7 August 2010:  Loctudy

Loctudy is an interesting place.  When we first came here – I ‘d think in about 1994 - the marina was in the process of opening, and the village was decidedly run down, but had a good range of shops.  There were a couple of small supermarkets in the main street, which were pretty seedy, and we pretty quickly discovered the grand surface on the Pont  l’Abbe road – in those days it was a 3 Mosquetaires.  It’s always remained in my mind as one of the best supermarkets on this coast.

This afternoon we made the usual trip up to the supermarket. Over recent years it has been going downhill, especially in the wine department, but had retained a good deli and fresh foods section.  This year it has become a Carrefour, the wine section is still weak; and the deli has deteriorated majorly (although the fresh veg is still very good.)  There were no croissants.  Basics only, now.

On the other hand, the village is becomingly increasingly gentrified as the working heart of the village, the fishing fleet, atrophies.  The criee, which used to be a mass of small shops selling off the boats  coming into harbour daily, is now down to one small shop and two big poissoneries that are sourced from all over – last year we had langoustines from a box marked Ecosse (a bit of a giveaway!)  The Comptoir de la Mer has been tarted up and expanded.  The main street no longer has the range of shops, but feels well cared for and somehow sleek.  The village has always been characterised by flowers – lots of hanging baskets and planters with flowers, and these seem to get better and more elaborate each year.  There are granite blocks designed to promote traffic calming.

The beaches are becoming crowded.  We cycled along along Langoz and Kervilzuan beaches and then came back into town along the green lanes.  Tonight there is a festival of the crepes, including moules marinieres and fish soup.  On the same day, there is a festival of Langoustines in Lesconil, the next fishing village, complete with a pipe band, sea shanties and fireworks at 11pm.   All in all, Loctudy and its area is moving up market!