UKC

I have nine spare days before meeting people in Bordeaux so thought it good idea to cycle from St Malo. I'm not super cycle fit at the moment so want to take the whole nine days doing around 50km - 60km per day. Maybe a few longer days maybe a few shorter days or rest days. Ideally I'll camp with an occasional bricks & mortar refuge. So any tips on a) wild camping in France, b) campsites along the way, c) cheap accommodation, d) route? Other useful tips?

In reply to Simon Cahill:

Can't offer practical advice, but sounds like an ace idea - have a bump.

In reply to Simon Cahill:

Try to fit a visit to the Ile d'Oleron en route. A little detour but not much of you are going straight to Bordeaux. Dinan and Port du Dinan just south of St Malo are both worth a visit, there is a campsite there too, handy if your first day is a short one.

In reply to Simon Cahill:

Route - possibly a chunk of Eurovelo route 1

http://www.eurovelo.com/en/eurovelos/eurovelo-1/countries/france

I've turned up a the village Mayor's office in a few places in France and enquired about camping. Each time somewhere was found for us to camp i.e. on a school sports field with loos and changing rooms. No charge was ever asked for. This was a few years ago. Not sure if you could still do it, but if you have some spoken French, it would be worth a try.

In reply to Simon Cahill:

Most French towns have a municipal campsite which is always pretty reasonable. Free drinking water at every cemetery (again, one in most towns).

In reply to Simon Cahill:

There's a campsite in the Cité D'Aleth above the harbour, and a nice one called Le Hallerais at Dinan below the village. I'm pretty sure there's an old railway line cycle path all the way to Dinan from St.Malo. There's also some Formule 1 type cheap hotels in and around St.Malo. When are you going?

In reply to Toerag:

Thanks. Toerag. By complete chance I had booked into La Hallerais for my second night. I'll check the railway out but will follow the river for sometime just before Dinan.

In reply to IPPurewater:

Thanks. I will check out that route. I'm starting serious route planning now. I have installed Osmand+ for my phone and a charging system for the bike which is working great.

In reply to Removed User:

Ile d'Oleron looks interesting and pretty much on route, I'm seriously considering it. Thank you.

In reply to Simon Cahill:

I'll be interested to hear how you get on Simon as I'm heading over that way on a tour in September!

In reply to Simon Cahill:

very jealous simon

In reply to Simon Cahill:

I've found wild camping in France to be the easiest in Europe.
Water fountains are all over the place and farmers are not efficient with their crop coverage.

The downside being french shops are open for around 4 minutes a day, so lots of cycling with food (Sundays are the worst!)

The night ferry to St Malo is great

In reply to Simon Cahill: If you haven't found them already these sites may be useful


http://www.opencyclemap.org

http://en.francevelotourisme.com

In reply to Simon Cahill:

OK, spoke to my mate - he said the disused railway path is on the western side of the River Rance and goes all the way to Dinan, and from there on you can follow the canal towpath all the way to Rennes. He got bored of the towpath though, so headed up onto the plateau to Rennes. He reckons anyone half-fit would get to Rennes and back in a day easily (he's not an athlete but commutes 3 miles to work a couple of times a week in his 60s.)