Mike and Clare: Near Pointe du Raz...

27 January, 2020

Near Pointe du Raz...

Scenic town of Audierne.

Many of the tiny 'modern' villages in Brittany outside the old towns look like this.

Point du Raz (from the old Norman word meaning strong currents), about as far west as you can get on mainland Brittany, is very exposed to Atlantic weather, and the seas get famously rough around here. We didn't see huge seas, but on our first visit, it was nevertheless pretty wild and squally, and you could easily see the potential in a real storm. There's a string of rocky outcrops leading 20km out west from Point du Raz, only the nearest of them you can see from Raz. These have been the ruin of many a ship over the centuries, but now the rocks are well charted and often marked with lighthouses or semaphores. The most famous of these is Ar Men but that incredible lighthouse was well out of sight to us. Closer in is Ile-de-Sein with its lighthouse, really just visible from the mainland. The closest and therefore most impressive light is La Vielle, maybe a km offshore.

Spectacular view of the Phare de la Veille from Pointe du Raz with the lighthouse on Ile-de-Sein visible in the distance.

The seas were pretty rough today, but we've seen photos of much heavier conditions. The sun on this navigation light looked brilliant.

Point du Raz is set up to handle a lot of visitors with parking for hundreds of cars and about 20 coaches. There is an information centre (closed till April) and a large semi-circular building of shops and cafes, all completely shuttered up except for one lonely creperie which had no customers although there were maybe a dozen people around. This setup is about a kilometer from the point, and visitors are required to walk from the car park, but found we could drive almost all the way by ignoring the no entry signs.

One of many gulls swooping in the breezes around Pointe du Raz.

Magnificent setting for the Chapelle-de-St-They near the tip of Pointe du Van.

The Chapelle St They at Pointe du Van.

The drive out to Pointe du Raz was interesting, going through tiny villages, and we even saw some old windmills. The town of Confort-Meilars had a gorgeous old church, signage saying it was open every day, but it wasn't. It's bell rang on cue, apparently automated. And there were delightful bigger towns like Audierne (one possible hotel, but closed, and a laundromat which was also closed because so many of its machines were broken, so a notice said) and Douarnenez (no obvious suitable hotels but a laundromat open, working and which we used).

Grand church at Confort-Meilars. Sign on door said it was open 9-17 every day, but it wasn't.

One of two windmills of Trouguer, on their own in a field.

Isolated house with a great outlook near Kervoazec.

Douarnenez, a township since 1118AD, was an interesting commune and we had a good look around it, finding to our joy not only the laundry but also a tiny supermarket and boulangerie open. Its port seems to specialise in old, historical yachts, and there is a museum (closed) for that purpose. But the old boats in the marina were interesting to look at, even an old lighthouse ship. An island Tristan, barely offshore, has a history associated with legends of King Arthur.

Panorama over the port at Douarnenez, old lighthouse ship in the centre, and the spire of Sacre Coeur on the skyline right.

Unique Chappelle Saint Michel in Douarnenez.

House exposed to all weather on a beach near Douarnenez.

Splendid organ and window of the Sacre Coeur church in Douarnenez.

How shingles keep the rain out.

Just another pretty French florist, this one near Douarnenez Centre Ville.

The almost mythical island of Tristan which can be walked to at low tide.

The place we stayed at was called Latitude Ouest, a rambling old style hotel on the edge of a forest, the Bois du Nevet, and which had obviously been extended a number of times. For two of our three nights there, we were the only guests, and the whole place had a cold empty feeling. A spacious lounge area, touted as having an open fire, was freezing cold and uninhabitable in anything less than full outdoor clothing. The long corridors were dark and narrow, and sealed off with doors which banged shut noisily. Except for fresh bread and pastries at breakfast, everything else had a very stale feeling. We understand how difficult it must be to run a hotel in the off-season, but, if you're going to accept bookings, you must turn things "on" when you get them. That said, our room was large, clean and cosily heated, and the bathroom had that wonderful staple, a heated towel rail which warmed the whole room. And the staff were friendly and helpful, but they just didn't seem to realise how unwelcoming the ambience was. To top it off, wifi was very shaky, working maybe 50% of the time we tried to use it.

The Bois du Nevet as seen fom Latitude Ouest.

Not a scene from "The Shining", the front of Latitude Ouest. Our room on the first floor at right.

Bike riders on the D7 near Lacronan race by what seems to be a defunct Boulangerie + Bar + Tabac.

And, having explored places west, we finally discovered the town of Locronan, only about a kilometer from Latitude Ouest. Locronan is officially one of France's most beautiful towns, being a very well preseved Breton village, built in traditional local granite. The solid Renaissance houses with traditional roofs and cobbled streets ooze history, especially around the large village square (complete with well) fronted by the grandiose 15th Century St Ronan church. Ronan was an Irish immigrant who came to the village in the 800AD's - he taught the locals to weave, and became revered. The preservation of the town is aided by it being bypassed by through roads which skirt around it. Signage and huge carparks outside the village discourage traffic. Within, we found a few shops open, although eateries maintained their strict "midi" and "soir" eating times. We were looking at a menu outside one cafe near the end of the lunch period - this seemed to prompt the owner to rush outside and curtly remove her inviting sandwich boards. We found an Irish Pub open, and were pleased to partake in its pleasures. It had a few other customers, but most who came in did so to buy lottery tickets.

Our four days in the territory between Point du Raz and Locronan were enjoyable, not slightly due to pretty good weather. It was rarely sunny but almost always fine, and the daytime temperatures were 5-10C. Always a bit windy, so we kept our coats on. And then it was time to leave for the next finger of the Finistère west.