I don't think Mont Saint-Michel needs much introduction - it's one of the most recognisable landmarks of France and visited by up to 3 million people per year... That's a LOT of people for a tiny island. So my plan was to get there early before everyone else! Thankfully the campsite I stayed at didn't have any barriers for early leavers (some of them have gates that don't open until a set time - très frustrant!) so I could leave when I wanted to, and so got to the carpark there at about 6:30am.
From the carpark, its about 1.5 km along a bridge to the island. The tide was way out so I probably could have walked across the mud if I was so inclined, but it was a bit early for heroics (didn't want to be that English girl that had to be rescued...). I loved being the only one out and about though, it was great! I stopped a lot on the way there and took photos - it wasn't much of a sunrise (grey again), but it was a pretty moody morning!
I eventually made it there and went to explore in peace. There was no one out except people delivering food and changing the bags in the rubbish bins. The tourists were all asleep. I walked around the island, marvelling at the perfection of all these little houses crammed onto this tiny place, looked out over the mud flats which had interesting colours and shapes, visited one of the churches on the island (not THE Abbaye du Mont Saint-Michel, but another one - I believe it was called Église Saint-Pierre), and walked on the path along the walls surrounding the island. The Abbaye was not open until 9am, but I made my way there about 8:30 to start a queue. Soon enough, I was joined by other tourists and was glad that I had got there so early!
I was the first person inside the Abbaye that morning, and made my way up the ancient stone steps to the church at the very top. Inside the Abbaye wasn't flashy, just a simple church, slightly gloomy because of the grey weather outside. It was also quite bare, possibly because it had been previously used as a prison in the ancien regime. But it was an interesting place to wander around, and it had a rather nice old tiled floor!
I left Mont Saint-Michel just before 10:30. Walking back along the bridge to the mainland was an interesting experience - tourists were only just coming in while I was leaving! I got a few funny looks from them as I walked away. I got to the campervan and drove to Rennes, a bit over an hour away.
I'll pop one last photo of the mud below, because (and I never thought I would say this!) the mud and the hazy, cloudy morning was rather pretty!