The next day we drove
down the coast to St Vaast la Hougue, famous for its oysters cultivated
on large beds on the sandy beach. Roadside parking was free on the
quayside so we walked along by the marina to the town centre where
there is an old traditional department store, Maison Gosselin. We then
drove
west across the peninsula through Valognes and Bricquebec, with its ruined
castle, to arrive at the coast at Surtainville, where there was a free
aire just behind the sand dunes and a vast empty sandy beach.
Heading south down the coast we stopped at Barneville to visit the
large Saturday morning street market, full of typical sights and
aromas, then
drove around the estuary to Barneville Plage with its large
traditional houses on the promenade, although everywhere was closed for
the low season.
Barneville Plage traditional maison
The twin town of Carteret across the estuary looked
more interesting but we got confused by the road signs and one way
streets so ended up heading south to the small village of Port-Bail
with its sheep grazing on the salt marshes. We continued along the
three lane main road with its confusing 80 then 90 km/h speed limits
and turned off to Agon- Coutainville, a larger resort, to arrive at the
popular
municipal aire next to the the
racecourse, and accessed by a Flot Bleu barrier (credit card only). The adjacent large campsite is only open in July and
August. It was about one kilometre to the seafront and a pleasant
promenade with many people enjoying the weekend sunshine. It was a
typical French "locals" low key resort, no doubt with a very different
atmosphere in the height of summer season.
The next morning there was a small brocante market in the town centre, mostly
antique junk and certainly not cheap. We continued south to reach
Granville, a sprawling town with a working harbour, and followed signs
to
the aire on the headland where we found on-street parking, (no
motorhomes between 9pm and 9am), outside the old walled town. We found
the aire behind large former military barracks, now a college,
but decided to
drive to Breville-s-Mer and a large ACSI discount campsite. There was a
large water park on the site and a smart amenities block
with music playing. After a good long walk on the beach in the morning,
we sat out in the sunshine after lunch and, as half expected, endured
an afternoon of grass cutting.
The next morning we drove to Avranches
and parked in the aire adjacent
to the botanical gardens, which weren't at their best at this time of
year, but with some interesting trees and a good view across the bay to
le Mont St Michel. Nearby was the large church of Notre Dame des
Champs.
St Vaast la Hougue oyster beds
Maison Gosselin department store
Surtainville beach
Tiled mural at Agon-Coutainville
Mont St Michel from Avranches
Avranches Notre Dame des Champs church