The Mer d'Iroise is a fantastic, surprising and sometimes difficult basin of navigation, but one which knows how to unveil its charms to those who know how to be both daring and prudent. It has everything to seduce sailors eager for emotion and beauty. Iroise, sea of legends and land of conquests, a concentrate of Brittany, iodized, intense, colourful, close, endearing, unusual.
We propose you a small walk between Argenton, Molène, Quemenez, Litiri, Lanildut, Le Conquet. To be done in any order, taking into account of course the distances and the tides. The current is strong and not always as we would like it to be... It's up to you! It's worth the detour.
Iroise Marine Natural Park
In its sky, on the surface and on the seabed, the Iroise Sea brings together a range of natural riches that make it a remarkable habitat for numerous animal and plant species. The grey seal, the bottlenose dolphin, the seaweed fields, the eelgrass beds, the seabirds are the most famous ambassadors of Iroise.
It is to preserve this natural, human and cultural heritage that the Iroise Marine Natural Park was created in 2007. The Park works for a better knowledge and preservation of the Iroise Sea as well as for the sustainable development of the activities that depend on it.
1 - Silver
When you arrive in Argenton, you will see, up close, the famous lighthouse of Le Four which was commissioned in 1874 and which delimits the northern part of the channel of Le Four.
Then you will pass Yock Island, accessible at low tide a few days a year. All year round, the landscape is fantastic with rocks and foam.
The entrance is surprising, but this small port of grounding is worth the detour. The sandy beaches are open and one is sheltered from everything and protected from the west winds by the peninsula of Vivier. You can also run aground along the breakwater. The environment is extraordinary and the waters are crystal clear.
To see, to do:
Saint Samson's Chapel
In the middle of the dune, the small chapel of Saint-Samson is resistant to winds and humidity.
Dolmens and menhirs
They mark the landscape, but it is in Saint-Gonvel, near the chapel of the same name, that the most remarkable dolmen stands, a dolmen of more than 3m high.
2 - Molène Island
Pearl of Iroise, Molène gave its name to the whole archipelago composed of myriad islands and islets - Béniguet, Quemenez, Triélen, Balaneg, Bannec, Litiri - which constitutes a remarkable area for many species of birds, such as crested cormorants and terns, and marine mammals, such as seals and dolphins.
Read Lighthouse of Kéréon, the palace of the underworld
Read Living on a Deserted Island is Possible in the Molène Archipelago
Data sheet of the port of Molène
To see, to do:
Around the island (1.2 km long and 0.8 km wide) which is easily walked. A life-size rendezvous with the sea, the beaches and the turquoise water.
The Drummond Castle Museum The story of the shipwreck of an English liner in 1896 between Molène and Ushant.
Molène's semaphore is an interactive space. Turn yourself into lookouts and discover their missions and their daily life. Learn how alert messages were transmitted and discover the history of the SNSM's rescue missions.
The impluvium and the cistern to the English or how to get fresh water. The impluvium is a large area used to collect rainwater. This ancient device - since it existed in ancient Rome - was offered to the population by Queen Victoria in gratitude for her help in the sinking of the Drummond Castle. A second, larger impluvium (4000 m²) was installed on the island in 1977.
3 - Quemenez Island
Located about 3 miles from Molène, Quemenez Island is the only islet in the archipelago to be inhabited. Amélie and Étienne succeeded Soizic and David to continue the project of an island farm and guest house.
To see, to do:
The island farm for a little visit to buy "patates d'Iroise". Please respect the paths and accesses and no pets.
4 - Litiri Island
Separated by a small channel of Quemenez, the island of Litiri is the privileged haven of peace for the seals of Iroise.
Another point of interest is the turquoise blue of the sea around Litiri. Why is that? Simply because of the accumulation of sand caused by the action of the swell and the strong currents at this precise place of the archipelago. This perpetual natural movement prevents algae and pebbles from taking up residence on certain sides of the island. White sand, turquoise waters... inspiring?
Possible anchorage in the SW part of the island, near the coast to shelter from the current.
5 - Lanidut
The seaweed port par excellence which is the main landing point for seaweed. It accounts for half of the national seaweed production, i.e. between 30 and 50,000 tonnes of kelp.
The coastal population has always exploited this black gold, as agricultural fertilizer, heating fuel, food in case of famine, material for making glass..
The only floating port in Iroise, the new pontoons guarantee a perfect welcome.
A few visitor buoys at the entrance.
To see, to do:
The old goémon ovens . You'll find them on the nearby dunes. They are ditches dug into the ground 5 to 10 meters long. The walls and bottom are lined with flat stones assembled with clay and divided into compartments in which the dry seaweed was burned.
After the burning, each compartment collected a block of soda ash weighing about 50 kilograms, and the soda ash collected was sold to the chemical plants. It took about 1 tonne of green seaweed to make a 50 kg block of soda, from which the factory extracted at best 1 kg of iodine.
6 - The Conquet
The old trading port, with its prosperity thanks to the old shipowners' and merchants' houses, has turned to shellfish fishing and daily connections with the islands.
Anchor at the bottom of the Aber for a quiet night away from it all.
Technical data sheet of the port of the Conquet
To see, to do:
The old houses The town has a rich history of maritime trade, with its 16th and 18th century merchant shipowners' houses, before it adopted the charm of a fishing village.
The Maison des Seigneurs, whose central tower watches over the port, is one of the very old buildings of Le Conquet. It is one of the many architectural testimonies of a prosperity linked to maritime trade and cartography.
The great beach of the White Sablons for a relaxing swim or a surf session. Possibility of anchorage on a sandy bottom, but with an easterly wind and little swell.
The Pointe Saint-Mathieu site . By sea or land, Pointe Saint-Mathieu is worth the detour. A breathtaking view of the Four channel, the Tas de Pois and even the Ile de Sein.
Right across the street, Béniguet and then... a tall lady with a torch in her hand..
