If you have half a day for a walk and find yourself in Brittany, north-west of Lannion, there is a beautiful walk to do around the coast of the Ile Grande. And it’s a loop so you can start and finish at the same point. Where do you start? As it’s a loop you can start your walk around the Ile Grande almost anywhere. If you are in your car almost every time the road gets close to the coast you can park and join the coastal walk there.
A classic choice of starting point for your walk around the Ile Grande would be Port Saint Sauveur in the west – a small port, with toilet facilities. So my walk around the Ile grande started there at low tide in the summer.
Port Saint Sauveur
I decided, arbitrarily, to walk anti clockwise around the ile. And this takes you past the marshland and the road that accesses the ile Grande. For almost the entire walk the path is clearly marked and easy to follow. It does get a little narrower on the north side.
As you walk around to the east there are dunes which are protected and being restored. But there also beaches and water sports should you wish to make a day of it.
East coast
There are plenty of flowers and plants to photograph too, although looking back over my images from my Walk around the Ile Grande I was clearly drawn to the sea and the majority of my photos were of the sea and coastline. Just for good measure here is a cauliflower lookalike, a Bishop’s flower I believe.
Northern coast
On the northern coast there are several historical references to the old granite quarries of the past. This includes old rail lines, statues and a short explanation. There are small hidden beaches and impressive rock formations. Also it is worth noting that the white stones are there to protect the coastline from erosion.
As I headed back southwards to my starting point I passed the bird protection centre. they use an old quarry as a very large bird cage for birds who have almost recovered. Check if you can visit it.
Back to the start
And back to port Saint Sauveur, some 7.5km and between 2h30 and 3 hours, depending on how many photos you take.
If you are interested in visiting the region there is a website, in English, run by the tourist dept here. There is also an app on google play or apple.
I am a big fan of the area. My sunset was taken nearby. As was the mist in the landscape gallery.
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Other pages that may interest you
There is a post about my walk along the sentier des douaniers near Toulon.
