then back to theirs for a meal, which was lovely. And so to bed, as we have a very early start in the morning!