Onto Bagnoles

We woke this morning just before eight and knew instantly it was going to be a gorgeous day. Rays of sun were streaming around the edges of the blackout blind as though beckoning us to throw open the shutters and greet the day.

By 8.30am we were ready and had crossed the small courtyard to the main house for breakfast. We met Madame Hardy - the owner and although she couldn't speak a word of English we were still able to discuss the weather, our previous route and where we were going next.

We were on our way just after 9.00am and headed out onto the country roads. It's Sunday today and we often caught the sound of church bells, carried on the gentle breeze, as they called the faithful to mass.

After 9 miles we encountered the steepest incline of our journey so far. We huffed an puffed up into the town of Domfront and were royally rewarded for our efforts. Domfront sits on a high hill and the views over the valley were superb.

Leaving Domfront behind we made good progress and by 11am we reached the town of Bagnoles de l'Orne, a perfect place for coffee. We sat in a little cafe overlooking the lake and I quickly succumed to the lure of a vanilla, chocolate cookie ice cream. I can confirm it tasted every bit as good as it sounds, although I did manage to throw some down my cycle shirt. That will be a good test of the quality of the Half Baked Brand shirts when we wash them this evening.

Next stop - final destination for today, Carrouges.

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