Les îles du Ponant > The islands > Groix

Groix

Presentation

GROIX’S LOCATION AND CHARACTER

The big, burly island of Groix looks ruggedly appealing from many points along Brittany’s southwest coast. It’s managed to preserve its own, deeply likable character, even if traditional ways have largely disappeared. Groix rarely feels overrun by tourists and makes an enchanting place to stay.

Getting there, getting around, accommodation and eating out

A touring and historical guide

After a 45-minute crossing from Lorient, visitors arrive at Port-Tudy. This harbour is named after a Dark Ages saint who greatly influenced southwest Brittany. If yachts now abound, few fishing vessels dock here anymore, although Port-Tudy was at one time the largest tuna fishing port in France. The Ecomusée is, appropriately enough, set in a transformed fish cannery. It offers a good overview of Groix’s history and traditions, going back to neolithic settlers and beyond. The Vikings are also evoked – a Norse burial site was discovered on Groix, although the funeral longship was shipped off to Paris.

As Groix is extensive, consider hiring bikes or scooters from Port-Tudy to explore the island with ease. Up from Port-Tudy, Le Bourg has a gentle feel and some amusing touches, like the tuna replacing the traditional cockerel on the church’s weathervane. Learn about Groix’s nature reserve at Le Bourg’s dedicated Maison. It organizes guided walks around the two separate areas concerned, one of greater botanical interest, the other of more geological importance. Other typical hamlets to enjoy include Locmaria, with its fine washhouse, and Le Méné.

From medieval times, a marked division existed on the island between those in the wealthier east, or Primiture, and those in the less productive west, the Piwisi. The old distinctions would be hard for a visitor to spot nowadays, but the varied charms of the scattered harbours and hamlets across Groix are self-evident.

Among Groix’s lovely ports (often simple natural harbours rather than manmade), Port Lay is particularly pretty and well protected. It was the site of Groix’s much-admired former training school for sailors. At nearby Port Melin, a statue honours the fine Groix, and Breton, poet, Jean-Pierre Calloc’h, tragically killed in the First World War.

Groix has a couple of truly remarkable beaches at its eastern end. The rare, convex Plage des Grands Sables bulges out into the sea. As to the smaller Plage des Sables Rouges, it’s dusted with a red powder, from naturally-occurring garnet. Not far off, the Pointe des Chats is renowned for its geological formations. Along the southern coastline, the Trou de l’Enfer is the biggest tourist draw. Visitors marvel at the ‘Hell Hole’ in the cliff here, as well as admiring the views along the full length of the island, taking in the lighthouses at either end.

To appreciate Groix from the water, sign up for a trip by sea round the island, or try water sports, for example at the Centre Nautique at Port Mélite. There’s also an unusual adventure park where you get around on giant trampolines suspended on high, as if you were on a racing yacht!

BRITISH CONNECTIONS WITH GROIX

British naval expeditions occasionally harassed Groix in the colonial conflicts between Britain and France during the Ancien Régime. From the 18^th century, the French military fortified the island to offer it more protection from invasion, as you can see to this day.