BATZ’S CHARACTER AND LOCATION
The island of Batz looks just a stone’s throw from the extremely busy, touristy ferry port of Roscoff. The boat ride from the north Breton harbour takes just 15 minutes. Yet Batz has a very different feel. Life runs at a much slower pace here – and tractors far outnumber cars on this agricultural island. Although the rocks and reefs all around can look daunting, the island proves very relaxing for a break.
You arrive at the main village, Pors Kernoc, a delightfully open place, typically Breton in looks. It offers a choice of simple, appealing cafés, restaurants and accommodation. The men of Batz were most often involved in fishing down the centuries, until market-gardening took off too in the 19th century. Vegetables thrive in the mild climate, and thanks also to all the seaweed the locals collect off the rocks to use as fertilizer. Most of the island is covered with agricultural fields to this day.
Visitors tend to get more excited by the fine white sands of Batz’s beaches than all that veg! The best strands are located along the southern and eastern sides. One major botanical attraction, though, is the exotic garden, the Jardin Delaselle, on the island’s eastern tip. Begun early in the 20th century by a Parisian who fell in love with Batz, it was abandoned for some time following his death. However, since the late 1980s, it has been revived. It contains a fabulous collection of plants, notably palms. Nearby, the ruins of the chapel dedicated to St Anne also draw the attention.
To protect the fragile coastline around the island, you can only follow the coastal path on foot – even bikes are not allowed. You can, though, cycle around the lanes of the interior, or go horse riding. Aquatic sports are in plentiful supply, and consider joining a local fisherman to try fishing out to sea.
On the western side of Batz, the lighthouse is the highlight. You can climb it on summer afternoons for tremendous views, some 200 steps up! At the island’s most westerly tip, seek out the Trou du Serpent, the spot where saintly miracle-working Welshman Paul Aurélien (Pol in Breton) is said to have beaten a terrifying serpent in the Dark Ages.
BRITISH CONNECTIONS WITH BATZ
Back in the 6th century, Pol was a monk who sailed over from Wales to participate in the great conversion of Brittany to Christianity. He became bishop of these parts. The legend has it that while visiting Batz, he managed to capture a serpent terrorizing the island in his bishop’s scarf, or stole. He then forcefully ordered the creature to jump to its death in the raging sea. They say that you can still hear strange, beastly cries when visiting the magnificent Trou du Serpent, while a piece of cloth in the village church was long claimed to be Pol’s miraculous scarf!
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