Belle-Île: the Côte Sauvage from the Pointe des Poulains to Port Coton

From the car park at the Pointe des Poulains the GR 340 heads south along the cliffs of the island's west coast, the Côte Sauvage. The path keeps to the cliff top through heath, dropping into coves and climbing out again, and passes the sandy beach of Donnant before it runs on, above smaller coves such as Vazen and round the Grand Phare, to Port Coton. The walk ends at the Aiguilles de Port Coton, the row of sea stacks that Claude Monet painted in 1886.

It is 17.3 km one way with 479 m of ascent, the figure on the tourist office's route sheet for the stage (the app's own height count on this line is lower, because it leaves out small rises); allow about 5½ hours. The grade is Hard by our walking-time rule, which gives 5.6 hours with that climb; the tourist office rates this stage moderate and gives 17.6 km and about 4 h 20 for it. Most of the line is on narrow path, with the rest on tracks. The office calls the first part, from the Pointe des Poulains to the Apothicairerie, fairly sporty, with climbs from sea level back onto cliffs of 40 to 50 m, and says the rest of the stage has no major difficulty.

The path is exposed in places: the office says the path is very steep and can be slippery after rain, and tells walkers to keep away from the cliff edges and to stay on the marked paths. Stay off the headland of Vieux-Château: the office describes it as a strict bird reserve where walking is forbidden, and the path goes round its inlet. Walking poles with a point have been banned on the whole coastal path since 20 June 2022; poles without a point, or with tips fitted, are allowed. There are no water points, toilets or bins on the path, and wild camping and bivouacking are forbidden on the island. The tide can cut off the lighthouse islet at the Pointe des Poulains, and the office says to check the tide times before crossing; this line does not go onto it. The route sheet says the path goes across a beach after the view of the cove of Vazen, and OpenStreetMap marks the beaches at Donnant and Vazen as ground the tide covers (our line runs over or beside their edges for about 0.5 km), so look at the tide times. The route sheet also says access to the grotto of the Apothicairerie is forbidden by municipal order.

Boats to the island run all year from Quiberon, says the island's tourist office, with Breizh Go Océane; the sailing company Iliens runs a seasonal catamaran from Quiberon to Sauzon, April to October on the office's page for it. Both ends of the walk have a car park and a bus stop in OpenStreetMap (Les Poulains, and Port Coton). The island's buses are run by Les Cars Bleus and, says the Communauté de communes, only from the first day of the Easter holidays to the last day of the autumn holidays; look at the timetable before you leave a car at one end.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with the distance and time worked out from it. The climb is the published figure: height data cannot be trusted on this ground. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.