WEST BRITTANY
Peter Cumberlidge extols the virtues of this oft-ignored corner of France
We have always loved the North Brittany coast for its glorious rivers and craggy inlets, its fantastic tidal range and shifting seascapes, and for the heady zest of the sea which permeates the estuary channels. The south is made for lazy summer holidays, with its warm turquoise water, white sandy beaches and wonderful scattered islands with anchorages galore.
Between these very different areas, the wild west coast has a special Breton character, pierced as it is by grand gulfs of ancient granite cliffs. Pushing south from the English Channel through the Chenal du Four, you emerge in a flurry of overfalls off Pointe de St Mathieu, a looming headland of legends with its semaphore signal station, red-capped lighthouse and ruined monastery.
The vast expanse of water facing you is known as L’iroise, a romantic name which locals roll off their tongues in guttural growls. The splendour of L’iroise catches your breath, especially on a clear day when you gaze across to the hard edge of Pointe du Raz, whose race lies in wait. The shores around Toulinguet Point look lonely and untamed, with more stone megaliths on the hill behind Camaret.
To the east, Brest is almost invisible from seaward, glimpsed though a tiny gap in the cliffs. Further south, the magnificent
Bay of Douarnenez is equally shy, its glorious strands and two charming harbours shielded by the craggy headland of La Chèvre. To those in the know, Brittany’s west coast is one of France’s finest boating areas, so next time you’re passing, don’t pass. Dive into Camaret or one of Brest’s snug marinas and start exploring from there. You won’t regret it.
ACROSS TO CAMARET
Nine miles across L’iroise from St Mathieu, the picturesque fishing port of Camaret is tucked behind Pointe du Grand Gouin. The town stays hidden until you enter the bay, which is fringed with low cliffs and golden beaches. Then you’ll see the masts of visiting yachts behind Port Vauban breakwater. These outer pontoons are snug in most weathers, with open views around L’iroise, or you can moor nearer town in Port du Nodic, opposite the colourful waterfront on pontoon ‘A’. Here you are in the hub of things, with shops, bars and restaurants to hand.
We usually moor at the outer marina, an easy stroll into town along the sea wall. On the way you pass a 17th-century pink stone fortress that glows in evening light. Beyond a sailors’ chapel, exquisite inside, is a drying hard where rotting hulls are reminders of a once prosperous fishing fleet. Soon you reach
The wild west coast has a special Breton character, pierced as it is by grand gulfs of ancient cliffs
the Hôtel Vauban, my favourite place to eat. While the town quay has many fine restaurants, the Vauban’s family atmosphere and traditional cooking give a perfect end to the day.
THE BREST NARROWS
From L’iroise you skirt the long north shore with its bays, beaches and steep-to cliffs, entering the narrow Goulet de Brest off Petit Minou lighthouse. This strategic cut was crucial to the growth of Brest as a naval base because French ships anchored inside the Rade could be defended from hostile ships – especially the British Royal Navy – by heavy batteries that could sweep the whole strait. The Goulet also had its own natural defences with a string of rocky shoals dividing the entrance into two much narrower channels. You emerge into the spacious reaches of the Rade de Brest, the combined estuary of several sleepy rural rivers, which you can explore from one of Brest’s comfy marinas.
Marina du Château: This well-appointed yacht harbour lies below the ramparts of Château de Brest, a sturdy fortress that has been added to since Roman times. Turning in past a mile-long breakwater, head just west of north for half a mile and then double back between the inner moles to enter a large sheltered basin. The visitors’ berths are straight ahead on either side, but larger boats go alongside the long pontoon to starboard.
Marina du Moulin Blanc: A couple of miles east in a pleasant shallow bay, Brest’s original marina is my favourite, with attractive landscaping and some interesting new buildings. Facilities are first class and there are bars and restaurants on site, including Le Tour du Monde with its sunny veranda – a popular meeting place for moules-frites and a chatter over jugs of cold rosé.
Next to the marina are the distinctive white domes of the Océanopolis centre, an award-winning aquarium extravaganza covering all aspects of marine life and habitats, particularly in Brittany. As well as the dramatic walk-through aquariums, there are displays on local tides and currents, and examples of all types of sea flora and fauna presented with French flair.
Moulin Blanc is a safe and convenient place to leave a boat between cruising stages or as a base for a couple of seasons. It’s easy to catch a train east along the coast to Morlaix and Roscoff from where regular ferries run to Plymouth.
THE AULNE RIVER
The Aulne estuary opens into the south fork of the Rade de Brest, a peaceful stretch of water which soon leaves the city behind. Quite wide at first, the banks draw together past Landévennec and its elegant abbey. The river loops around this peninsula between wooded banks and you pass rusting naval ships in a graveyard bend. Then you curve into a steep-sided reach where a striking new bridge eclipses the old, disused crossing. If you are bound for Châteaulin basin, aim to pass these bridges at half-flood. It’s nine miles from here to the lock, which operates two hours each side of HW Brest, from 0730-2100.
VIVIERS DE TÉRÉNEZ
On the south side of the Landévennec bend you’ll see a low waterside building with a covered veranda, just downstream from No 22 red buoy. This is the Viviers de Térénez, run by the Picart family, a haven of seafood where you can tuck into superlative crabs, lobsters, oysters and also smoked fillets of trout farmed in the estuary. You might find an empty mooring on this bend, or anchor a little further upstream in the shallow muddy fringes near Térénez island. Then it’s worth taking the dinghy ashore to the Viviers for lunch. Be there soon after midday!
The Aulne slides through an almost forgotten valley, with vistas of looming hills and forest before the country becomes softer beyond Trégarvan. There are few signs of life above Le Passage village until the river curves south opposite a busy road. The last two miles are quiet again, passing marshy saltings. Above the lock you creep under an impressive viaduct before reaching Port Launay’s restful quays, lined with very French houses. Moored comfortably here, you can take the dinghy further up to visit Châteaulin town.
ANSE DU FRET
A promontory called Île Longue juts out over a mile from the south side of the Rade de Brest and is surrounded on the chart by plenty of pecked purple lines and Entry Prohibited labels. This sensitive military zone is a French submarine base and you must keep well outside its cordon of protecting buoys. However, it’s OK to enter the south-east corner of the bay, keeping close past Pointe de Lanvéoc and following the shore round to the shallow inlet known as Le Fret. You’ll see local boats moored opposite the quays of a small village. For several days either side of neaps there’s enough depth to stay afloat at anchor here, or you may find an empty mooring. Le Fret is a charming, out of the way corner of the Rade, which most visiting boats pass by because of all the military warnings on the chart.
THE ÉLORN RIVER
The smaller Élorn River joins the Rade de Brest opposite Moulin Blanc, a secret water to explore by dinghy on the tide. The head of navigation is the old market town of Landerneau, where you can land near a low road bridge. Beyond this modern crossing is the 15th-century Pont de Rohan, with quaint stone houses and shops over the river. In the 17th century, sailing barges drifted up to Landerneau carrying timber, flax and a special local granite from Logonna on the Aulne.
ROUND TO DOUARNENEZ
The Toulinguet channel leads close around Pointe du Toulinguet past the enticing white sands of Pen-hat. Beyond a tail of humped rocks – Les Tas de Pois – head just east of south for seven miles before turning into Douarnenez Bay past Cap de la Chèvre. This sheltered bight remains something of a cruising secret, partly because La Chèvre can look so austere that many boats hurry past. But behind the harsh headland lie 70 square miles of boating paradise fringed with pines and gorgeous beaches. At the head of the bay, soft rolling country lifts gradually inland.
Douarnenez is in the south-east corner of the bay at the mouth of the Pouldavid River. As you round Pointe de Leydé, the wooded hump of Île Tristan appears, with its neat lighthouse amongst the trees. On the west shore is
Tréboul village and a sheltered strand where holidaymakers splash about. You’ll find Douarnenez town clustered above the east bank, beyond Île Tristan.
DOUARNENEZ
The visitors’ pontoons are inside on the west bank, opposite Tristan and a drying spit linking it to the mainland. Just upstream is Tréboul marina, mostly for local boats.
Behind the quays, Tréboul has plenty of shops and bistros, with lively Wednesday and Saturday markets. Douarnenez is separated from Tréboul by a long basin with another marina at its head. You can lock into this basin two hours either side of HW. This old river port houses a superb maritime museum, the Port-musée, where you can visit a stylish exhibition building and wander round old vessels moored alongside the museum. To reach this area, take a leisurely stroll around Tréboul harbour and cross a pedestrian bridge to the east bank.
Douarnenez was famous as a sardine port and hundreds of tan-sailed luggers once packed the quays in the old fishing harbour at Rosmeur, which is timelessly Breton with its tall houses, old-fashioned shutters and garret windows in steep pitched roofs. The whiff of drying seaweed blends with mouthwatering restaurant aromas and a kind of nostalgia hangs over the ancient cobbles, as if Rosmeur was still waiting for the sails of the sardine fleet to appear round the point.
ACROSS TO MORGAT
On a still morning, the 10-mile passage to Morgat feels a bit like the Gulf of St Tropez. Rather than cut across directly, follow the coastline around, skirting the gleaming east coast beaches before curving west past a string of low headlands and small bays. The views are stunning, particularly towards the profile of one of Brittany’s highest hills, Menez-hom. In northerly winds, there’s a lovely anchorage under the promontory of Île de L’aber.
Morgat marina lies behind a breakwater in the north-west corner of the bay. The approaches are shallow and, though the channel is supposed to be dredged to 1.5m, I like to enter with a good two hours rise of tide. Make for the reception pontoon near the capitainerie, but afterwards you can usually arrange for a finger berth. Morgat is a genteel resort with acres of white sandy beach, ideal for a young family. The marina is set nicely away from the seafront below a headland of pines. The pontoons have open views and it’s a short walk to the bistros on the promenade.
MORGAT COAST PATH
Halfway between the marina and Place d’ys, a path climbs up from Quai Kador to join a track leading seawards behind the marina and then out onto a cliff path which trends south from Pointe Morgat all the way down to Cap de la Chèvre. This is one of the most spectacular coastal walks in Brittany, winding behind the bays and small coves that make such enchanting anchorages in quiet weather. The panorama across Douarnenez Bay is fabulous and you can look down on anchored yachts and the tourist launches that run close along this shore to visit the famous caves – Les Grottes Marines de Morgat.
ISLANDS OFF L’IROISE
To me, the incredible tangle of islands west of L’iroise give an authentic flavour of local life around this far tip of Brittany.
Île Molène has an amazing off-piste harbour on its north-east side, surprisingly easy to reach from L’aberildut in the Chenal du Four. The much larger community of Ushant has good visitors buoys on its south-west coast in Lampaul Bay, from where you can easily land and explore the village. For forays out to any of the islands, neap tides are best, when streams are moderate and low water depths more generous.
However, you need careful passage planning before venturing out to these Atlantic outposts, especially to Ushant. In fair weather the simplest L’iroise island to reach is Île de Sein, a few miles seaward of the Raz de Sein tidal race.
ÎLE DE SEIN
The south side of L’iroise is bounded by Île de Sein and 12 miles of reefs. The Raz is the only navigable gap and while passing crews may glance towards the low island and its tall lighthouse, most continue on their way. Yet in quiet weather near slack,
Sein is quite easy to approach. At high water slack head for the red tower marking the Chenal Oriental and follow the marks towards the harbour, at low slack I prefer the northern Chenal d’ezaudi, which has a green outer buoy.
The harbour is enclosed by rocks and two long breakwaters. Its outer part has some visitors’ moorings and depths at all tides. When you turn off the engines and gaze around, it seems incredible that a real community survives out here. The cottages have very Breton pitched roofs and painted shutters, and there are cafés with bright umbrellas. Out on Sein’s Atlantic edge stands a solitary chapel. The main lighthouse sores 50m high and at dusk its powerful beams turn slowly above the island, flickering on cottage walls and nearby reefs. In settled weather you can stay overnight, a memorable experience.
The incredible tangle of islands west of L’iroise give an authentic flavour of local life
RAZ DE SEIN
Despite its reputation the Raz de Sein is actually pretty straightforward navigationally. From the north you pass about midway between Pointe du Van and the small rocky hump of Île Tévennec, with its distinctive stubby lighthouse. In hazy visibility, Tévennec can look like a ship caught in the swirling tidal cauldron of the Raz, yet in quiet weather it has a friendly profile which makes a useful signpost when you are aiming for the gap from a distance.
From opposite Tévennec it’s not far to the two distinctive light towers – La Vieille and La Plate. In quiet conditions I usually aim to pass about half a mile west of La Plate, which is a west cardinal, though you often see French yachts cutting closer. If you miss slack water and the Raz is a bit boisterous, you might find easier conditions by curving further out – maybe up to a mile west of La Plate – before turning back south-east to avoid getting too close to the rocky shoals off Île de Sein. Having passed the two light-towers, you soon emerge into quieter water and most boats either press on south-east towards Pointe de Penmarc’h and the Bay of Bénodet, or turn east to follow the coast along to Audierne.