Pointe du Raz

[Deleted]

The Pointe du Raz is totally well known to all of the French because they have learned about it in school. It is the westernmost point of continental France, so it is a major national geographical site just like Mont Blanc, but it is also famous for the terrific storms that occur there, and anybody who has ever seen the waves crashing against the cliffs there cannot fail to be extremely impressed.

Here is the exact location.

It wasn't until 1989 that the government classified the Pointe du Raz as a major natural site, but even though it most definitely is a major natural site, there was a controvrsy about what happened next. There used to be 4 hotels on the site, but they were all destroyed during WW2. But in 1950 a new hotel was built there, the Hôtel de l'Iroise, which stood all by itself on the edge of the cliffs with its 10 rooms and tiny restaurant. Wanderers and random tourists fell in love with the place and how would it be possible not to? Just take a look at the place.

After opening in 1950, it got electricity in 1956. In 1970, heating was added. The owner was an old sea widow, Marie Le Coz. Out of season, if there were no customers, she would go and sleep in her official home in Lescoff, just over a kilometre away, because even she found it too creepy to be there all by herself. There was also a nearby cluster of souvenir shops and restaurants that opened in 1962, but they were only seasonal. When the natural site classification was confirmed, it was the death knell for the hotel and also the tourist zone. It took until 1996 to evict everyone and in 1997 everything was demolished to return the area to its natural state. I still remember all of the news reports about the demolition of the Hôtel de l'Iroise, and just like so many other people, I regretted never having stayed there. When the hotel closed at the end of 1996, the room rate was 200 francs (30.50€).

Anyway, the whole zone was cleaned up to allow the natural vegetation to return at a completely natural pace, meaning that there wasn't much of anything for several years. A new shopping area was built a couple kilometres away. Marie Le Coz (age 77) received permission to build a new hotel at that site but with a minimum of 20 rooms instead of 10. Since she had been running her hotel all by herself and could not handle 20 rooms, she declined. And so there is no hotel now at the Pointe du Raz.

The road has been closed as well, so now there is a big parking zone near the shops, but you have to walk more than 2 kilometres to the edge of France. There is a shuttle bus in high season to take the disabled and other slackers that distance for the modest amount of one euro each way. Any time out of season, you have to walk the distance yourself... or decide not to go.

Even though the road is closed, the old road sign is still there.



And then it is time to begin a lovely walk through the wilds of coastal Brittany.











At last you can see the ocean in the distance.

[Deleted]

The vegetation looks really extremely hostile. No human could penetrate it, but I'm sure it is perfect for birds and small mammals and reptiles.









Finally, the military semaphore tower comes into view.



There's the shuttle bus.



The GR 34 hiking trail follows the entire coast of Brittany, starting at Mont Saint Michel and finishing at Tour-du-Parc.

[amboseli]

Lovely, lovely Bretagne! Pointe du Raz, Pointe du Van, Pointe du Pen-Hir, ... so pretty for long walks.

[bixaorellana]

Can we all chip in and get the hotel for the official Anyport meeting place? You can run it!

Beautiful, evocative pictures Kerouac.

[mich64]

Really enjoyable, thank you for showing us this part of Brittany.

Truly an intertesting story about Madame Marie Le Coz. Sad that they placed the 20 room mandate to rebuild, makes me wonder if they knew it would be impractical for her to do so because they really did not want another Hotel built. But it is nice that they have allowed the land to return to its natural state but still allowing the public and maintaining the trail system.

[Deleted]

Frankly, there were more people than I expected there. I also quickly noticed that I was one of the youngest people there.



There is a statue of Notre Dame des Naufragés (Our Lady of the Shipwrecked) near the point.



I could see that she was carrying little Aylan Kurdi to heaven.



The vegetation has a huge struggle taking hold out here, even with areas indicated where you cannot walk.





For the last part to the point, there is no path anywhere. People must deal with the terrain as best they can.







There are a lot of little amateur cairns here as people want to leave a non obtrusive mark of their passage.

[Deleted]

Just imagine how many shipwrecks there have been here over the centuries.











Ile de Sein is 8 kilometres away. Population 215, which is frankly more than I would have thought. There is a ferry from Audierne.









I was unable to decipher this old carving.

[Deleted]

And here come the Chinese!



No, just kidding. It was a busload of French old people. When I left there were 3 tour buses in the parking lot -- two French buses and a Belgian one.







I started working my way back from the point.









On the left is the closed old road used by the shuttle and the military. On the right is the pedestrian trail.



more inpenetratable vegetation









The shopping and restaurant area is slightly sunken so that its ugliness will not spoil the view. The main reason that there is no hotel here is because there is no view of the sea.

On some future trip, I must look into taking one of the ferries somewhere -- Ile de Sein, Ouessant, Belle Ile... Who knows?

[htmb]

Beautifully captured and very picturesque. I especially love your photo of the cliffs across the water. This is one of those places that must be seen in person, I would imagine, though I would not have wanted to share it with three bus loads of people.

It must be a wild and forbidding spot during a storm.

Did you try any of the berries?

[bixaorellana]

It would be cool to visit a town where your presence would significantly increase the population.

I was all into the wonderful photographs -- the timeless empty terrain and its bright lichens, the low tough seaside plants, the expanse of blue sea, the only sound the wind .......... the busloads were a harsh interruption!

[bjd]

Another place for me to go! Actually, the reason you are seeing busloads of retirees is because it's September. Usually good weather so retirees and people with pre-school age children are on holiday. I hate to imagine what it's like in mid-summer.

Those "impenetrable" plants are genêts. They grow here too, so I guess the climate there is quite mild in winter. I see the blackberries weren't all ripe yet -- here they are finished already.

[Deleted]

I was listening to some of the people talking as they walked around and there was a woman saying, "This is such a disappointment! When I came here last time it was outstanding and today there's absolutely nothing!" Her companions made little grunts of disbelief since the site is spectacular and the weather was perfect. But then she explained "the last time I was here, it was stormy and the waves were crashing everywhere." She was right of course, because I had been hoping for bad weather, too. One of my first trips to the Pointe du Raz was on a miserable November day. It was windy and cold with a smattering of rain, and the waves hitting the cliffs were terrifying. I was chilled to the bone by the time I got back to the car -- and that was before the road was closed, so I was parked at the semaphore back then -- and it was all totally wonderful. Of course on a day like that, I would not want to take the ferry to Ile de Sein.

[htmb]

Your photos remind me of a scene out of the book The Shipping News, and I can see how wild and woolly weather would make this place even more spectacular. But still, it's seems quite a unique spot and I'm glad you were able to share photos of your trip with us. My experience of the southern coastline of Bretagne was nothing but memorable and I would really like to make a return trip soon. I think, to enjoy the place best for a longer period of time, it helps to have sort of isolated pursuit on the agenda such as writing, photography, or painting, I can see why parts of southern Brittany tempted many artists, both those of today and in the past.

[Deleted]

On the down side, regarding the thorny vegetation, on 6 June 1944, the arriving soldiers had to penetrate exactly the same natural barrier, while being shot at, at Omaha, Utah, Juno, Sword and Gold Beach.

[nycgirl]

I'm glad the decision to preserve the natural setting was made (though a stay at the Hôtel de l'Iroise must have been wonderful). I would love to have a long stroll there. It would indeed be awesome seeing waves crash on the cliffs. I don't think I would have enjoyed a rainy November day like you had, though.

[LouisXIV]

I visited on my first trip to France and it was in November and there were crashing waves -- very impressive.

[lugg]

This has reminded me of how much I enjoyed my time in Brittany on family holidays when the children were small. I would love to re-visit and explore more.