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Our early night to bed worked and we are up in good time to visit Port Dinan this morning. It's a lovely bright sunny day and 11 deg. We wander down to the port and as expected the easterly morning sun is lighting up the main street beautifully. The water is glassy-smooth and the Breton stone and slate glow warmly. Little attic dormers peep over the gutters, woody tangles of wisteria wait for summer, primroses and white garlic flowers light up little wooden planters and tables and chairs are being arranged on the terraces. April 1st and spring has well and truly sprung here. Boats line the harbour walls, a few being prepared for a new season of sailing. Dinan was once an important trading port for cloth and textiles but when trade fell away it became a pleasure port. But history lives on; a barge bearing a plaque 'Built 1917 Barrow in Furness' is now a floating clothes shop. After wandering along the river and taking in the perfect Breton architecture we stop at a salon du thē for some coffee and a medium, some would say large, freshly baked, still slightly warm, slice of peach and almond cake. The owner tells us Dinan is bad to drive in now as many old walls have collapsed, hence all the roadworks. Leaving the aire we have to go back through Dinan but compared with yesterday traffic is light and the one-way and closure system is in our favour. The city looks much better like this but we do see some of the collapses. One hundred miles of dual carriageway brings us within a few miles of Roscoff and St Pol de Leon. We opt for the latter and find the beachside aire just in time to glimpse the last of the sea disappear behind the spit, leaving boats and birds high and dry on the wet sand. After walking out to the sea wall we turn inwards to the town. Camelia and primroses brighten up the gardens of restored stone houses. The town is busy and a bitter wind prevents us from exploring it fully but we see enough to know a future visit wll be worthwhile. Back at the van we warn up and Ali makes chicken curry for supper As darkness falls the sea starts to fill the empty sands.
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