The sure sign that Lourtuais beach, and its neighbor Portuais, are eccentric places where the “wild” finds its place? The presence of nudists who have made this piece of Costa Rican coastline, supported by television promotion, one of their favorite lands. But this stretch of fine, blond sand, facing the English Channel, has many other attractions to reveal.
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A classified natural site
According to the philosophical principle which wants the path to be at least as important as the goal, it is the reward for a very beautiful crossing of the vegetation which adorns the pink sandstone cape of Erquya natural site classified since 1978.
It is from the port, not far from the cove of Port-Blanc, that you climb to the summits, via a series of flights of wooden steps on the side of the cliff. A former flooded quarry, the Blue Lakes site, as gloomy as it is poetic, is a fascinating stopover. Further on, the presence of an old cannonball furnace recalls the obvious strategic interest that this high point has always had.
Erquy recognized for the quality of its environment
We leave behind the urbanized seaside to approach the vast moor. Bristling with very graphic pines, dotted, depending on the season, with the yellow and pink of gorse and heather, it is crisscrossed by a network of remarkably maintained paths.
The status of Large site in Francebut also the distance from the car parks which forces the visitor to walk, explain the visible quality of this environment.
Shelter of the rare Channel cricket, domain of the nightjar or pitchou warbler, this magnificent nature is also home to four varieties of heather and the very discreet patience of the rocks.
Cape Fréhel
An impressive sandstone point, separating the bay of Saint-Brieuc to the west from that of Saint-Malo to the east, Cape Fréhel is one of the most remarkable natural monuments in Northern Brittany. Like its neighbor Erquy, it became a Grand Site de France in 2019. For a period of six years, with financial aid in support, the Ministry of Ecological and Inclusive Transition thus praised the work of environmental preservation and reception of the public that is led there. 70 meters high, the cliffs of Cap Fréhel, located in the town of Plévenon, are particularly renowned for their ornithological interest. They serve in particular as a nesting site for razorbills, shags, black-legged kittiwakes and other guillemots. When arriving at this site, which is overcrowded during tourist periods, it is imperative to behave with respect.
Mediterranean airs
Time of year permitting, the path continues among ferns, honeysuckle, gentian and burnet rose. As long as the drizzle mixes with the spray carried by the wind – this promontory is very exposed – the senses also capture the salty musk of the nearby Channel.
The Lourtuais, with the scent of a desert island, presents itself to us at the end of a descent along a monumental wooden staircase. In calm weather, in the smell of hot resin, we think of the Mediterranean.
In the storm and the fury of the waves, we should summon Victor Hugo to describe the spectacle of an unobstructed surge. Marked with magnificent rocks, dug with caves, the neighboring coves of Guen, Portuguese or Lanruen are close cousins in emotions.
GO
23 km from Lamballe, via roads D 791 and D 786
GOOD ADDRESSES
-Tréhorel: every day in Erquy, Julien and Blandine sell their catch.
-La potinière: good, friendly, reasonable prices, in Sables-d’Or.
AROUND
-Fort Lalatte: this hilltop fortress was the setting for Vikings (1958).
-Sables-d’or: A seaside resort with a Californian decor.-Saint-Cast-le-Guildo: A charming peninsula on the Emerald Coast.
This article appeared in the Bretagne Magazine special edition (summer 2021)
