Archives for June 2010

La Breteche in South East Brittany is the setting for a first rate golf course and a first class Relais & Chateaux hotel in the grounds of a fairy tale castle in the small town of Missillac near to the famous seaside town of La Baule.

This was the first stop in retracing our footsteps 28 years ago before the birth of our first daughter. The trip had been instigated by a neighbour’s kind invitation to stay with them in their time share cottage at La Breteche which were just in their infancy all those years ago. On our previous visit we had stayed at the hotel which has, since then, enjoyed a trendy redesign which we enjoyed at the golf course’s Club House. The course itself is fairly testing with many long holes and some tricky greens in fabulous surroundings especially the 9th green which lies directly in front of the castle.

One of our fondest memories of our previous visit to southern Brittany was to Cap Coz, a tiny peninsular close to Fouesnant. With the harbour/estuary on one side and the Atlantic ocean on the other it is truly stunning. Our quiet room at the rear of the property really did win the accolade of “room with a view”: directly over the estuary and the lovely headland beyond. Food is now a great draw to the hotel and it certainly was a gastronome’s delight. During our few days here there were many staying for just one night on their gourmet crawl through France. Cap Coz is a very peaceful, out of the way place, but its one great attraction is its safe beach and a number of bars and restaurants right on the water’s edge. Just over the bay in Foret Fouesnant is the Cornouaille golf course – a long and undulating course with a few tricky holes!

We could have stayed in this area for longer but had pre-planned a few nights in Northern Brittany at Val Andree and the chance to play the famous 11th hole at the golf course of the same name. The 11th hole is certainly spectacular with the men’s tee some 200 feet above the fairway – this did have its down side: we had to climb up from there to the next hole!

A great few days away and we certainly won’t be waiting another 28 years before our next visit.

A few facts: overnight Portsmouth to St Malo with the famous gourmet dinner on board. It takes between 2 – 3 hours from St Malo to La Breteche. La Breteche to Fouesnant (near Quimper) (without detours) about 3 hours. Quimper to Val Andree probably around 2 – 3 hours but we took a scenic route through the Parc d’Armorique, which was just like Dartmoor, up to Morlaix and then along the coastal road through Lannion so took the most part of 5 hours (with detours!).

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