FRANCE - DAY 9

TOP OF THE HILL NEAR ST SULIAC

After two nights in Dinan it was time to hit the road again.
With just three days left on this trip we felt that it would be sensible to head for St Malo. We wanted to have a complete day to look around the town and Peter and I also wanted to have a day to cycle around part of the coast from St Malo to Cancale.
That was days ten and eleven taken care of, so today  the plan was to cycle to St Malo by way of the small coastal village of St Suliac. Chris had read somewhere that this was a place worth a look so the plan was laid and we were on our way.
The route seemed fairly straight forward apart from a small error made within ten minutes of leaving the campsite. This meant that we cycled in a bit of a loop before finally heading off in the right direction.

OLD FORTRESS TOWER OVERLOOKING St SULIAC

VIEW OVER St SULIAC FROM THE TOP OF THE HILL

It was another very warm day and with a bit of a breeze it made for good cycling. Just a few miles from St Suliac we had a choice.... Up and over a steep hill or take a low level route..... Apparently the route via the hill offered some great views as a reward for making the effort to grind your way to the top in something approaching the granny gear. Mike and Chris decided to take the lower level route and Peter and I went for the granny gear..!

At the top was an old fortress tower ruin and some lovely views looking over the village......well worth the struggle to get there. After taking in the views and taking some photographs Peter and I freewheeled at some speed down into the village. We headed to the coastal end of the village where Mike and Chris had already arrived. Just a little way along the coastal road we found a little beachfront cafe where we stopped for lunch.

VIEW FROM BEACHFRONT CAFE

 After lunch we set off  back along the coastal road and then headed up the hill out of the village....before long we were on the outskirts of St Malo.
We found a couple of campsites about five miles from the centre of town, but Mike and Chris said that they would prefer to be closer to the ferry port itself as they wanted to be within walking distance of the old part of the town.
This was because they intended to have an easy day of exploration while Peter and I were cycling around the coast on day ten.
The ride into the centre of St Malo was not too difficult although we did need to check the route a few times. After all the quiet cycling routes we had been cycling on this trip it came as a bit of a shock to the system to be back on busy traffic filled roads again.

ROUND HOUSE SEEN IN THE CENTRE OF A TRAFFIC ROUNDABOUT-  St MALO

 We headed for the Port area and before long picked up signs for a municipal campsite....we followed the signs and eventually we arrived at the site which overlooked the ferryport . We couldn't be closer and it really proved to be an ideal site for our needs....close to the town.....easy to cycle to the ferry (about 5 mins ride) and also well placed for the coastal cycle ride that Peter and I had planned for the following day....
That evening we found a small restaurant only about five minutes walk from the site and after our meal I rewarded myself with a giant cream & icecream confection for my efforts in the granny gear earlier in the day......

A JUST REWARD FOR GRANNY GEAR USAGE....!