A trip to Brittany, France

In a country roughly five times the size of my homeland of England, yet with a population slightly less than the whole of the United Kingdom, it was no surprise to find vast expanses of countryside around every corner of the road. (The roads themselves are wide, well-built and with far less traffic than British motorways.) Taking a side road off the main highways - either planned or on a whim - will inevitably lead you to a tree-shaded, unmarked patch where you can leave your vehicle and head off on a delightful walk among truly beautiful and peaceful scenery.

The French love to walk; on all our outings we came across young ramblers, middle-aged strollers, older people taking exercise and lots of families with children. That is not to say that the walks were full of people, however - the French countryside is vast enough to allow everyone a Sunday afternoon walk without even the most popular spots ever becoming crowded.

Whatever your preference, a gentle stroll for a few hundred yards or a bracing, 5-mile hike, Brittany can supply it in spades!

With evidence of some of the world's earliest structured human settlements, dating back to around 8000 BC, Brittany has enough history to satisfy even the most demanding visitor.

The arrival of Celts, Romans, Vikings, Angles and Saxons all helped to develop the cultural history of Brittany and its history is overflowing with battles, protests, uprisings and treaties. As well as the "Hundred Years' War" (with England), the Great War (with the loss of over 250,000 Breton citizens) and WWII (when the Resistance movement helped innumerable allied servicemen to escape occupied France), there was also the "Wars of Religion", the "Stamped Paper Revolt" and "The Artichoke Wars" ... all worth a least a cursory bit of investigation, surely?

The further west you travel, in Brittany, the more Celtic the culture becomes; still holding on to much of its heritage, this is the place to experience traditional festivals. costumes and folk music with the distinctive (and quite hypnotic) sounds of the hurdy-gurdy.

Picture below (Breton costumes) by Richard White, reproduced under Creative Commons licence

This is something you simply MUST experience: the famous French pavement cafe society. The ubiquitous coffee houses and bars pretty much all have outdoor seating, and whether you are in a small, traditional village or a sophisticated, modern city you really should take the time to kick back and enjoy whiling away an hour or two in this most francais of pastimes.

It's difficult to get a bad cup of coffee in France; the French take their coffee-drinking quite seriously and even if you aren't offered the usual choice of cappucino, americano, latte, espresso, etc ... you are still likely to be given a cup of something hot and flavoursome. Tea is perhaps less popular in France than in England, for example, but always available (normally drunk black or with lemon, but milk will also be provided if you wish) and soft drinks of all types line the counters and refrigerators in every establishment.

Morning goods - pastries, breads and cakes - are freshly-baked and a delicious treat; lunches are also served in these roadside cafes and bars, consisting of filled baguettes, crepes, salads or frites. There is often waitress service, but it is also perfectly acceptable to venture into the delightfully-traditional little cafe/bars (or the swish, ultra-modern cafeterias) and order your drinks from the host or their staff.

Whatever else you do in France, the street cafes are NOT to be missed!