Some statistics:

481kms from Calais

€111 on diesel

Over €70 in tolls – can’t be sure exactly as the screen at one toll booth was cracked and totally unreadable.

Avoided Rouen LEZ as hadn’t bothered to get Crit’air.

Beauvoir Aire to Tourist Centre 2.5kms, 32 mins walk along the edge of the water in the pic above.

Shuttle bus Le Passeur free, every 20 mins or so from the Tourist Centre. Absolutely heaving, long queues in both directions – a taste of things to come!

No ticket required to get on the mount, entry to the Abbey was €13

After visiting the British St Michael’s mount last summer, which I wrote about here we decided to revisit the French one, memories of quaint cobbled streets and souvenir shops having faded, that and the fact that the kids have never been.

The last time we went, we vaguely remembered parking on the tarmac that would be submerged by the tide, so the bridge on the way over, and the novelty shaped buses were a surprise.

The second you headed through the archway on to the island you realised that the crowds were just not going to thin out.

We had spent a leisurely morning consuming baked goods in the sunshine, so it was approaching l’heure du déjeuner when we arrived. After a protracted scuttle around the shops at the lower end, we decided to try to find a table in a crêperie to get our bearings and acclimatise to the crowds.

We ended up in here, and had to queue for a table.

4 Standard menu items and desserts were procured, including a dang good chocolate mousse and strangely a tiramisu with no coffee in it. Cider was dispensed, and it cost €105, so more than 4 main courses and drinks in Paris in October.

The smalls went crazy to spend their money, and we came away with a camera that shows pics of the mount, a baguette pen, a fridge magnet, etc. The shops virtually all sold the same stuff, but some were more expensive than others, so it pays to look first and buy later. Except for fighting with the crowds.

We headed out of the back door of one shop and found ourselves on the outer wall walkway, which was much more pleasant, with huge views all around and a lot less people.

It didn’t take too long to decide that we should maybe get the bus back. We stopped at the outdoor bar at the Tourist Centre and had drinks and ice creams under the trees before taking a walk back along the water’s edge.

The path was great for cyclists, horse riders and walkers of all speeds, being away from the road and with wide grass verges. Just no shade.

Count of Mortain getting in on the St Michael’s action again!

It was worth the day out. It broke up a long journey and was a great sight to take in. If and when we return I’d love to go at night to see the son et lumière at the Abbey and take a (hopefully quieter) moonlight stroll across the cobbles.

But away to Brittany next to discover new places.