We returned to the magical Mont-Saint-Michel in the morning before heading back inland (and back into Brittany proper) towards the legendary Brocéliande region.

  

  

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – Mont-Saint-Michel is truly one of the most enchanting and beautiful places I have ever been. We ventured out into the surrounding fields in search of sheep and were rewarded by a large flock of moutons, grazing picturesquely infront of the island village.

  

  

  

Nearby we saw a sign for a moulin and decided to investigate. The Moulin de Moidrey was very pretty and peaceful, surrounded by meadows and apple trees.

Along our roadtrip we quickly learned that all of the ‘Petites cités de caractère’ were worth a visit and we tried to stop in each one we passed. One such example was the tiny (and, we later discovered) famous library town of Bécherel.

Walking in the main square it didn’t take long to realise that the majority of shops sold books. We even saw adverts for a big book fair.

  

  

We explored a bit, walking to the signposted ‘viewpoint’ – must say the view was a tad underwhelming, as the majority of the terrain was flat and without much variation in geography. Still, it was nice to note the changing landscape as we moved from the coast inland.

It was oppressively hot. We had lunch in the pretty mini park area in the centre of town but unfortunately the one shady bench was occupied by an old man (one of maybe 15 people we saw in total that whole time in the town) so we ate quickly in the hot sun.

  

Driving in Brittany was a surprising experience – we’d constantly pass these mini villages with ancient-looking churches and a small handful of houses. Mostly we drove by but occasionally we’d stop for a look around. In the tiny Saint-Malon-sur-Mel it was the interesting decor by the church that prompted our short walk-about. We saw just one person in this town – and they closed their window without a word (and quite pointedly) as we walked past.

  

   

As we approached the forested heart of inland Brittany things started to feel decidedly artier. Things were still pretty dead quite in terms of people but we saw past a few interesting-looking places. I’m quite impressed with myself for managing to find this beautiful dragon mural on Google maps after our trip – check it out here.

  

When we arrived in Paimpont it was miserably hot. And humid. I was feeling exhausted and pretty miserable. We parked in a massive parking area and walked across a huge lawn towards the abbaye and the tourist information.

  

Everything in the tourist info (and indeed it seemed, the region) was fairy and fantasy-themed. The Brocéliande famously features in the stories of Merlin and King Arthur and so is a place of legend and magic. Unfortunately the staff at the tourist info weren’t very friendly or helpful, but the opposite was true of those we spoke to in the abbaye.

  

  

  

    

  

After buying a loaf of a bread from a particularly humourless shopkeeper (maybe the heat was making everyone grumpy?) we found some shade and had a snack which vastly improved my mood.

Fortified, we set off for our accommodation. Unlike basically everyone else we’d encountered that day, our host was wonderfully charming and friendly. We loved our stay with Lady Catherine and would highly recommend her bnb.

Later that evening (when the heat finally started to subside) we set off to explore some of the famous forest. We started by visiting an ancient oak tree, the Chêne à Guillotin. We met a (rather strange) family there who told us that the tree’s lopsided shape was due to it having been trimmed on the top, after the branches became too heavy.

  

We then headed to the beautiful Château de Trécesson and briefly explored the forested surroundings. It was a stunningly calm and perfect evening.

  

  

  

  

We headed home via the ominously named Vallee Sans Retour to see the famous Golden tree – a commemorative artwork at the entrance of the forest walk. It was late and dark so we didn’t stay long, but the forest was beautiful (and the distant sounds of psytrance weirdly inoffensive) and I would’ve loved to have explored it properly.

  

  

– – –

BZH 2017: Intro  |  Pt 1  |  Pt 2  |  Pt 3  |  Pt 4  |  Paimpol 2017 – Festival du Chant de Marin 
Pt 5  |  Pt 6  |  Pt 7  |  Pt 8  |  Pt 9 |  Pt 10  | Pt 11  |  Pt 12  |  Saint-Malo: La Route du Rock Festival
Pt 13  |  Pt 14  |  Pt 15  |  pt 16  |  Pt 17  |  Pt 18

If you travel and you don’t use Booking.com you really should it’s the best! I’m not 100% sure how the referral codes work but try mine if you haven’t used one before for a discount after your first trip: https://www.booking.com/s/35_6/rattsi32