We had intended to push on east today, but a combination of fresh easterlies and an artichoke fete in a nearby town convince us to stay.

We get the bus to Saint Pol de Leon arriving just in time for a parade of the various old guilds who we find slightly sinister in their medieval garb with overtones of the orange marches…

But it is all apparently harmless and just a celebration of the artichoke and old tractors…..

…plus an amazing New Orleans style brass band. What they lack in musicality, they more than make up for with sheer panache.

Artichokes are clearly big here and for €13 each we get a big artichoke, some potatoes with sausage and onions, a slab of Breton custard tart, a glass of wine and a cup of coffee.

This fete appears to bring together a big cross section of society with everyone happy to share and eat their artichokes whilst listening to the bagpipes drifting across the square mingling with some avant guard jazz.

Maybe the winds will be kinder tomorrow…