Four weeks. Twenty-eight days. Two dogs. One motorhome. And tomorrow… the dreaded ferry home!
Well, here we are. Day 28 of our European adventure, and somehow we've reached the last full day of the trip.
Tomorrow we head back to the UK on the ferry from Roscoff, so today was supposed to be a quiet one. And, to be fair, it started that way.
A Very Different Kind of Beach Walk
After a lazy morning, we headed out with Tiley and Frankie for what turned out to be one of the most surreal walks of the entire trip. We walked over the sand dunes and down onto the beach… except there was one small problem.
The sea had disappeared.
And when we say disappeared, we mean really disappeared! The tide was so far out that we had to walk roughly a kilometre and a half before we even got close to the water. The whole landscape looked completely different from the day before when the tide had been in. It genuinely felt like we were walking along the seabed.
There were rocks, little islands of exposed stone, huge areas of sand and thousands of shells scattered everywhere. The shells were all different colours and looked almost like a carpet across the beach. Even the local ferry had to alter its route because of the sandbanks that appear when the tide goes out. It was fascinating. And for Tiley and Frankie? Well, they were probably wondering why we'd brought them to a beach with no sea. Eventually we did reach some water, and it was incredibly clear. In places it was barely an inch deep, so by the end of the walk we were simply wading through it.
Drone Versus Wind – Round Two
Naturally, this was far too spectacular a landscape to leave the drone in its case. So Steven sent the drone up. Unfortunately, the wind had other ideas.
Despite the gimbal doing its best, the drone was being thrown around all over the place. Warning messages started appearing on the controller telling us to bring it back down. Probably sensible advice! Luckily, Steven managed to capture some fantastic footage and photographs before bringing it home.
The colours of the sea were incredible; beautiful turquoise water contrasting with the pale sand and rocky peninsula.
Some of those photographs have already made their way onto the Touring Ideas photo gallery, because they're just too good not to share.
A Bit of History Along the Way
As we walked around the peninsula, we also discovered something we hadn't really appreciated before; the remains of the German Second World War defences. There were bunkers hidden among the vegetation, some of which you could actually walk over without realising they were there. We also spotted a small gun turret which we'd seen from another direction the previous day. It's strange how walking around somewhere at different tide levels can completely change your perspective. What looks like an island when the tide is in becomes part of the landscape when the sea retreats.
We then made our way onto another beach. And this one was spectacular. The sand was incredibly white and, with the turquoise water, it looked almost tropical. For a moment we could have been somewhere much further afield. Except for the fact that we were still wearing British holiday attire and carrying dog poo bags. Reality restored!
Suzanne Nearly Gets Wet
At one point Steven found Suzanne sitting on a rock. Or rather, what he thought was a rock. It turned out to be more of a natural seesaw. Unfortunately, this wasn't discovered until she'd already sat down. Cue Steven having to help her back up before she ended up taking an unexpected dip.
We're still not entirely sure whether this was an adventure or an avoidable incident. We'll let you decide.
And Then Came the Clouds…
As we looked around, we noticed some rather ominous black clouds approaching. The sky was almost split in two, beautiful blue on one side and very angry-looking black clouds on the other. We decided it was probably time to head back.
There was actually a route where we could have crossed the estuary on foot and walked the 400–500 metres or so into Roscoff. We quite fancied doing it. Unfortunately, Tiley and Frankie had other plans. They'd started drinking seawater and we'd run out of fresh drinking water for them.
So, rather than risk having two very thirsty dogs wandering around Roscoff on a Sunday when everything was likely to be shut, we headed back to the motorhome. As it turned out… That was probably the best decision we made all day.
The Great Rainstorm
We got back to the motorhome and immediately started washing the girls down with the hose. Suzanne took the dogs off to dry them while Steven got on with the usual motorhome chores.
Then the rain started. At first it was just spitting. Then, within about 20 seconds, it went from drizzle to absolutely hammering down.
By the time Steven had finished what he was doing, he was completely soaked.
The sky opened. We retreated inside, put the kettle on, poured a glass of wine and settled down. And then something happened that hasn't happened much during this trip…
With the rain hamming down and the southing sound of it on the roof, We watched television. In fact, Suzanne even managed to binge-watch something. After four weeks of constantly being out, exploring, walking, sightseeing and travelling, it was actually quite nice to just sit down.
The End Is Getting Real
By now, the bikes were back on the motorhome, the girls had been fed and most of the packing was done. The reality was beginning to sink in. Tomorrow we'd get up, take Tiley and Frankie for one last good run, make sure they were clean and dry, and then head towards the port around midday. The car ferry isn't far away, but we know there can be queues, and the girls will be spending most of the journey in the motorhome.
We're not due back into the UK until around 8pm UK time, 9pm French time, so the plan is to give them a really good run before we board.
We've even downloaded a couple of films for the ferry. Because apparently four weeks of adventure isn't enough. We need Little Miss Sunshine and Le Mans to finish us off!
Four Weeks… Gone Just Like That
It's honestly difficult to believe that four weeks have passed. It feels like only yesterday that we were setting off, with Tiley and Frankie curled up with us and the excitement of not really knowing what the next four weeks would bring.
Now we're sitting here knowing it's almost over and there's a definite feeling of being a bit deflated. The thought of going back to work is already creeping into our heads.
Four weeks away has gone incredibly quickly. Could we do another four weeks? Absolutely!
Spain and Portugal next time perhaps? Unfortunately, someone has to pay the bills. Apparently, motorhomes don't run on enthusiasm and biscuits.
One Last Adventure
Today's walk was only around 5.5 kilometres, but it was one of our favourite walks of the entire trip. We've done plenty of beautiful beaches and countryside during our travels, but there was something completely different about this one.
The combination of the huge tidal changes, exposed rocks, sandbanks, rock pools, WWII defences and that incredible turquoise water made it feel almost other-worldly. We've said many times that our usual walks at home are hard to beat, but today was right up there with them. It was just… surreal. And watching the tide come rushing back in was incredible. At one point an area that had been completely dry when we'd walked out was already being covered with water on our return. It really makes you appreciate just how powerful the sea is.
And That's Day 28 Done
So that's it.
Day 28. Done and dusted.
Four weeks ago today we were heading off on the ferry, excited about the adventure ahead. Tonight, we're sitting in the motorhome knowing that tomorrow we'll be on that same ferry route heading home. We've recorded one of these every single day of the trip.
Twenty-eight days. Twenty-eight little pieces of our adventure and we're really pleased we stuck with it.
It would have been very easy to give up halfway through, especially on the days when we were tired, busy or simply couldn't be bothered. But looking back, we're so glad we did.
These recordings will be a brilliant reminder for us when we're planning our next adventure, where we went, what we did, what we loved and, occasionally, what went spectacularly wrong! Most importantly, it's been a fantastic adventure shared with Tiley and Frankie.
Thank you so much for following along with us.
Tomorrow we'll do one final roundup as we make our way home.
But for now…
Goodnight.
Au revoir!
And we'll see you on the other side of the Channel.
📸 Day 28 Highlights
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A spectacular low-tide walk near Roscoff
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Sand dunes and an almost completely exposed seabed
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Beautiful turquoise water
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WWII German bunkers and coastal defences
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Rock pools and exposed rocky coastline
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Tiley and Frankie discovering the joys of seawater!
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Drone photography and video, despite the wind
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A rather unstable "rock"
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One enormous clam that narrowly escaped becoming dinner
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An impressive French downpour
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The realisation that the holiday is almost over
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