Hiking tour – Raz and Sizun

Day 1 – Arrive in DOUARNENEZ

The town nestles deep within a bay, protected by the Ile Tristan. This town of 3 ports was formed by the merger of 3 port villages with rich pasts, and was, for centuries, a major sardine fishing port. The town has retained a number of reminders from this era that you will discover by following the ‘Sardine circuit’ in the heart of the town, not forgetting the beautiful houses with their coloured façades that line the quays or face the beach. Dinner, night and breakfast in a 2-star hotel

Day 2 – From LOCRONAN to DOUARNENEZ (18 Km)

A taxi will drop you off at the beginning of the morning at the Locronan mountain summit, close to the Ar Sonj chapel. After admiring the awe-inspiring view across the Bay of Douarnenez, you will descend towards Locronan, a magnificent small medieval village that prospered thanks to the sailcloth industry. The wonderfully preserved granite village still boasts very beautiful Renaissance houses and a magnificent 15th century church. You will cross the Névet forest, an ancient Druid forest where St Ronan established his retreat in the 6th century. The Finistère department has bought up and restored the wood as a botanical reserve containing some rare species. Then, going across country, you will come to the sea close to the Plage du Ry (beach). Follow the coast to reach Douarnenez, the town with three ports, city of sardines, capital of fish canning. Most canneries have now disappeared but a stroll through the town and the backstreets that lead to the port will bring this glorious era to life. Lodging and breakfast in the same hotel. Dinner not included

Day 3 – From the POINTE DU MILIER to DOUARNENEZ (19 Km)

Taxi transfer from Douarnenez to the car park near the headland. From the car park, you will go down the narrow path and make a loop to see the Kériolet water mill and the Barque de Saint Conogan, a recumbent dolmen. You then reach the headland and the lighthouse where you will pick up the coastal path that runs along the rocky cliffs. The path follows the land’s contours, climbing and descending into small valleys carved out by streams that hurl themselves into the sea, or into the wild, sometimes sandy, creeks. You will pass the Pointe de la Jument headland that ends with a large rock resembling a mare’s head, and you will then see Douarnenez at the end of the bay. The path is superb, the views are magnificent, a real feast for the eyes! After the Pointe du Leydé headland, you will reach the Plage des Sables Blancs (White Sand Beach) then Tréboul, nowadays an area of Douarnenez that boasts a lovely marina. You will cross the bridge over this estuary and don’t miss a visit to Port Rhu with its museum-boats and a visitor centre telling the story of life at sea and long sea voyages. Night and breakfast in the same hotel. Dinner not included

Day 4 – From the POINTE DU MILIER headland to the CAP SIZUN reserve (19 Km)

Taxi transfer from Douarnenez to the car park close to the Pointe where you will find the coastal path. Then head West! The path runs along the cliffs following the wild contours, and offers magnificent views across this extremely ragged, wild coastline. You will go down onto Pors Péron beach, well sheltered between the cliffs, then climb once more to reach one of the small sheltered ports. They are dotted along this coast but difficult to access from the land! The path then continues from headland to headland along the cliff tops. You will discover the ruins of the Kastel Koz Gallic Oppidum that dates from 450 BC. On this narrow peninsula bordered by steep cliffs, the Gauls built a fortified camp that would have housed more than 200 people. Further along, you will go down onto Plesven beach before climbing back up to the cliff top to reach the Goulien nature reserve that stretches for 50 hectares of cliffs and heathland and encompasses numerous rocky islets close to the coast. From here you can observe sedentary and migratory marine birds. A taxi will pick you up from the reserve car park at the end of the day, and take you to the hotel in the Bay of Trépassés. Dinner, night and breakfast in a 2-star seaside hotel

Day 5 – From CAP SIZUN reserve to the BAY OF TREPASSES (19 Km)

axi transfer to the reserve where you will pick up the coastal path, with its ups and downs. In some places, you will move slightly inland, before reaching the Pointe de Penhan, the only headland not facing due North, with a small sheltered port, Pors Loedec, on its Eastern flank. You will continue along the cliffs to the Pointe de Kerharo headland, then the Pointe de Brézellec that juts into the sea and offers a remarkable view across the Bay of Douarnenez and the Crozon peninsula. A few kilometres further on, you will go down onto Thèolen beach with its enormous rock that truly looks as if it has been placed on the sand! You will then detour via the Pointe de Castelmeur, a narrow headland that slices through the waves and shelters a fortified village, its oldest ruins dating back to 2,000 B.C. Finally you will reach the Pointe du Van, a rocky cape that has preserved a natural decor of heathland, heather and broom. Following the path, you will pass in front of the magnificent Saint They chapel and its small enclosure that seems to be perched on the rock facing the open sea, before going down into the Bay of Trépassés, a source of dark tales. Dinner, night and breakfast in the same hotel

Day 6 – From the BAY OF TREPASSES to ANSE DU LOC’H

You will follow the beach then take the coastal path that rises across the heather and broom towards the cliff tops. You will reach the Pointe du Raz, this rocky spur where the land delivers its final challenge to the ocean. The site is spectacular and is now listed as a French heritage site, which has enabled it to escape certain ruin caused by its huge success with tourists! Nature, already badly tended by the often unhinged forces of nature, would not have been able to resist the incessant footsteps of millions of tourists who descend on this patch of land every year. The restoration of pathways and flowerbeds has given this site back its primitive air. You will love the site’s extreme beauty, the Vieille lighthouse and, in the distance, the Ile de Sein, with the famous Raz de Sein in between. A narrow stretch of water that no sailor, it is said, would cross without fear or pain! It is a fascinating landscape, that you must leave to regain the coastal path once more, but rest assured, the South coast is just as wild and the path still runs along the cliffs. You will go down into the small port of Bestrée, surrounded by huge rocks, and continue towards the Pointe de Feunteun Aod that boasts a small port and a creek where boats come, as in years gone by, to shelter and wait for weather conditions to improve in order to cross the fearsome Raz de Sein. Still on the cliffs, you will head for Pors Loubous, a small, quiet port, then pass the Plogoff and Mouton headlands to reach the Anse du Loc’h, a cove where you will find your beach front hotel. Dinner, night and breakfast in a 3 star hotel

Day 7 – From ANSE DU LOC’H to AUDIERNE (13 Km)

The landscape is transformed! No more impressive cliffs, with their sheer drops into the sea! The path runs along the hills and passes the Pointe de Castel headland to reach the small port of Porstarz then the Anse du Cabestan, a cove where you will find the Trez Goarem sand dunes. In this protected area, a number of wild and rare plants grow in abundance. You will continue your walk via the Pointe de Lervily headland, whose late 19th century lighthouse signals the entrance to the Bay of Audierne. You then reach the port of Saint Evette from where boats leave for the Ile de Sein. You will walk along the large fine sandy beach, visit the Saint Evette chapel, rebuilt from 1743 onwards, before reaching Audierne, a fishing port situated at the mouth of the Goyen. Dinner, night and breakfast in a seaside 2-star hotel

Day 8 – AUDIERNE

The walk ends after breakfast