lighthouse

Friday 21st November 2025 – Biarritz….

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After all that rain yesterday afternoon and through the night, we woke to an absolute stunner of a day today and though cold, as in feeling icy cold especially in the shade, it stayed with us until about 4pm, when it clouded over and started to rain but hey we were done by then. I apologise in advance that this blog is a little photo heavy but there was so much to see and capture – starting with snow fall overnight on the Pyrenees, captured as we took our early morning walk down to Plage de Ilbarritz….

A little later we set out to walk along the coast into Biarritz and beyond – our first beach being Plage de la Côte des Basques…..

At the northern end of the beach a small headland with an intriguing ridge out to the Rocher de la Vierge (Rock of the Virgin)….

And looking back towards the Pyrenees….

Snuggled in between is the sheltered cove of Plage de Port Vieux…

Next up Eglise St Eugenie, standing tall just above the beach and another islet – Rocher du Basta….

This was the start of the Grande Plage of Biarritz which had clearly had a bit of a groom….

As had Plage de Miramar with a stunning natural arch…..

We then arrived at the headland with Biarritz Lighthouse, marking the end of this very pretty resort….

From the lighthouse we had a spectacular view along the long sandy beach that we had hoped to visit yesterday which is sort of the end point of the long sandy beach that has been running from La Verdon-sur-Mer some 170 miles north and that which we have been following for the last couple of weeks…..

The sun is still shining and after a reviving snack and drink we continue our journey a little further to capture those last beaches – Plage de la Petite Chambre d’Amour….

Plage du Club….

Plage des Sables d’Or….

And just beyond – Plage de Marinella….

At this point a bit of a relax and off lead play time for Tilly before our long walk back, partly through the town centre of Biarritz….

A great day and fabulous walk.

Thoughts of the day:

  • 170 miles of continuous beach only broken by estuaries – that will take some beating.
  • Biarritz feels like we are in the south of France a bit more cosmopolitan than anywhere else that we have been on this journey.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 0
  • Miles walked – 10
  • Beaches – 10
  • Aire – £14.79

Friday 24th October 2025 – an afternoon walk around the beaches of Carantec….

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The wind has pretty much gone but we are still getting some pretty heavy showers let’s see if we can dodge them a bit better today. Yesterday afternoon when I was booking our extended stay, I noticed that the information board mentioned showers, so this morning I went to look and sure enough a building that I hadn’t realised was linked to the Aire has showers and toilets and best of all a washing machine – so guess what I spent this morning doing? Yep my first proper shower in quite some time and doing the laundry – time well spent.

Naturally the mornings activities meant a slight change of plan to our day so we travelled directly to Carantec, parked up and set off to explore all the beaches around this seaside town – first up was a very disappointing Plage de Clouet – coarse sand and a lot of green weed…

But we persevered and followed the coastal path around the point to a viewing point for Ile Louet and the rather handsome Chateau du Taureau on its own little islet…

The tide is fairly low so I’m not sure that either of them are accessible on foot and the house on Louet sadly looks boarded up. As we rounded the rocky headland the small beach of Tahiti was being enjoyed by a couple of fishermen…

The beaches continued to improve as we carried on past firstly Plage de Cosmeur…..

And then Plage du Kelenn….

And then down onto the main beach – Plage de Carantec, which was lined with a few bars / restaurants and the main part of the village above….

We continued on around another headland to our favourite – Plage de la Greve Blanche, where we enjoyed a brief break in some nice sunshine before continuing on our way….

In the distance we watched people and the odd vehicle traversing the tidal causeway to Ile Callot but didn’t join them as the clouds were beginning to gather ominously….

Passing our final beach, Plage du Port, before making our way back through the village to the van, just making it back before the heavens opened…

Fortunately it was just a passing shower and it had moved on by the time we had travelled the short distance to our Aire for the night.

Thoughts of the day:

  • All these rocky little islets must be a navigators nightmare and in rough seas – well…. However they do seem to create beautiful, tranquil bays.
  • Unfortunately this showery weather does look as though it is going to malinger for awhile but hopefully we will continue to get little pockets of sunshine – beaches definitely look better in the sun…

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 30
  • Miles walked – 6
  • Beaches – 7
  • Aire – £11.29
  • Laundry – £6.98

Wednesday 22nd October 2025 – from Ploumanac’h to Pleatin-les-Greves….

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A grey and slightly damp start, an amazing middle and a very damp end – pretty much sums up our day but if you are stuck for somewhere in Brittany to visit then Tregastel would be a brilliant option – assuming you are into your beaches. Before heading off we took a walk into the little coastal village of Ploumanc’h, to take a look at the tranquil pink beach of St Guirec…

Heading back along the coastal path via Mean Ruz Lighthouse….

And Plage de Pors Rolland….

These stunning somewhat unreal looking big boulders of pink granite just create a landscape unlike I have ever seen before. Moving on a few short miles up the road to Tregastel and we are in for a real treat after the not so inspiring Plage de St Anne….

As we wander along the coastal path in an anticlockwise direction from the Aquarium first we arrive at Plage de Petit Port de Tregastel….

Closely followed by the stunning Plage de Coz-Pors….

A little further around the path lies the completely different but equally stunning Plage de Greve Blanche….

Around the next corner, different again is Plage de Greve Rose….

And finally the large expanse of Plage de Tregastel more rocky than the others but carrying on for miles around the bay….

Such a beautiful walk and to be fair as an area it will take some beating. We make our way back to the van and continue our journey as the weather starts to cloud over and bobbing in and out of the coastline we visit Plage de Keryvon….

Cross over a short bridge to Grande Ile and visit Plage du Dourlin and Plage des Dames….

As the sky is closing in on us we make a brief stop at Plage de Goas Triez….

And as the heavens start to open a quick photo stop at Plage St Michel-en-Greve and Plage de St Efflam…..

Before parking up for the night at an Aire in the small village of Kerallic near Plestin-les-Greves and hunker down for the night as along with the rain the wind is picking up too.

Thoughts of the day:

  • How do you find these little gems – short of driving around? I do research the best beaches in the area and try and make sure that they are on my radar but Tregastel with the pink rocks and alternate pink and white beaches was quite a show stopper and nature at its finest.
  • It is taking me longer than I thought and I had hoped to be enjoying some warmer weather a bit further south by now but which bits do I miss?

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 31
  • Miles walked – 7
  • Beaches – 14 (a record)
  • Aire – £11.01

Saturday 18th October 2025 – Launay and Ile-de-Bréhat….

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Cloudy and a little chilly today which is a bit of a shame as I think our planned trip to Ile-de-Bréhat would have come alive with a bit of sunshine and some blue skies – never mind. Our first stop was the rather uninspiring beach at Launay – more about the nature reserve behind it rather than the beach itself but good for a short walk….

A few short miles along the road and we are parked up for the night at the Aire on the coast on the outskirts of Poublazlanec and ready to catch the short ferry across to spend the afternoon on Ile-de-Bréhat as we join the Pink Granite Coast. I opted to go for the tour around the two main islands before landing, though I’m not sure why as the commentary was obviously in French and Google Translate had no clue! But is was good to see the rugged pink granite rocks and islets all the way around and Paen Lighthouse…

There are no cars on the island and we followed the maze of pathways and marvelled at the grand houses the construction of which must have brought its challenges….

Arriving on the island we watched a while as the return passengers were boarding the ferry- with there being no cars on the island the use of bikes with any manner of add ons to facilitate transporting stuff around where available to hire and evident wherever you went and to be fair you do not want to get in the way of a local with a wheelbarrow type contraption on the front or back loaded with shopping!

We followed the maze of pathways and marvelled at the grand houses and almost tropical gardens, the construction of which must have brought its own challenges….

As you might have guessed we gravitated to the only beach on the island, though to be fair the tide was so high that much of the beautiful pink sand was by now underwater but even so….

We loved the fact that around every corner there was a little turret or quirky home….

Look at this beautiful Clock tower – difficult to get a proper photo but….

All too soon it was time to head back to catch the last ferry at 6pm for the short 10 minute trip back and another 5 minutes walk back to the van.

Thoughts of the day:

  • I think I should ideally live on a small island I just find them so magical and tranquil – around every corner a glimpse of the sea
  • I am excited for the pink beaches that lie ahead

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 5
  • Miles walked – 6
  • Beaches – 2
  • Trip – £18.24
  • Aire –

Thursday 9th October 2025 – Cap Fréhel peninsula….

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A grey start to the day but it did improve with age. Having bagged myself a quiet corner spot in the Aire last night it slightly backfired this morning when we woke to this….

Yep time to harvest the maize – still I’m not complaining as they didn’t actually appear until just before nine but now the can does seriously need a good downpour to wash off all the dust!

We set off out about 10.30 heading south to start off with to the first beach – Plage Grèves des Fosses – more of a shore fishing beach with not much sand in sight…

We didn’t venture any nearer and about turned heading northwards towards Cap Frehel the most northerly point of this small peninsula – following the coastal path GR34 we walked along Plage l’Anse du Croc….

Before climbing up the cliffs and down again to our next beach – Plage Greves d’en Bas where we enjoyed a break whilst watching a surf school in action ….

The next two beaches were stunningly remote, in fact I’m not sure that the second one was accessible without a scramble – Plage de la Fosse and Plage de Port Sud-Est….

Eventually we arrived at Cap Frehel, the lighthouse and the most northerly rock beyond and enjoyed some quiet time just taking in the amazing sea and sky in front of us…

Next stop Jersey just about visible to the naked eye – we had considered walking around to take a closer look at Fort de Latte or Chateau de la Roche Goyon that we admired from St Cast yesterday but decided that that was just a step too far and so made an about turn and made our way back to the van – the views weren’t bad company ….

Thoughts of the day:

  • We are really enjoying the walking along this section.
  • Most of the photos used here were taken on the way back as the sun finally broke through.
  • There were motorhomes parked up in lay-bys along the route – but all the car parks were prohibiting overnight camping so I’m not sure if the lay by dwellers were taking the chance or just out walking and enjoying the day.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 0
  • Miles walked – 10
  • Beaches – 5
  • Aire – £12.10