Where are we?

We are right at the northwestern tip of France, about 20 km to the north of Brest. Our address is Coat Meur, 29830 Ploudalmézeau France; though actually we are just outside Ploudalmézeau, on the Route de Kerlanou.

Getting to Ploudalmézeau

By car

Head for Brest and turn north a little before you get there. We can give you more explicit directions if you let us know where you are coming from. If you are driving from the UK then plan to take a ferry on either the Plymouth - Roscoff route (Roscoff is just over an hour from Ploudalmézeau) or the Portsmouth - St Malo route (we're about two and a half hours from St Malo).

We also use the Brittany Ferries to Caen and Cherbourg, they are about four hours drive from us but the roads are good and the overall journey is not very different from going via Plymouth.

Here is a link to driving directions from Roscoff.

By train

Take a train to Brest, about 4 ½ hours from Paris. The Deutsche Bahn website at www.bahn.de is a good first guide to train services across Europe. Once you arrive at Brest you can either take a taxi to Ploudalmézeau (good if there are two or three people arriving at the same time) or there is a bus service via St Renan though it's not very frequent.

By plane

Within France, there are direct Air France flights to Brest-Brittany airport (BES) from Paris, Lyon, Nice and Bordeaux. There are also flights from Paris (CDG) and Lyon to Brest on EasyJet and from Marseille to Brest on Ryanir.

From most major cities in Europe, there are good air services to Brest on Air France via either Paris or Lyon.

Coming from the UK, FlyBe fly direct from Birmingham to Brest on Tues/Thurs/Sat and from Southampton to Brest on Tues/Fri/Sun.

Coming from Spain, Vueling now have a direct flight from Barcelona to Brest on Sun/Thurs.

Ryanair also fly from London-Stansted to Dinard, near to St Malo (daily), and to Nantes (daily except Wednesday). It is possible - though not straightforward - to take trains from St Malo or Dinan to Brest. Better to arrange a hire car if you come this way, Dinard is about 2 1/2 hours drive and Nantes about 4 hours drive - but lovely if you want to make a trip of it.

Timetables are liable to change on short notice so please check with the airline for the latest information.

To get to Coat Meur from Brest Guipavas airport you can take a shuttle bus or taxi into Brest town centre and take the bus (see above); take a taxi directly to Ploudalmézeau; or rent a car. Car rental is available at the airport, and we are about 30 minutes away by road. Here is a link to driving directions from Brest-Guipavas airport.

Getting to Coat Meur

Coat Meur is just outside Ploudalmézeau on the Route de Kerlanou. If you come by taxi ask us to give you directions for the taxi driver. If you come by bus, we can pick you up from the town centre or there's a pleasant footpath that will take about 10-15 minutes.

Accommodation

Sadly, there are no local hotels in easy distance. There is though a good supply of bed & breakfast and gîtes. Gisele & Jean-Pierre Madec at Kervao (about 2km from here) have four rooms and three gîtes to let. There's an English version of their web-site here. We also know of some cheaper local studio flats if that is your preference. All these are with excellent friendly hosts.

A little further away is the excellent La Demeure Ocean in Portsall (about 4km away). Their website has an English version.

Most of the gîtes are listed at Clévacances look for Department 29 - Finistère and search for the Town of Ploudalmezeau. Gîtes are usually let by the week from Saturday to Saturday but out of season it may be possible to negotiate a shorter stay.

The Ploudalmézeau tourist office has a longer list of accommodation (in French only) go here and click on the 'Hébergement' link at the top of the page.

Please mention 'Jane Revell' or 'Coat Meur' when you book.