Page 105 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Brittany

C Ô TES D ’ ARMOR  103

The Sillon de Talbert, a natural spit of land with the Héaux lighthouse in the distance
u Plougrescant Romanesque, dating from the contrasting colours, and areas
10th century. From this section of black and white, emphasize
Road map C1. 6 km (4 miles) north of
Tréguier on the D8. £ Guingamp or rises the belfry, built in 1612. outlines and accentuate
Lannion. * 1,430. n (Apr–Sep) The other part is the nave, perspective. The strikingly fine
42 Hent St Gonéry, Plougrescant; which was built in the 15th monu ments inside the chapel
(02) 96 92 56 83. ∑ tregor- century. The chapel is of include the tomb of Guillaume
cotedajoncs-tourisme.com interest chiefly for its remarkable du Halgouët, bishop of Tréguier,
15th-century frescoes. Covering and an alabaster statue of the
The most prominent feature of the barrel-vaulted ceiling, they Virgin, both of which date from
Plougrescant is its chapel, the loosely depict scenes from the the 16th century. Also notable is
Chapelle St-Gonéry, which has Old and New Testaments. These a reliquary with finely carved
an eye catchingly crooked belfry. scenes, which are painted on an panels. In summer, trips out to
The church consists of two ochre background dotted with sea in an old sailing boat, the
sections, the first of which is stars, are in a naive style. The Marie-Georgette, depart from
the harbour.
Famous Names in Port-Blanc
4 Marie-Georgette
Port-Blanc has appealed to a Tel (02) 96 92 58 83. Trips run Apr–Oct,
variety of different people, from must be pre-booked. &
authors and songwriters to ∑ marie-georgette.com
scientists and pioneers of
aviation. In 1898, the writer
Anatole Le Braz bought the i Sillon de Talbert
property known as Kerstellic.
He recorded Breton stories and This natural spit of land
legends that he heard told by extends for 3 km (2 miles)
the inhabitants of the Trégor. from the tip of the Presqu’île
La Légende de la Mort (1893), Sauvage, the peninsula
is considered by Armorican between Tréguier and Paimpol.
Bretons to be his best work.
Théodore Botrel Made up of sand and pebbles,
Le Braz’s friend and neighbour
was the writer Ernest Renan (see p107), who lived at Rosmapamon. the spit was created by the
The songwriter Théodore Botrel, who wrote La Paimpolaise, opposing currents of two
bought land at Port-Blanc on which he built a house that he rivers, the Trieux and the
named Ty Chansonniou (House of Songs). He later left to live in Jaudy. It is now called
Pont-Aven. In 1922, Alexis Carrel, winner of the Nobel Prize for Réserve Naturelle Régionale,
Medicine, purchased the Île St-Gildas, where he was buried in a protected site, as, were it to
1944. His friend Charles Lindbergh was a frequent visitor. In 1938, disappear, the two inlets on
after his pioneering flight across the Atlantic, Lindbergh acquired each side of the peninsula
the Île d’Illiec, where he briefly lived before returning to the would be at the mercy of tidal
United States. currents. The Héaux lighthouse
can also be seen from here.

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