GREAT DESTINATIONS ❘ BRITTANY’S COAST


“IT’S A COASTAL PATH TO RIVAL ANY IN THE WORLD – AND HAS BEEN VOTED FRANCE’S FAVOURITE LONG-DISTANCE FOOTPATH”


T


ucked behind a salmon pink rock sits a little hut of similarly hued stone. The rock, sculpted by the force of the Atlantic, is so substantial it hides the little hut from the sea. The roofl ess building


has two gable-end windows and a door. From these vantage points customs offi cers of yesteryear would sit and watch. The hidden hut sits adjacent to the GR34 long-distance walking route, also known as the Sentier des Douaniers, or Customs Offi cers’ Path. The 2,000km route stretches along the coast of Brittany and beyond, from Mont Saint-Michel to Saint-Nazaire. It’s a coastal path to rival any in the world – and has been voted France’s favourite long-distance footpath. The most famous of all Grande Randonnée paths, the sentier was created in 1791 as a route that customs offi cers would patrol to curb moon-cursers coming ashore and impede the pillaging of shipwrecks. Today it offers one of the most exhilarating ways to view Brittany’s extraordinary coastline. But, without 70 to 100


34 ❘ FRANCE TODAY Feb/Mar 2023


days to spare, attempting the footpath’s full length in one bite is impossible, so I chose to combine a road trip around Brittany’s coast with a series of walks.


I left Mont Saint-Michel as a robed monk was pulling a bellringer’s rope in the rock-topped abbey, the call to midday Mass resonating across the bay. As pilgrims reached their journey’s end, I was just beginning my navigation of the UNESCO World Heritage-designated bay, passing through stone-housed villages selling roadside vegetables and seaside huts preparing oysters.


A SHAPE-SHIFTING COASTLINE Through Cancale, I stepped out on foot at Pointe du Grouin, where the needle-like promontory separates the Baie du Mont Saint-Michel from the Côte d’Émeraude. It’s a lovely place for rock scrambling and viewing the Île des Landes, surrounded by the racing emerald currents. South of Saint-Cast-le-Guildo, I encountered


the fi rst signifi cant cliffs, smothered by oak trees whose greenery livened up a monochrome day when the sea was struggling to live up to its


IMAGES © CAROLINE MILLS, BRITTANY TOURISM: L’OEIL DE PACO, YANNICK LE GAL, TEDDY VERNEUIL


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