Roscoff gardens

We visited two gardens while staying at Roscoff; both are well worth a visit.  The first that we saw was the Roscoff Exotic and Botanical Garden that is situated just a short drive from the town centre, and is maintained by volunteers.  It's a small garden in just over 1.5 hectares, well laid-out, and crossed by paths that show it off very well.  The plants are well-described, and I was impressed by the collection of cacti and succulents under a plastic greenhouse.  It's hard to keep cacti in good condition, and these all seemed to be in excellent health, like the rest of the garden, in fact.   There is a big rock at one end, that you can climb, and that helps keep the garden warmer and sheltered in Winter.   It gives you a good view too.   I was a bit disappointed that they didn't have any kind of souvenir book for sale.

The Ile de Batz lies just off the coast of Roscoff, separated from the mainland by a shallow, dangerous, rock-filled channel.   A passenger ferry chugs back and forth throughout the day, there is even a very long jetty for it for when the tide is low.  The fee is 9 euro return, and the same for a bike.  We took our bikes, since the walk from the ferry terminal to the Jardin Georges Delaselle is a bit uncomfortable for Anita.  This garden is on a bigger scale than the Roscoff one, and offers some more expansive vistas.  The plants are in similar good health.  They had a souvenir book so I bought one.

After the garden visit I took the bike on a short circuit of the island.  The feel is very reminiscent of the Scilly Isles where we stayed for a holiday many moons ago.