France 2022 – Walking the Spectacular Brittany Coast

May 1, 2022 Happy Labour Day! (in France)

Well, I adore Brittany. I am in Binic on the north coast and I have been walking on the Grand Randonée 34 (GR 34) path and have completed 52 kilometres over 4 days of walking (with more to come). The trail is varied and wild and is pretty much always in sight or sound of the sea. The scenery is nothing short of spectacular with a combination of long golden sand beaches, small rocky coves and gorse-covered headlands, the highest sea cliffs in Brittany, and small fishing towns that have become the joy of summer holiday makers.

It is so green here and the plants are full to bursting with life! The weather has been fine and the grandness of the landscape has been graced and made even more beautiful by the wonders of spring: wildflowers and young oak leaves, bluebell-lined wooded paths, ferns and ivy, beetles and butterflies and bees. I actually saw a butterfly bump into a bee!

The birds, including swallows, sparrows, and pretty little European robins, have been my constant companions and I have not walked one step on this path without hearing their songs and calls. I have felt exhilarated, profoundly joyous, contemplative, grateful, and sometimes all of those emotions at once. What a journey!

Now, I’m not quite sure where to go from here post-wise as I am very much behind. It’s Labour Day and a day of rest for me today. The sun is shining out there on the sea (it was supposed to rain!) so I think it’s time to go out for a walk to help me decide whether I will try and create posts about my arrival in Binic and my last four days of walking. In the words of Arnold, ”I’ll be back.” (Here are two pictures while you wait. They are the views from the front and back windows of my apartment here in Binic.)

Okay, I am back from my short walk to the beach and have delivered my recycling to the depot. This is the perfect place to refer back to some of the disappointments that I mentioned in my ”Musings” post. None of them apply here! I have seen almost no litter or graffiti, and I have witnessed people bringing their recycling to the many little depots available. Also, each beach that I visited had a large box at the access points for people to place any litter that they might find on their walks! All of the houses that I have seen while walking and on my bus rides up and down the coast have been very tidy and well-kept with beautiful and flourishing gardens. Such a pleasure to see! Here are two rather grand homes in St-Quay-Portrieux.

While out on my walk this afternoon, I decided that I will go ahead and create several posts about my days on the GR 34 trail thus far, but the posts will be brief, with just a few highlights noted for each day of walking, and I’ll try to limit myself to a maximum of 5-6 photos per day. Wish me luck!

Also while out on my walk, I was very fortunate to witness an age-old tradition, the ”Pardon de Notre Dame de Bon Voyage”. The church bells were ringing and ringing and a small procession from the church arrived at the beach to say prayers and blessings for mariners, and to remember those lost at sea and those left behind. It was very moving to see a tradition like this be respected and carried on.

Many of the fishing towns along the coast here participated for almost a century in the cod fisheries around Iceland and off the coast of Newfoundland. Fishermen would leave in schooners and be gone for up to six months at a time. From the town of Paimpol alone, between the first and last expeditions of 1852 and 1935 to Iceland, 100 schooners and 2,000 men were lost. Thankfully, life for many today on this coast, and definitely for me, is much easier and safer.

Until next time, au revoir.