As we approached the Pointe du Raz, whilst pondering whether to sleep overnight at the visitor centre carpark, or a small farm campsite we had found on Park4Night, we had to chuckle at the idea of our trip westwards; heading to Cornouaille in general, and its tip in particular, because of a reference in Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne du Maurier to the home of its lead male character, the French pirate Jean-Benoit Aubéry! We both read the book recently and enjoyed it so much, we plan to put together a trip in Evie around its locations in Cornwall at some point. Maybe a bit too bonkers for some, we do like a focus or rationale for our trips – and as the passionate and turbulent relationship between M. Aubéry and Dona, Lady St Columb, and the potential for her to go to his home near the Pointe, is taken as a symbolic reference to the stormy and tempestuous seas at the Pointe du Raz, what’s not to like? Plus, it’s one of France’s 33 ‘Grand Sites’ that are recognised for their natural beauty/historical significance with a commitment to manage large visitor numbers sympathetically.
Torn between the idea of a nice quiet camp over in the carpark at the Pointe itself, and the attractions of a small site where we could get our tables and chairs out, we decided on the farm campsite and to go straight off to visit the Pointe as the weather was perfect.
Arriving at the car park, which is well set out with dedicated spaces for campervans and the ability to stay overnight for an extra €10 on top of the €8 daily parking fee, we both looked at each other with the same thought – maybe we should have come here first before deciding!
Although very touristy during daytime hours, it would have been pretty cool to have been amongst a small group of campervanners right out on the tip! And one of the vans we recognised as belonging to an Italian couple we met at our last stopover, who would have been fun to chat to! Deciding we’d chalk this one down for future reference, we headed out on the access path to see what all the fuss was about!
Access from the carpark is along a 1km stony path…
...requiring just enough concentration to avoid a twisted ankle, that visitors are very quickly presented with some truly magnificent views, with Mr B helping point out the famous lighthouse…
...the enormous statue of the Sailors’ Saint…
...some well preserved ‘moorland’ terrain with the French Navy semaphore station in the background…
...with spectacular views across to the Pointe du Van and its nearby surf beach at Baie de Trépassés…
...and one of the less frequently taken views, requiring Mr B to undertake some interesting photo taking positions…
You may have spotted a low lying island in the background of some of these photos – it’s the Île de Sein, a very low lying island 8km off the Pointe. It is particularly low lying, with only 1.5m average height above sea level, no trees, more than a little windy, with about 400 permanent residents and it can be visited by ferry. It’s also famous for being the most decorated French Commune for its service in WW2, when almost all males over 15 responded to General de Gaulle’s radio broadcast calling for volunteers to fight from England. Leaving in their own fishing boats, when they arrived in London, they made up 25% of all volunteers!
And for those interested in more ancient history, it also has a couple of megaliths as well as appearing in ancient myths and legends as the home of nine priestesses, the Cènes, who had supernatural powers, as well as featuring in some versions of the Arthurian legends as the birthplace of Merlin. You can probably tell we would have visited if we could have made it work this trip, as it sounds like a such magical place, but it will be joining a long list of places we’d like visit next time!
We took a leisurely stroll along the GR34 that took us back to the carpark, where we decided to pop into the visitor centre. As well as the usual very helpful information leaflets we have become used to, Mr B got chatting to the woman on reception about our trip, why we were there, and in particular, our love of the seafood! Pretty appalled at Mr B’s plans to cook ‘crevettes à l’Arabe’ that evening (in reality a pimped up prawn pilaf) Madame extolled the virtues of how we should be approaching local seafood, by making some langoustines à la vapeur – with only live langoustines of course (about 1-1.5 kg to share!) She also suggested that we accompany them with just some fresh mayonnaise, some pain de siegle (rye bread) with salted butter, and a bottle of cold Muscadet sur Lie. We do love a challenge and after Madame had written this all down for us, we left with the intention of having a go! (See the subsequent entry on Douarnenez to see how we fared...)
Back at the carpark and just about to head off to our campsite, we bumped into that Italian couple, who were staying overnight, just heading off with a picnic hamper and wine to watch the sunset...oh well!
Back at the campsite soon after, we quickly got over our frustrations about maybe having made the wrong choice of location for the night, and we settled in to enjoy Mr B’s cooking, followed by a lovely clear star studded sky (it was dark so late we were already in bed before we spotted it through the skylight!) and a fabulously quiet night’s sleep. It’s a lovely quirky site in Kerguidy Izella, with spacious pitches, simple but very effective sanitaires, and a great value tariff!
Packing up the next morning, we decided to have a look at the nearby Pointe du Van which we had seen yesterday, and had heard via the Italians, allowed free parking and overnight camping! Although we knew we wouldn’t stay the night this time, as we wanted to get to our next destination before the weekend, it would be worth investigating!
And it most certainly was, with more breathtaking views from a quick stroll along the GR34…
...a beautiful old chapel which was going to host one of the famous Breton pilgrimages (or Pardons) shortly…
...and a very clear view of the Ile de Sein…
Our drive to the Pointe du Van had taken us past the surf beach of the Baie de Trépassés, which looked quite spectacular, but was very windy and with warnings of the toxic fumes from algae that we encountered on our autumn trip last year, we decided to drive past on this occasion. There’s also a 31km off road cycle trail nearby as well as some historic windmills – and we never did find M. Aubéry’s house, except in our imaginations….
Suffice to say there’s more than enough to call us back here, and, as we headed off to our next site in the sardine-central town of Douarnenez (Mr B having nailed the advance booking in his now well rehearsed set of French phrases) we agreed that it’s an area that is well worth a revisit for sure!
S&J 16.06.25
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