Lehon, Dinan and Cheddar gorging!

On Tuesday 4th August, 13 keen walkers met at the pretty town of Lehon, just south of Dinan. Having meandered through the cobbled streets admiring the beautiful flower displays, Lesley and Denise then led us through the quiet streets on the outskirts of Dinan, up to the historic city centre. From the ramparts, we were able to see for miles across Port Dinan and the surrounding countryside. As we descended the long and steep cobbled path down from the old city to the Port, we truly appreciated the insider knowledge of Dinan that Lesley and Denise had used earlier to get us walking up to the high summit without realising! After a short stop and some local info from Lesley, we then walked briskly south on the path alongside the Rance estuary, keen to get back to Lehon for our picnics!

Fully revived, after our lunch beside the Abbaye at Lehon, we then set off in convoy for our final part of the day's outing. After a short drive south east, we arrived at Chapel Cheddar where Erica was waiting for us. Having lived in France for many years, she told us the entertaining story of how she came to be making cheddar (and other cheese) in France, and then talked us through the processes needed to produce her organic cheese. It sounded like very hard work and very labour intensive, however when we tasted the samples that she kindly provided, I think we were all agreed it was well worth the effort - delicious! We finished the day with juice and cakes before departing for home, keen to tuck into the cheese we had bought! I'm sure we won't be the only ones visiting her stall at Dinan market in the future!

Karen