Sunday 2nd July – Slow and steady wins the race …..

As forecast, the weather has returned to a more ‘Breton’ pattern over the last week and we have seen a couple of days with torrential downpours.  This has been restrictive in terms of what we have been able to do outside but has been welcome relief for the garden which was becoming more and more like a desert.

Grange continues to make progress although possibly not as great a leap forward as previous weeks.  That said, I managed to complete the final (for now!) concreting around the building with thresholds on the garage bays that will have doors added.  (I say for now as, following last week’s deluges we are looking at ways to manage the water from the downpipes and we may create a gully across the front of the building to channel the water away.)

Grange as at 02 July 2017 at Kergudon Gites in Brittany

Lee, our builder, has been focussing on the staircase, which is now complete, and doorframe for the games room.  Having now got to the point we have the final bit we would like Lee to do is make the garage doors for the end bays so we have agreed that he doesn’t come back to us for at least a week to allow me to progress with the cladding, levelling the ground around the building and painting the render.

Staircase and door frame complete at Grange at Kergudon Gites, Brittany

Having discovered the previous week that the masonry paint we bought a couple of years ago was lighter than we wanted, a good friend has kindly agreed to bring some new paint out from the UK next week so we should be able to continue to paint the increasing amount of rendered blockwork we are creating!

We haven’t made significant progress in the last 3 days – intentionally.  On Friday I took a day to visit various brico (DIY) establishments in Brest in preparation for other tasks we have to complete in the next few weeks but, only having one trailer, I need to go back tomorrow.

This weekend we have spent time with some good friends and returned to one of our favourite restaurants in Roscoff for lunch yesterday, the Hotel Les Arcades.  Thankfully the weather had dried and warmed up sufficiently for us to sit outside on their terrace overlooking the beach and the Île de Batz.  After lunch our friends took us on a mini-tour of the area and introduced us to some new, fabulous, beaches.

The first we visited was on the Presqu’île de Perharidy immediately to the west of Roscoff.  They told us that the beaches felt like being in the Caribbean which we thought was likely to be stretching a point.  However, not having been to the Caribbean myself, I can see what they meant.  The sand was pure white and the water crystal clear and turquoise blue also with lovely views over the Île de Batz.

Beach at Presqu'ile du Perharidy, Finistere

The second beach we were taken to was Penn al Lann on the outskirts of Carantec at the mouth of the Baie de Morlaix overlooking the Château du Taureau.  This was golden sand rather than white but the water was still beautifully clear and inviting.  Both are definitely worth a visit and, being a little out of the way we understand don’t get very busy.

Chateau du Taureau Baie de Morlaix

Despite having to go to Brest again tomorrow I have long list of things that I want to achieve next week and, with no Lee, I will be able to focus on a number of things as well as Grange.  That includes undercoating the new walls behind Priory in preparation for the new paint arriving and allowing me re-re-build the fence.  Much depends on the weather that looks dry for the most part.

Kenavo.