The Presqu’île de Gâvres !!!

Posted in Bretagne, France

I have written before ,but as lately found me older pictures not yet in my blog and they should be, Gâvres is in the beautiful Morbihan dept 56 of my lovely Bretagne in my belle France! Therefore, let me tell you on the Presqu’île de Gâvres !!! Hope you enjoy it as I,

Gavres petit mer de gavres lagoon mar21

The Presqu’île de Gâvres is a peninsula just south of me . Going easy on the D768 then getting on the D33 crossing the N165 and connecting on the D158 at Nostang to pass by Plouhinec (see post) and continue to the tip of the peninsula .Only exactly 41 minutes from home!! The Gâvres is opposite Port-Louis (see post), at the entrance to the Lorient Harbor and east of the island of Groix. There is a lovely marina with  60 berths which you see upon entering Gâvres bourg or city center. Around the town you have the dunes that extends for 25 km from the Pointe de Gâvres to the Quiberon peninsula and up to 2 km deep. Open to the ocean, the long stretch of sand is all the more impressive as it seems to extend to the horizon.  It is the largest dune massif in 
Brittany!

gavres driving to the end island oct18

You have a nice beach of  Porh Puns next to the fort and an even better and bigger Grande Plage or big beach in city center all with nice parking and family picnics. There are other beaches but these are our favorites here and do visit in Summer or when possible now. And the beach Grand Plage, that links up with the Plage de Linés in Plouhinec! The  plages tv beach I like has more: https://en.plages.tv/seaside-resorts/gavres-56680

gavres port de plaisance marina harbor bay side oct18

 The Fort de Porh-Puns (see post) 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 The Fort enjoys a restoration campaign in the 1870’s, and later the fort is disarmed after WWII. The 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.

The Fountain of St Gildas ,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).

A bit of history tell us that it was originally, the rocky end of 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.

The city of Gavres on its heritage: https://www.gavres.fr/culture-et-patrimoine/

The Lorient South Brittany tourist office on Gâvres: https://www.lorientbretagnesudtourisme.fr/fr/immanquables/gavres/

The Gavres Quiberon Dunes site with a nice interactive map on the area: https://www.gavres-quiberon.fr/fr/carte-interactive

there you go folks, another dandy coastal trip to to see on its architecture and history of Gâvres. Again, hope you enjoy the Presqu’île de Gâvres !!! as I

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

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Published by pedmar10

I am a lover of travels to Europe , Americas , Africa and Asia as well ,who like to share my experiences of the last 53 years with the world, visiting so far 81 countries; living in 6, working in 5, and Citizen of 4, speaking fluently 4 languages. I can deal with sports especially football/soccer and love music, arts, wine collector/drinker, and go out to restaurants, and just visit the world. My background comes all the way from Candelaria and Pajara in Tenerife, Spain where my grandparents came from ;not knowing each other then, to Punta Brava, west of Havana, Cuba. There , my parents born in Cuba met and later on I was born there too. 100% guanche (annexed Tenerife to Spain on April 10 ,1496). I left Cuba as many have to Madrid, Spain where I lived for 4 years. Then, move to Perth Amboy ,New Jersey USA (living there 13 yrs) ; where I completed high school, became a US Citizen, learned to drive a car, and learned English. Afterward, went to the university in Florida, ERAU, and upon graduation decided to moved there to Ormond by the Sea, near Daytona Beach, finally moving North Miami, then Hialeah, then another moved to Silver Lakes division in Miramar, Broward county, Florida; in Florida I lived a total of 18 years. Finally , moved to France in 2003 ,Versailles call me for its royalty, and working in Paris was great. It was time to seek frontiers again and moved to Brech near Auray, Morbihan in Brittany , and later move to not too far Pluvigner. Total so far in France has been 20 years, and counting. Moving average a home every 5.5 years hopefully this will be my last. Cheers All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the written permission of the copyright holder, me. No part of this work may be modified, without the written permission of the holder, me.No part of this work may be exposed to public view in any form or by any means, without identifying the holder as the author, and with the before mentioned permission.

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