We had just arrived in Northern Brittany. Our first stop was to be a field on the edge of the Ile Callot. You get there by crossing a causeway at low tide. When the tide returns and the day . . .
The ebb and flow
"We come from the sea, Tim; our blood is salt, and strange tides ebb and flow within us all.” ― Neil Gaiman, The Books of Magic It has been a month by the sea. Quite literally . . .
The best spa treatment in the world
The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea. Isak Dinesen I've been to some spas and the best thing about them has been the company of other women and how much fun . . .
Drifting and dreaming
The world blurs slightly and the living planet intensifies it's presence. Something draws the light and the focus. It enters the ear first, a buzzing maybe or a beating of . . .
Poppies, Monet and Moi
Photography is fraught with cliches. You couldn't get through a day without re-creating most of them. Even so, I'm in France, in a field of poppies and I stand awe struck . . .
Meandering from river to river in France
This inland path is meandering from river to river, through the Loire, Vienne, Creuse, Dronne, and Charente valleys. While there hasn't been a plan or even a . . .
The scent of roses in the Loire Valley
We never know exactly where each day will end; camping on a free range duck farm, parked on the bank of a leafy river, lapping up a rose scented village. The Loire Valley has won out . . .
In the company of trees
It's late, the sun is filtering through the forest, pouring deep honey gold onto the path ahead. The quality and colour of light transforms everything. In the clearing a group of wise old trees stand . . .
The old stones of Southern Brittany
The main driving route to Europe from Ireland is a 20 hour ferry crossing from Rosslare to Roscoff in Brittany. Brittany is very like parts of Ireland with a strong celtic tradition and . . .
A brass band reception!
News travels fast and when the boat arrived in France there was a brass band out to greet us. Well not us specifically but as we lapped up the news from Ireland that the . . .