Fete Maritime Paimpol

Our third experience of the Paimpol Festival lived up to expectations. The harbour was filled with nearly 200 classic boats and live music played on six different stages from 2pm until 2am for three days running. A chorus of foghorns started the day off at 10am, the cue for a variety of street entertainers, walking bands and performers on the streets.

The children were fascinated by a twelve-foot tall mechanical camel, with a fur-clad body, wooden legs that ‘walked’, and a head that moved, blinked and ‘chewed’ hay. One man rode on top operating the head and neck with pulleys, while six people pushed it along, one steered and two more pulled ropes to ‘walk’ the legs. Very realistic to watch.

Mechanical camel

 There was a beautiful roundabout made almost entirely of driftwood. Two parents pushed up and down on a seesaw, which made the carousel turn. Their children rode gently round on driftwood animals, while the artist/designer played the piano. A magical and peaceful experience, and all for free!

Driftwood carousel

We had a brilliant position this year, moored just in front of the ‘Fee de l’Aulne’, which had a stage on its deck. We could hear live music without leaving the boat, and if we wanted to watch the bands, we just climbed onto the wheelhouse roof. I can’t list all the bands there were so many - lots from Brittany, but also from as far afield as Poland, Algeria, and Canada. We certainly heard plenty of Celtic pipes, rousing shanties, haunting harmonies and some incredible fiddle-playing! Our favourites were ‘Radio Babel Marseille’, ‘les Pirates’, ‘Whiskey and Women’ from California, and of course, our own ‘Exmouth Shantymen’.

Katie getting brave in front of an audience

 

Topsham friends Rachel and Gracie came to stay for the duration of the festival, and the Parry-Smiths made a detour on their way to their holiday destination! The girls got very brave climbing on the mainsail and hoisting themselves up the mast on a home-made swing. They also had fun rowing around the harbour in our dinghy.

Sarah, Rachel and Chris P-J

The children enjoyed climbing a fake square-rigged mast, all purpose-made with three ‘masts’, complete with safety ropes to catch you if you fall. Reuben reached the first platform by climbing the rope ladder, or ‘ratlines’, but didn’t want to go any further. Katie and Gracie climbed right to the top and got to ring the bell on the second platform, a good forty feet above the ground. They then abseiled down on the ropes

Reuben & Gracie on the ratlines

Katie & Gracie reach the top

 When the music got too much, we could escape to the beach, just outside the festival site. The tide here goes out a long long way, so we were delighted to discover a seawater swimming pool five minutes along the beach. It was shallow by the beach but deep enough to dive into at the deep end, and even I braved the chilly water to join the girls jumping in!

 We had an early start to leave after the festival, which meant we finally succeeded in getting some ‘pain au chocolats’ before the bakeries sold out!

The weather was perfect – flat seas and blue skies, so we hopped along the coast, stopping at various places along the way. We visited the Ile Brehat to let the children swim and build sandcastles, then had an overnight stay at the tranquil Sept-Iles, a nature reserve full of oystercatchers, rabbits, bats and seals (and puffins earlier in the year).

Looking down from the Sept Iles lighthouse

Tregastel-St Anne

The following morning, we had another brief beach stop at Tregastel St-Anne – a stunning white beach surrounded by oversized boulders, then caught the last of the tide to Roscoff, where Rachel & Gracie were catching the ferry home. We had a lovely last meal with them before their departure at the crack of dawn, and we are now heading west to try and get ‘round the top corner’ of France before strong winds hit us at the weekend. 

Roscoff