BRIAN REID PHOTOGRAPHER
France October 2024 - Day 16 Quiberon to Brest
Sunday, 20 October 2024 19:25
"What a difference a day makes, 24 little hours……” This is the second time I have driven through extensive surface water on this trip and it did impact my original plan. You can zip from Quiberon to Brest in a couple of hours but that would be no fun. First there are a couple of stopping places on the peninsula, then a charge for the car at Lorient before visiting Quimperle and Concareau before following the coast to Pointe de Raz and then via Duarnenez to Brest. That is an additioal 100km but so much more to see, if you could actually see it. It was drizzly to Lorient and then torrential to Quimperle and indeed most of the way to Concarneau. Just drizzle there and then the heavens opened making the trip out to Pointe de Raz a waste of time. I did stop at Duarnenez where I had more heavy rain and would you believe the rain stopped about 20km from Brest and to add insult to injury the Supercharger was actually undercover. I did take pictures along the way so you might get an idea of the conditions. It was not just wet but at times gale force winds were driving the rain. Great care was required when opening the car doors in tight parking spots. There were intrepid kite surfers off the Quiberon peninsula on the savage side as well as hardy dog walkers. I bet they were glad they got up early. The peninsula housed elements of the German Atlantic Wall in WW2 and there is a vestige of it left including a little museum, housed in one of the bunkers, but it was not open. That is a big gun, n’est ce pas. The Superchargers at Lorient were in a gentle spot in the edge of an ibis hotel car park. I include this picture and the next out of sequence one in Brest which illustrate a French Tesla thing. The other vehicle is a Model X which is a rarety in the UK and indeed there seem to be more Model S here as well if the Superchargers and unscientific sampling as I drive are anything to go by. The absentees are Model Y which is becoming the most common in the UK alongside the Model 3. Sorry for the non EV readers but it had to be said. At Quimperlé I got soaked while taking a 15 minute walk. There are flood defences along the river and a sophisticated gate system upstream to help. The seafood market was a bit sad but some souls were buying some produce. At least the rain had dropped down to occasional drizzle at Concarneau allowing a walk around the old walled town. Although lunchtime the bars and restaurants were not doing much trade. I had a Breton Sandwich with 5 cheeses from a bakers shop which was delicious and this little shop was doing decent business. After being buffeted along the coast with the wipers flat out I was pleased that it was only light rain when I got to Duarnenez so parked the car by the maritime musuem and took a walk along the river. The respite did not last long and I was soon masking the camera and regularly wiping the lens and taking shelter where I could. An interesting day and fortunately I have been to Quimperlé, Concarneau and Duarnenez on a previous visit over 20 years ago so know what they look like dry. I do not remeber the huge car park in Concarneau across from the walled town.