Paris1972-Versailles2003

I am updating this post because I like it and need to tell you all about it with a mixture of old and new pictures. The Presqu’île de Gâvres is a peninsula just south of me and as it was looking for new places to see in my beautiful Morbihan saw it on a google map!! So decided to take a look and it was marvelous we love it. Therefore, here is my new take on the Presqu’île de Gavres, part I !!! or Presqu’île de Gâvres !! Hope you enjoy the post as I. On a nice Sunday morning I am back at you to tell you about my latest escapes! Well as everything in beautiful Morbihan dept56 of my lovely Bretagne , each step out is another find another wonderful beautiful place to dwell on for at least a weekend. We do not stop in finding new places and this one was very close to home! It always amazes me that even less than an hour from our house we still go to places for the first time! This is the case yesterday to the presqu‘île de Gâvres!! It was as easy as looking at a map and realising we have even been close to it but never entered the peninsula. Going easy on the D768 then getting on the D33 crossing the N165 and connecting on the D158 at Nostang to pass by Plouhinec and continue to the tip of the peninsula in what now was nice ,in Summer should be awesome! Only exactly 41 minutes from home!! fyi it was awesome in Summer! The Gâvres is a peninsula opposite Port-Louis, at the entrance to the Lorient Harbor and east of the island of Groix. Originally, the rocky end was an island that was joined to the mainland by a tombolo (Dune cordon). This is parallel to the mainland and forms at high tide the small sea of Gâvres, a lagoon extending over 350 hectares, traditional fishing area on foot of clams and shells. This body of water is ideal for windsurfing or kitesurfing and amateur boat fishing. The cordon dunes is the largest in Bretagne and stretches from Pointe de Gâvres to the fort of Penthièvre, in the town of Saint-Pierre-Quiberon along the  côte sauvage (see post)  or wild coast south of me.  In Breton, the name of the town is Gavr. The toponym comes from the Breton gavr which means goat. The island would be the Goat Island or the tip of the goat. Its history is linked to the craft of coastal and offshore fishing with a predilection for sardines, before becoming a strategic place in the 17C and 18C, parallel to the development of the ports of Lorient and Port-Louis. (see posts).  It has a military presence and many areas are off limits, read the signs. Some of the things to see here are! Mounds or Tumulus of Gâvres, these mounds, which has served as a playground for many generations of Gâvrais is a tomb-covered dolmen. It is now condemned, a victim of degradation.  The Church of St. Gildas, (see post) the first stone of the church was laid on July 21, 1887 and the work was completed in October 1988 ; it is Roman style in the shape of a Latin cross and partly built from granite. Fort de Porh-Puns, a first fortification, a simple battery is built on the site in 1695 on the initiative of the Marquis of Lavardin. Equipped with 10 cannons and 2 mortars. this strategic location is chosen to protect the citadel of Port Louis and the Bay of Lorient a fort replaces the original battery in the course of the 18C with a corps of guard, capable of accommodating 60 soldiers there In 1846. The Fort enjoys a restoration campaign in the 1870’s, and later the fort is disarmed after WWII. You can walk around it but cannot go in. Fountain of St Gildas. There was a well dating from the 11C. The fishermen (the first port of Gâvres was in this cove) and also the inhabitants came to draw water from it. At the time of the company of India, the ships were moored in the bay, and sailors were coming in canoe to get supply of water. .In the 17C, the well was covered with stone and became the Fountain Saint-Gildas, with 17 steps.down. In a small niche there is a statuette of Saint Gildas. The well has been clogged, only a few steps can be seen but the vaulted architecture is very well visible..Very near the Fort de Porh Puns Numerous bunkers dating from WWII are still present, with armoured doors, cannon, mortar and machine gun locations. These blockhouses kept the entrance to the Bay of Lorient, which was during WWII an important base for the submarines of the Kriegsmarine (nazi navy). And of course, the beaches such as the Grand Plage, that links up with the Plage de Linés in Plouhinec! My favorite beach site plages tv has it in English on the Grand Plage here: https://en.plages.tv/detail/grande-plage-gavres-56680 The Morbihan dept 56 tourist office has info on another beach ,plage de Porh Puns, but smaller and I rather go to the Grand Plage . Webpage: https://www.morbihan.com/gavres/plage-de-porh-puns/tabid/12564/offreid/3314a26d-7a9f-408e-9ffa-3f72db39a40c The city of Gâvres in French on its heritage: https://www.gavres.fr/culture-et-patrimoine/ The Lorient-South Brittany tourist board on Gâvres in French: https://www.lorientbretagnesudtourisme.fr/fr/immanquables/gavres/ And in all the litoral coastal harbor with the fishing boats, and the quaint laid back ambiance makes it for a relaxing weekend especially in Summer months. The beaches are long and nice, and plenty of seafood! Again, hope you enjoy the post on Presqu’île de Gavres, part I !!! as I And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!