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Sub-zero again last night but another bright morning as we set off back through the forest towards Quimper. We stop in the town of La Foret Fouesnant to visit a boulangerie to get things for lunch and a cake for this afternoon. The owner chats about travelling and asks if we've seen Merlin and Tinkerbell in the rocks at Huelgoat. Ali says no, but we're heading there today. By coincidence, so is the baker.
Traffic on the N165 is light but there are areas of heavy frost and temperature varies between 0.5 and 4C until we leave to drive down the hill into Port Launay. What a sight! The wide river is glassy smooth with a thin, smokey mist hanging above the surface, and a perfect reflection of the brown and russet trees beyond. As we sit with our coffee a heron stand motionless on the far bank for so long we wonder if it is real, unitil finally it stabs the water, comes up with a fish, leaps into the air and hauls itself upstream 4-5 metres above its own reflection in the water. We resume our journey past the old grandstand from when cycle road racing took place here, and on into Chataulin. Again it's all colourful in the sun with softer wintery light and there are mirror image reflections in the river as we cross the bridge.
Driving throgh Playben we see a wonderful example of a 'parish closes', a church with ossuary, calvary and triumphal arch entrance, built in connection with the linen industry.
After refuelling in the supermarket we re-cross the bridge and follow a lovely country road to Huelgoat where we park right by the lake for lunch. Like the river, the lake is glassy smooth. We have lunch then Ali and Grete go to explore Huelgoat's famous rocky valley which consists of huge glacial boulders piled on top of one another forming tunnels and passages to clamber through. Near the bridge is a semi-circular weir forming a bowl of water flowing through the arches.
From Huelgoat we drive 20 miles up and down through managed forest until we arrive at Plouegat Moysan and find the auberge Le Puits de Jeanne, a France Passion we have visited twice before.
In the evening we go to the restaurant where it is a set menu tonight; baked apple stuffed with goat cheese, guinea fowl with dauphinoise potato and mushroom mousse, and caramel ice cream with biscuit.
The air outside is cold when we leave but the clear sky is brilliant with stars.
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