Northern Finistère
North of Brest, the Penfoul cove is a sandy creek on a rocky shore. They are close to Argenton rocks, which I saw pounded by waves after a storm.
From Aber Wrac’h to Brest
Aboard Marie-Fernand, an arrival in Aber Wrac’h during a thunderstorm, the sun comes back once we get into the aber.
On the next day, we sail along with François Monique, a renovated boat making its way to Brest for the first time in a long while. We stop in Camaret and observe abandoned boats on the quay. We end up our trip in Brest harbour.
Aber Wrac’h
An aber is a steep-banked estuary in which tides go up. There are several abers in north-ouest Finistère.
The Aber Wrac’h is one of them, a very beautiful expanse of water, not easy to navigate in, of which I shot two panoramas, one during the day and the second at sunset.
It’s a shelter where ships moor securely at sunset, and, further up the Aber, where they rest to rust or be destroyed by the sea.
North of the Aber lies the Île Vierge and its lighthouse. In 2011, the lighthouse was lit-up by Yann Kersalé.
Islands are scattered at the limit between the Aber and the sea, Stagadon and Île Wrac’h are closer to the harbour. I went around Île Wrac’h during a king tide.
Further offshore, the la Malouine and la Pendante rocks mark the mouth of the Aber. Cormorants roost on the buoys around them.
Just at sunset, a spinnaker passes in front the last rays and overtakes them. Another sunset veils the islands and the Île Vierge lighthouse in pink fog.
Another evening, the sun emerges from behind the clouds before setting. It lights up the masts of the boats in the harbour. The sky is set ablaze in orange and the boats get back in line.
A little further inland, a less flamboyant sunset. On a sunny day, an old gaffer enjoys the quiet waters. In the evening, a patch of fog rises above the aber.
The aber is situated in the village of Landéda, where the Tromenec chapel is the only reminder of a rather rambunctious character.
Aber Benoît
West of Aber Wrac’h, the mouth of Aber Benoît is a favourite of kite surfers, the Aber goes inland between fields and houses.
We sailed in the Aber on a nice afternoon.
Plouguerneau
North of the Aber Wrac’h, in Plouguerneau, the sea covers smooth stones in a cove flanked with piles of rocks.
While walking along the shore, you can see the Île Vierge lighthouse, get back to big granite boulders and a shoreline full of spray.
Guissény, Kerlouan & Brignogan
Close to Guissény, Curnic pond welcomes ducks behind curtains of reeds with plumes shining in the sun.
In the Tressény bay, in a demolished breakwater, the worn out wood is almost sculpted. Seashells are deposited on the beach.
In Kerlouan, at the end of the bay, fog envelops a calvary, an egret explores the shore. Once the fog has lifted, the tide leaves traces on the sand.
The sun sets above the mouth of the river.
In Brignogan, waves break on the rocks.
Batz island
Close to Roscoff, Batz island is a small island with a jagged coast, where draught horses graze meadows by the sea.
Santec
Southeast of Batz, the state forest of Santec has dunes covered with beachgrass on its edges.
Great cairn of Barnenez
On a peninsula of the Morlaix bay, the great cairn of Barnenez is a megalithic burial place.
It is a pile of stones. It has even been used as a quarry, which allows to see the funerary chambers.