Nothing better than to start up about 2 hrs north of me to the neighboring dept 22 of the Côtes d’Armor and visit a bit more Trégastel. We have been on the area before but there is so much to see alone in my lovely Bretagne that we need to come back again and again. I am updating the post with fresh text and links, hope you enjoy it as I, Let me tell you a bit about Trégastel !
Trégastel is seaside resort, the population is multiplied by five in Summer season! One in two dwellings is a second home. Trégastel is located between Perros-Guirec (see post) and Pleumeur-Bodou (see post) on the Côte de Granit Rose or pink granite coast, 70 km from Saint-Brieuc (see post), and 11 km from Lannion (see post). I have come here only by car along the D788 and d11, However, there is the Lannion Côte de Granit Airport with daily connection from Paris Orly by Hop! By TGV train line Paris – Lannion or Plouaret with connection at Lannion connection. Lannion SNCF station then bus line E Tibus Stop Ste Anne. Ferry terminal in Roscoff coming from Cork – Plymouth and Bilbao;located 1.5 hours from Trégastel by bus Line E A “TILT” network (Transports Intercommunaux Lannion-Trégor) managed by the LTC (Lannion Trégor Communauté) Agglomeration serves the town of Trégastel via line E from Lannion. Check for updates as always come by car here.
The 17 km of very rocky coasts alternating with fine sand beaches, creeks and spread of rocks, are bordered by small islands which are discovered at low tide while the hinterland shelters wooded valleys, and in particular the Traouiero, at the crossroads of dirt roads. Trégastel has always attracted renowned writers and painters, leave it to the writer Charles Le Goffic to finish convincing you if need be when he said: “Sapphire and coral, blue sea, pink rocks, it’s Trégastel on sunny days”.
A bit of history I like
Trégastel acquired parish status in the 12C or 13C. The first town was created on February 24, 1790 during the French revolution. The first mention started really by 1225 when land was acquired here by the monks of Bégard Abbey. In the 12C it was built the city center church or Bourg church. In 1375: Charles V grants Bryant de Lannion permission to build a tide mill as a reward for his help during the War of Succession of Bretagne. On the site of this one another was built in 1764, which still exists, on the Trégastel / Ploumanac’h border. It ended its activity in 1932 but open for visits. In 1861, there is written information that in Trégastel, they spoked French and Breton almost indifferently, but Breton dominated, especially among women. In 1869: the statue of the Bon-Sauveur is erected at the request of Abbé Bouget at the top of a rocky mass of Coz-Pors. It was blessed in 1869. It would later take wrongly, the name of statue of the Eternal Father, its current name. In 1872 it was built the Calvaire or calvary of the city center or Bourg, commissioned by Abbé Bouget. In 1895 it was built the Château de Costaérès by Bruno Abakanowicz dit Abdank, a Polish engineer. In 1967 it was built the Aquarium Marin de Trégastel located under a pile of several thousand tons of pink granite, near Place du Coz-Pors, at the start of the Ïle Renote island road, and under the statue of the Eternal Father.
The market is organized every Monday morning in the parking Sainte-Anne. In winter, around fifty traders offer you their merchandise. In summer more than a hundred traders exhibit, making up the largest market in the area. In July and August the market is exclusively pedestrian. Trégastel has two adjoining ports, “Port Ouest” with 150 places partially in deep water and “Port Est” with 50 places, easily accessible at all tides, by marked channel. Coz Pors: from May to September with 200 moorings on buoys available. In addition, there are grouped anchorages in Kerlavos Bay and Ste-Anne Bay. Each boat owner is responsible for providing their own moorings. Check with harbormaster or Capitainerie.
Trégastel has 13 sandy beaches with varied orientations, accessible at any time. The beach of Grève Blanche and the beach of Coz-Pors are supervised in July and August by lifeguards. Dogs are allowed on all Trégastel beaches from September 15 to June 15, and prohibited from June 15 to September 15. There are also, 4 picnic areas in the town at plage Quo Vadis beach; Lac des cygnes lake ; plage Toul Bihan beach and Ïle Rénote. Motorhome stopover Parking du Tennis-Club, Rue Poul-Palud. The fav ¨Plages TV site on the beaches of Trégastel : https://en.plages.tv/seaside-resorts/tregastel-22733
The moulin à marée du Grand Traouïero or grand Traouïero tide mill was done in 1375, when King Charles V granted Lord Bryan of Lannion the right to have a tide mill built on the arm of the sea that comes from Trov-Meur between the place that says Toul Ar Carhent and Ploumanac’h. The current building dates from 1764 engraved above the door. Its last miller was Toussaint Le Brozec who ceased his activity in 1932. However, the tide mill is open for visits.
In a unique site,the Aquarium marin de Trégastel or theTrégastel marine aquarium nestles under a set of pink granite blocks. This site was in turn the Chapel of Coz-Ilis until about 1877, troglodyte dwelling for successively three families of fishermen including the Adam family, ammunition depot during the war, prehistoric museum before becoming since 1967 the current aquarium dedicated to coastal species from the English Channel. The roof of the first room has a single span of 22 × 15 meters. It weighs almost 5,500 tons! It is one thing to see here, a must !!!
In near Trégastel is the l’île Renote island, now a peninsula, with many beaches. This peninsula offers a view of the Sept-Îles, the lighthouse of Ploumanac’h and the island of Château de Costaérès. A path for hikers goes around the peninsula, about 2 km long. This path runs along the numerous beaches and coves that border the peninsula. Nice indeed !
The Château de Costaérès is located on the Island of Costaérès in the territory of the town of Trégastel, The term castle is overused, it is in fact a large manor of neo-medieval style characteristic of the large holiday homes of the end of the 19C on the pink granite coast. Its interior layout was designed with reclaimed wood from a three-masted stranded in winter 1896, the Maurice. This was built on an island bought by Bruno Abakanowicz (also called Bruno Abdank), engineer and mathematician of Polish origin at the end of the summer 1892. After 1900, the date of the owner’s death, his daughter, Sofia Abakanowicz, who became Madame Poray, had the villa enlarged by a west wing on the back of the facade. During WWII, the villa was requisitioned by the Nazi army, and suffered some interior damage. This castle took the name of the islet of one hectare on which it was built: Costaérès which comes from coz-seherez which means in Breton “old drying factory”. It was there, in fact, that the sailors dried the fish in the sun. The islet is located opposite the beaches of Tourony and Saint-Guirec (see post for Ploumanac’h), and separated from the latter by the channel of the port of Ploumanac’h (see post) formed by the stream of Grand-Traouiero. It is accessible at low tide via plage Tourony beach.
The city of Trégastel on its heritage: https://www.tregastel.fr/Patrimoine
The Granite Coast of Brittany tourist office on Trégastel: https://www.bretagne-cotedegranitrose.com/villes-de-la-cote-de-granit-rose/tregastel/
There you go folks, so much to do and see here, this is a general overview , see other posts. For now enjoy part of the Granite Coast of Brittany in the Côtes d’Armor dept 22, and Trégastel.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
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