West Finistere

Now in Brittany. According to the weather forecast a day of sunny intervals. Luckily more a day of occasional cloud, turning into glorious sunshine albeit with a strong breeze. Surprised myself by an early start after a whole day of train travel topped off by watching Azerbajan win the Eurovision song contest while downing half a bottle of Shiraz the day before. Well the Eurovision does call for some form of anaesthetic doesn't it?

We headed off to the coast as Phil wanted to see the new bridge at Tevernez which had opened only last month. It turned out to be a quite stunning piece of civil engineering. And, so it proclaimed, the world record holder for the longest span between two pillars. Ok not as snappy as holding the world 100m record, or the world's tallest building, but impressive nonetheless.

Then from the brand new to the ruins of the ancient abbey at Landevennes. A really charming spot with a modern museum (all subdued, moody lighting), a pretty little herb garden and then the tidied up ruins overlooking the Atlantic. A place that has seen its fair share of action, with irregular sackings by vikings and Normans, pillaged by the English and finally dissolved in the Revolution. Leaving a rather picturesque ruin and such a backwater that to gain entrance you need to ring the doorbell to the adjacent rose-clad outbuilding.

Then across the peninsula to Crozon. Lunch in a very French square before heading into the Eglise St Pierre whose claim to fame is the Altarpiece of the Ten Thousand Martyrs. Now this is clearly an attempt to out-martyr the neighbours. One martyred saint clearly not enough - 10,000; beat that! And this lot weren't just painfully slaughtered - they were stoned, then flagellated, made to walk barefoot on thorns, pierced with spears and finally crucified. A really bad day at the office.

After that a nice walk by the sea was in order, so we went round Morgat, a place which combines very satisfactorily a huge beach of glistening white sand with a massive marina of yachts. The cool breeze (and no doubt extended French Sunday lunches) left both largely empty of activity. Any English equivalent would be thronged by fish and chip eating families.

  

And our final destination was the picturesque Camaret, another coastal town bursting with yachts but also boasting a very pretty fortified tower adjacent to a little church with a distinctly nauitical theme, from the model boats hanging from the roof to the crosses inside lifebelts. Stopping briefly for a photo of the local standing stones (striking but they don't really warrant close inspection) we headed home. Beats my normal Sunday of shopping and ironing.