Two Go To France (2022)

[Fat Albert]

Old methods do seem to be still around. I remember being shown around an RAF aircraft many years ago, it might have been a C130, and it had a sextent built into the roof of the cockpit. This was so they could get a sun sighting and fix their position. I don't know if they still have one but given navigation systems could be lost in war and GPS jammed I suspect they still do.

The sextants were removed many many moons ago because with the nav kit was upgraded including GPS and INS Inertial Navigation System so were redundant. The Navs weren't keeping current as there was no requirement for them to use old technology. The cost saving in the servicing every 60 days (IIRC) x 2 per aircraft also the very expensive almanac per aircraft. One was still fitted so an airborne upper surface check could if required. Not uncommon to loose an HF aerial. Been there, done that and extremely noisy with the cable beating the airframe to death, well it sounded like it and was a good time to divert to remove the offending cable.

 

[Langtoftlad]

Old methods do seem to be still around. I remember being shown around an RAF aircraft many years ago, it might have been a C130, and it had a sextent built into the roof of the cockpit. This was so they could get a sun sighting and fix their position. I don't know if they still have one but given navigation systems could be lost in war and GPS jammed I suspect they still do.

The 747-100 had a sextant port in the roof of the flight deck, behind the flight engineers desk.

 

[nicholsong]

The sextants were removed many many moons ago because with the nav kit was upgraded including GPS and INS Inertial Navigation System so were redundant. The Navs weren't keeping current as there was no requirement for them to use old technology. The cost saving in the servicing every 60 days (IIRC) x 2 per aircraft also the very expensive almanac per aircraft. One was still fitted so an airborne upper surface check could if required. Not uncommon to loose an HF aerial. Been there, done that and extremely noisy with the cable beating the airframe to death, well it sounded like it and was a good time to divert to remove the offending cable.

On the Bristol 170s that I flew on the car ferry they still had a hole in the cockpit roof into which one used to be able to lock in a Very Pistol for firing flares.

We did not carry Very Pistols nor cartridges in the late '60s.

 

[Spriddler]

Limpets sit in one place all their lives, they move to find food but then go back to their spot!

I had two teenage sons like that.

 

[DBK]

How are you finding the CCP sites ?
Do you find them good value and the card / topup easy to use ?

I haven't had any problems on this trip. The top-up machines are easy to use and even easier if you select English as the language. I've also topped online which was also straightforward.

I've had one or two issues in the past, barriers not opening usually but they are very responsive on the 'phone and speak English.

I find them good value generally but fully accept not everyone thinks so. Horses for courses and we will use "normal" aires when there is one where we want to stay. The only exception is where we are now, which is Locronan, where there is a CCP aire but we are using the campsite, mainly because for 4 nights it is a more pleasant place to stay but at €18 a night on ACSI rates the CCP aire would have been cheaper!

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[DBK]

We are staying the weekend at Camping Locronan. There is a CCP aire here but we are spoiling ourselves with grass to walk on and some very swish facilities.

We have visited Locronan before so when we had a walk to the village this morning I only took a couple of photographs.

Locronan is of course listed in the book of the Most Beautiful Villages in France, so is a popular place.

Locronan has another more interesting feature. Well, interesting for me: another SOTA summit. At just 285m high La Motte is no Everest but it is still a steep walk from the campsite.

Very close to the summit is the Chapelle ar Zonj, which looks old but was built in 1977 to replace an earlier and much larger church.

I set up my radio in the field surrounding the chapel. The stone benches were very useful!

And the radio work was very successful, with one trans-Atlantic contact with Lee, W2LT, in New York State.

 

[Fat Albert]

Lightroom for your images? They look great, love the contrast and have that HDR quality about them. Well I think so

 

[DBK]

Lightroom for your images? They look great, love the contrast and have that HDR quality about them. Well I think so

I use the mobile app which is now called Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. It started off as Lightroom Mobile but has had a lot of improvements made since the start and changes name. It has some very clever features.

 

[DBK]

We've been taking it quietly this weekend except at 07:15 yesterday and today I left the van and after a steep 20 minute walk returned to the Chapelle ar Zong to try my luck on the radio reaching the other side of the World.

Conditions for radio propogation have been very good for a few days and early morning in Europe coincides with evening in New Zealand and Australia. This means the path between them which goes over India is all in daylight. This means there is a possibility of very long distance radio communication utilising the ionised layer of the atmosphere between 300 and 400 km high. The ionisation occurs because of ultra violet and the main source of ultra violet are sunspots and at the moment there are over 100 of them on the side of the sun facing us.

So I turned on the radio yesterday and to me surprise I found an operator transmitting from the summit of a mountain South Island, New Zealand. He was working a lot of people in Europe who had more power than me and I was drowned out. I listened patiently for about 15 minutes until the rush began to die down and my "summit to summit" call could heard. And heard it was but only just and despite several attempts we could not fully complete the exchange. The distance between us was about 19,000Km.

I tried again this morning and was just vaguely heard by an operator on a summit in Australia. Sadly, this was as good as it got. The band was much noisier than yesterday and I could only make out a fraction of what he was saying. Distance between us was about 14,000Km.

But I played on the radio from the pitch later this morning and successfully contacted on operator on the Scottish summit Scurr Mor, which is a remote monster of a Scottish Munroe and 1108m high. This contact was in Morse but for the next, a mountain in Norway, I used a voice mode, as I had for the calls into the Antipodes.

Did you know it is #InternationalDayoftheDandelion?

The dandilions around here don't seem to know - they are almost all over! Photo taken this morning after my radio activity.

The French Presidential elections were today but apart from a brief flurry of car horns this morning all seems calm. I suspect, having walked through Locronan this afternoon and not seeing any polling booth there isn't one here. Probably because it is mostly second homes here.

We are on the move tomorrow, to Pont Aven- the place not the ferry.

 

[gus-lopez]

I didn't feel disposed to ask the female Guardia Civil officer coming back as she could have played in the second row and was all dour and businesslike

The only ones I have ever seen here, & elsewhere on my travels around spain, have been moonlighting from there modelling work.

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[DBK]

We've returned to a place we have visited before, Pont Aven, named of course after the Brittany Ferries ship. Or was it the other way round?

As usual we are under the blue blob.

It lies at the head of a long inlet, a sign pointed to the footpath to the Plage de Port Manec'h but at over 11Km we gave it a miss!

When we first came here it was busy but it was very quiet today. Pont Aven is famous for the many painters who gathered here from about 1850. The most famous of them was probably Paul Gauguin but there are plaques stuck all over the town commemorating other painters.

This is an example.

And a translation from the clever site https://translate.yandex.com/ocr which translates text on images.

This is what it looks like now.

The building in the middle is a former mill and may be the one on the painting, which is from a viewpoint slightly further upstream. Possibly.

It is still a pretty place. Here is another mill, with a millstream running down each side.

It has a lot of yachts moored but a significant number of them didn't look as if they were remotely sea-worthy.

Another plaque we saw.

And the translation.

The toilets are interesting. This "long-drop" model sits above the river. I don't think it is still in commission though.

 

[DBK]

We are slowly moving south, today's drive was just over an hour! And 95% of it was on the N165, a toll-free dual carriageway with a delightfully smooth surface.

We have reached the Gulf of Morbihan.

Closer...

And much closer.

In the map above we are under the usual blue blob at the CCP aire at Arradon. On the left you might see the village of Le Moustoir. This afternoon we walked there along the coastal path, returning through the inland lanes. It took us a bit over two hours.

The path is generally well marked.

And it was an attractive walk.

The only problem is the locals seem to have decided to plant trees in the middle of the path. Charlie looks shocked!

It was a squeeze past some of them!

Joking aside, these are very old trees and are evidence this is a very old path.

The views were typical of the Gulf of Morbihan for those familiar with it.

This is a tidal mill, the Moulin du Paluden. The incoming tide fills a lake beyond the causeway and when the tide recedes the water is let out through the mill. Sadly its no longer working or even occupied and is firmly shuttered.

At the village of Le Moustoir there is a small chapel.

You might just see a plaque on the nearest corner on the right. It shows a curious hemispherical stone being dragged to the chapel.

Translated (sort of!)

We found three of them positioned around the building.

From what I can understand they date from a short period 500 to 300 BC and where they have been found in their original place in modern times they were generally marking buried urns containing cremated remains. They were later "Christanised" which is why they are at the Chapel. Some more info here:

stele

This wisteria with a trunk at least 18" across was impressive.

Another move further south tomorrow.

 

[jollyrodger]

We had a sail in and around there a few years ago bringing a friends yacht back to plym from hondarribia/Hendaye

The tide runs in/out at around 9knts at times from the gulf it was interesting to say the least.
But instead of an overnight we had good fun exploring the little islands.
Even at one time grounding much to the amusement of passengers on the vannes ferry.

Always said I would like to visit in a moho so many nice looking places to see.
Strong tides just off of the shoreline needs caution if swimming.

 

[DBK]

We had a sail in and around there a few years ago bringing a friends yacht back to plym from hondarribia/Hendaye

The tide runs in/out at around 9knts at times from the gulf it was interesting to say the least.
But instead of an overnight we had good fun exploring the little islands.
Even at one time grounding much to the amusement of passengers on the vannes ferry.

Always said I would like to visit in a moho so many nice looking places to see.
Strong tides just off of the shoreline needs caution if swimming.

It's like an over-sized Poole Harbour - where I ran aground in an Avon inflatable once!

 

[Manic]

You’re catching use up, we were on a small Aire at Treherve Ambon

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[Lenny HB]

We've been taking it quietly this weekend except at 07:15 yesterday and today

You are giving me permutations, we think a really early start is 10:30. Rarely get out of bed much before 9 when in the van.

 

[Spriddler]

It's like an over-sized Poole Harbour - where I ran aground in an Avon inflatable once!

That takes some doing!
I tried to hide the fact from nosey locals that I had run aground in about 3" of water over soft mud whilst rowing my Avon tender across the wide estuary at Gweek in Cornwall by resting and pretending to admire the view, but unfortunately a ruddy seagull walked past me.

 

[DBK]

You are giving me permutations, we think a really early start is 10:30. Rarely get out of bed much before 9 when in the van.

I rationalised it by convincing myself that 07:15 France time is 06:15 UK time at the moment so I was gaining an extra hour over what I would have had to do if I was home. In other words, I was getting a lie-in.

But we are normally not up before 08:30.

 

[DBK]

You’re catching use up, we were on a small Aire at Treherve AmbonView attachment 611014

That looks like a nice location.

 

[DBK]

I've just noticed in my photo of the chapel there was another stele to the left of the nearest corner and to the left of the door is another odd looking rock. This one isn't fully rounded as it has shoulders.

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[DBK]

We have returned to another place we've visited before, but it is a secluded place and I expect a quiet night.

It is the CCP aire at Penestin. No services or EHU but only €6 a night and the beach is a short walk away.

This (the blue blob) is where we are.

And zoomed in a bit.

The beach is known as the Plage de la Mine d'Or, named after the gold they tried to extract from the gravel in the cliffs. Sadly, the operation wasn't economic and it folded.

This is the beach.

The wind has been blowing from the east and the sea was exceptionally calm and clear. There were lots of small pink jellyfish in the water and scores of them were being washed up.

This is an example of the cliff they hoped to extract gold from. There are bands of gravel as this was a river delta eons ago. The theory was fine, gold washed down the ancient river would have settled in the slower moving waters of the delta. And it did, but not enough to cover the cost of extraction.

This is another section of the cliff.

If you zoom in to the top you might just see a line of holes just under the lip.

There were many Sand Martins flying about and they were nesting in these holes.

Another move south tomorrow.

 

[DBK]

It was nearly a two hour drive today! We must be getting more adventurous.

But the day had a less than perfect start. There are no services at the aire we stayed on last night but there are dedicated services next to the Tourist Office in nearby Penestin. We waved our CCP at this and though the screen seemed to accept it nothing happened. No water and even when working there is no grey water disposal point here. So we drove on and would do the necessary chores when we arrived at the next aire.

Which is another one we have been to before. This trip is turning into a journey where we seem to be calling on old friends.

We are south west of Nantes. Just short of the Île de Noirmoutier.

The bridge to the island is just visible. They are doing some work on it.

There are lots of pine trees around here, including on the aire. That's us towards the right facing the camera.

We walked along the coastal path.

And then along the long beach.

We returned along one of the many paths through the forest behind the beach. In one area the sand below the trees was carpeted in moss.

Charlie found a pond for a paddle. Artificially dug for wildlife I think.

Another hop south tomorrow.

 

[nicholsong]

DBK

Nice diary and photos.

We are getting very jealous - stuck here being unable to drive post cataract operations.

Please enjoy it double, one for us.

Geoff

 

[Manic]

Be careful with Charlie we have started noticing the processionary caterpillar nests in the pine trees

 

[DBK]

DBK

Nice diary and photos.

We are getting very jealous - stuck here being unable to drive post cataract operations.

Please enjoy it double, one for us.

Geoff

Sorry to hear you are not able to travel. But from what I've heard cataract operations are very successful and the regained vision very noticeable. My optician says I have the very beginings of them. So I may be in the same position in a few years.

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[Mark and Mindy]

Sorry to hear you are not able to travel. But from what I've heard cataract operations are very successful and the regained vision very noticeable. My optician says I have the very beginings of them. So I may be in the same position in a few years.

I had both my eyes done nearly 7 years ago, my eyesight suddenly deteriorated. I've gone from having to wear glasses all the time to not wearing at all, things up close can be a little blurry but not enough to make any difference to normal life. I have multifocal lenses, the consultant called them "clever lenses" and they certainly are!

 

[DBK]

After nearly three weeks in France we are almost halfway to the Pyrenees, where we will probably turn around.

A bit closer.

Closer...

The map above shows lots of blue lines. We are in the Vendée, a sort of French Fen area criss-crossed with drains, some of which are green not blue.

It is an area rich in birds. I saw avocet, black-winged stilt, and three kinds of egret: great, little and cattle. As we neared Triaize, the village where we are now I spotted two small birds crossing the road. Slowing down we watched them pushing through the grass on the verge. Like half-sized partridge they were quails. I have heard them before, their "wet-me-lips" call is very distinctive but they are very rarely seen - until today!

We are staying at one of the Camping Mon Village sites of the CCP chain. It is very obviously the former Municipal site as the signs are still there.

It's built around a small lake with individual pitches, mostly grass but we are on one of the hardstanding ones.

I wandered around the village this afternoon.

The site is fine but there isn't much around here. But it will do for one night.

 

[Sue and Rick]

Will you be going to La Rochelle? We did last year. Find the mussel shack to the south. Go on your bike , too far to walk.
As Craig revell horward would say....aaamaazing darling.

 

[DBK]

Will you be going to La Rochelle? We did last year. Find the mussel shack to the south. Go on your bike , too far to walk.
As Craig revell horward would say....aaamaazing darling.

No bikes I'm afraid on this trip. But I did visit on a pushbike a few years ago when I did the Velodyssey with my brother. Good cycling country! https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=3d2&page_id=335109&v=8X

 

[Taran_Las]

A visit to the three towers is essential.​

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