France-Ouest Tour - 7-15 June 2025

We meet at Portsmouth in the evening to take the overnight ferry to Caen. Arriving at Caen early on an overcast morning we headed west with hoods up alongside the WW II Normandy landing beaches before turning south to Bayeux for many of us to visit the famous tapestry. Onwards across the base of the Cherbourg peninsular to St Malo our route followed the coast, with detours for some to Mont St Michel and the dramatic Cap Frehel peninsula, to our overnight stop and brightening weather at St-Brieuc.

Next day, in rising temperatures, we continued to follow the rugged northern coast of Brittany. Our route through Morlaix was closed for the Festival of Pentecost but after circular confusion and much frustration we were back on route south through the Parc Naturel d’Armorique then  west to take in the spectacular views at rugged Pointe de Penhir at the end of the Crozon Peninsular. Down the road were the many megalithic standing stones known as the Alignments de Lagatjar. Then heading back south, we reached our overnight stop in the attractive medieval centre of Quimper.

Day four saw us travelling at more leisurely pace along the southern coast of Brittany staying close to the coastline when we could.  We paused at beautiful Beg Meil with its coastal paths and deserted sandy beaches to stretch our legs, then take coffee and change a flat tyre at Fouesnant.  We skirted round Lorient on the motorway before returning to the coast and the wild and rugged Cote Sauvage on the Quiberon Peninsular. Our stopover was the delightful and rural Hotel La Maison OBONO near the village of Le Bono on the banks of the Riviere d’Auray.  A leisurely gourmet dinner and local wines were enjoyed by all on a balmy evening.

Another dry start heading towards Nantes then cross country to Ancenis on the river Loire. Following the south bank of the river, avoiding the busy city of Angers, we arrived at our home for two nights in the small town of Fontevraud at the charmingly quaint Hotel St Croix Blanche.

Thursday was a free day exploring the many sites nearby. Opposite the Hotel is the magnificent Abbaye de Fontevraud founded in the 12th century and the burial place of Henry II of England, his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine and their son Richard 1 (the Lionheart). The Modern Art gallery housed in the Abbaye was another draw for some. Others visited Saumur and Chinon, or a couple of the  “plus beaux villages de France” - Montsoreau and Candes-St-Martin on the banks of the Loire and the renaissance chateau and gardens of Azay-le-Rideau.

Leaving Fontevraud, we stayed on the south side of the Loire past Tours and followed the River Cher to visit the famous and wonderfully presented chateau at Chenonceaux. It was still very warm even in the shade of the avenues of plane trees early on our return to the Loire at Amboise, home to another chateau where Leonardo da Vinci lived his last days, past Blois then north by slightly cooler and hilly roads to our last overnight stop in Chartres. Our now traditional delicious last supper together was in a richly decorated private dining room in the Restaurant L’Amphitryon.  With thunderstorms brewing, the air was hot and muggy outside and increasingly warm inside despite additional aircon. When the speeches of thanks and presentations ended, some headed not back to our hotel but to the magnificent Chartres Cathedral close by to watch the wonderful light display projected on the front. Distant lightning and peels of thunder came ever closer, and the rain heavier, then torrential, turning to large hailstones in the now flooded streets. Those of us who stayed watching the light show returned to the  hotel drenched but happy, having shared shelter huddled with friendly wet locals in the early morning.   

It dawned sunny and dry and in the carpark we farewelled these heading home to Germany, France, Ireland and The Netherlands. The rest of us drove west through the Parc Naturel du Perche and the beautiful countryside of the Suisse Normande before heading north to Caen. Strict environmental emissions control regulations prohibited our cars from entering the city, but ample parking was available on the outskirts and a short walk to several restaurants ensured an enjoyable dinner before boarding the overnight ferry to Portsmouth and home.

Sadly, the Giulia Berlina Ti of John and Michèle had not made it to Chartres due to a faulty waterpump. An imprudent intervention by the garage where they stopped for assistance rendered the pump unfixable with the parts we carried, and John and Michèle remained frustratingly stranded in France for some days waiting for a new pump couriered from England to be delivered.

Our group of 34 travelled in 17 Giuliettas and Giulias and one modern Skoda (due to a last minute breakdown on the way to the ferry from Ireland to France). This tour of around 1,000 miles in France was planned to be less arduous and more leisurely than our longer, mountainous European trips but it was no less enjoyable for that and we arrived home well fed, rested, and happy.

Special thanks to Richard and Peter for organising yet another great tour, and to Richard, whose excellent Route Notes, only slightly amended, form the basis of this report.