Up at 06:30, leave the aire an hour later and slop out then up the hill for the long-face mile to the port. Check in is smooth, Douane comes in but without his gun this time and we are last on except for a broken down vintage MG-TC towed on by a port tug. By the time we get up on deck the lines are being cast off and Pont-Aven shudders her way off the quay with loads of vibration. A few minutes out we are passed by Armorique and Ali exchanges 'your ship' pict...

This morning is dull and misty, adding to the gloomy feeling of our last day. Driving to St Pol de Leon the van is still faltering on power but no smoke. E.Leclerc is manic, this being Mother's day weekend in France and every shopper gets a rose. Leaving the supermarket and driving to Roscoff the van runs perfectly; fingers crossed. The misty weather has kept the usual weekenders away from Roscoff, we are the ninth van when usually on a Saturday space is at a...

The red wine alarm clock pounds away two hours before it's time to get up, but by 09:00 we're ready to fight another day. It is sunny as we head across to the town to visit the St Thegonnec Parish Clos. In Brittany, a parish closes, or enclosed communities, were a symbol of a town's healthy economy usually in the leather and linen industries. A Clos would consist of a church with large south door, a triumphal gateway, a calvary to watch over the dead and an os...

The French really take pride in looking after their communities, keeping everywhere smart and tidy. But when two petrol brushcutters rev up to tidy the car park at 08:15 it's taking their national motto, Libertie, Egalitie et Fraternitie, a little too much on the libertie! Nick decides not to get the chair off, instead we leave 'les strimmeurs' to their work and drive around the headland to view the rocks, sea and flowers, before heading back inland. Approachi...

Sunrise at Tranquility Base. There isn't a sound around us and we can't help but take it easy, until, almost reluctantly, we leave around 11:15 We skirt around Pont l'Abbe rather than through the centre and take the D2 towards the coast. In Ploneour-Lanvern there is a near miss when Nick has to brake hard as a car comes out of a T junction without looking or stopping, sweeping left and nearly getting our wing in his rear door. At Pouldreuzic we stop for bread,...