Brittany
Brittany is surrounded on 3 sides and so deeply linked to the sea, its coastline alternates between rock and sand. Inland, there are numerous megalithic and catholic monuments. With its ever changing weather and sky, landscapes vary from day to day and even hour to hour. It is a land of sailors and fishermen, of farmers, and now… of high tech telecommunication industry.
Pink granite coast
Northwest of Brittany, in Côtes d’Armor, the pink granite coast is named after the colour of the rock it sits on.
Belle-Île-en-Mer
Photos taken while staying on Belle-Île-en-Mer, the biggest island off the coasts of Brittany, in Morbihan.
Emerald Coast
The Emerald Coast page, in Ille-et-Vilaine: photos of Dinard and St Malo, of the Cutty Sark race ships and the Renard.
Brest
The city of Brest and its surroundings, at the western tip of Brittany, in Finistère.
Crozon peninsula
South of Brest, the Crozon peninsula is a big peninsula with 3 heads (Espagnols head pointing north towards the city of Brest, Chèvre head pointing south and Pen Hir head pointing west).
Roscanvel peninsula
Leaving Brest harbour, the boat lands south of the peninsula, at the end of the Roscanvel bay, avoiding the secrets of the île Longue.
Going up north, the Roscanvel harbour faces the quarantine islands. The shore then gets higher and gives views of the misty harbour.
At the northern point, the Espagnols head, the currents swirl around the Cormorandière rock. The head is fortified, and gives a view of the Portzic lighthouse.
The coast then goes southeast along the Goulet, with heads and coves hollowed out of the cliffs.
The cliffs are riddled with bunkers, constructions, and punctuated by forts like the Cornouailles fort, lying low at water level.
The Capucins fort closes the Goulet on the east. It is an island linked to the coast by a bridge over shallow water.
Some of its buildings are crumbling down, the salty air makes metal rust. Tunnels lead to firing scuttles dug in the rock.
From the sea, you see how the fort is lying on sedimentary tilted rock which give its roof-like shape, and you sail in front of the canon scuttles.
A nearby rock is split in two by erosion. The fort controls both the entrance to the Goulet and to the Camaret bay. The cliffs hint at geological shudders.
Southwards in the bay, the Fraternité fort also includes a lime kiln, its cliffs are creased and hollow. Camaret harbour shelters an old sailboat.
South of Camaret, the Pen Hir head is a high cliff, with the Tas de Pois dotting the sea.
Southern part of the Crozon peninsula
The coast of this part of the peninsula features several very beautiful places, like the Dinan castle, with its rock bridge going over water at high tide.
Dinan castle is surrounded by splashing and swirling waves, and has a view on the Tas de Pois.
The Lostmarc’h head is facing the ocean and includes the remains of an oppidum.
It also has a view on the Tas de Pois.
On the top of the head, there is a megalithic alignment among heather, birds seem to like it a lot.
On the Douarnenez bay side of the peninsula, the St Hernot head dives into transparent water.
Aber island is linked to the shore at low tide.
On the Postolonnec beach, there are interesting rocks and smooth stones, but also an impressive beached object, the engine and rudder of a sunken trawler.
Southern Finistère
In Penmarc’h, its southern tip, Finistère is facing storms. The Kerity harbour is situated right at the tip.
It is dominated by the Eckmühl lighthouse, a granite lighthouse with a steel lantern house and 307 steps leading to a cornice.
It has a broad view with the old lighthouse in the foreground, waves battling the Saint–Guénolé harbour, a winding jetty and unfurling waves.
In Saint–Guénolé, waves are battling the rocks, which don’t wear away too fast, even after 16 years, although the blows seem hard.
Seemingly dry rocks are suddenly violently drenched by exploding waves.
Along the roads, many calvaries…
North of Penmarc’h, the pointe de la Torche is famous for its winds, a surf, wind-surf and kite-surf spot, with kites on the beach, the waves are also pretty impressive.
On the coast, there are many sailors and fishing harbours are among the biggest in France, like Le Guilvinec and Loctudy, where you can find rusted trawlers parts.
At sea, the Glénan islands shelter a yachting school and a natural reserve. Douarnenez and its Tristan island is protected at the end of the Audierne bay.
Inland, the town of Locronan is full of history, with its fountain and stone houses.
Pont-Aven
Here is a focus on Pont-Aven, a city which inspired some of the impressionists painters. It is a very picturesque city, run through by a shallow river.
Northern Finistère
North of Brest, the Penfoul cove is a sandy creek on a rocky shore.
Aber Wrac’h
An aber is a steep-banked estuary in which tides go up. There are several abers in north-ouest Finistère.
The aber Wrac’h is one of them, a very beautiful expanse of water, not easy to navigate in, of which I shot two panoramas, one during the day and the second at sunset.
It’s a shelter where ships moor securely at sunset, and, further up the aber, where they rest to rust or be destroyed by the sea.
Islands are scattered at the limit between the Aber and the sea, the Île Vierge and its lighthouse, Stagadon and ÎleWrac’h closer to the harbour.
Just at sunset, a spinnaker passes in front the last rays and overtakes them. Another sunset veils the islands and the Île Vierge lighthouse in pink fog.
Another evening, the sun emerges from behind the clouds before setting. It lights up the masts of the boats in the harbour. The sky is set ablaze in orange and the boats get back in line.
A little further inland, a less flamboyant sunset. On a sunny day, a vintage sailboat enjoys the quiet waters. In the evening, a patch of fog rises above the aber.
Plouguerneau
North of the Aber Wrac’h, in Plouguerneau, the sea covers smooth stones in a cove flanked with piles of rocks.
Guissény
Close to Guissény, Curnic pond welcomes ducks behind curtains of reeds with plumes shining in the sun.
In the Tressény bay, in a demolished breakwater, the worn out wood is almost sculpted. Seashells are deposited on the beach.
Batz island
Close to Roscoff, Batz island is a small island with a jagged coast, where draught horses graze meadows by the sea.
Santec
Southeast of Batz, the state forest of Santec has dunes covered with beachgrass on its edges.
Great cairn of Barnenez
On a peninsula of the Morlaix bay, the great cairn of Barnenez is a megalithic burial place.
It is a pile of stones. It has even been used as a quarry, which allows to see the funerary chambers.
Dinan
Between Rennes and Saint Malo, but in Côtes d’Armor, Dinan is a medieval city on a high ground. Here it is in late afternoon on a winter day. It consists in a harbour on the river Rance and in a walled city that overlooks the harbour. Down at the harbour, an old stone bridge crosses the river, above, a viaduct does the same.
The big level difference between the two parts of the city make the rue du port, the link between the two, very steep. It crosses the city walls through the Jerzual gate. Along the street, the facades feature sculpted wood elements.
Inside the walls, the setting sun colours the buildings. In the church, light coming through stained glass windows shines on the stone floor.
Morbihan
In Morbihan, a sunset over a superb landscape.
Saltworks
South of Brittany, in Loire–Atlantique, the saltworks around Guérande make a very beautiful landscape.
A big expanse of water at tide level is cut into plots used to produce salt or left fallow.