Nature at her best

In Finistère, nature plays an important role. The diversity of the landscape is home to an astounding range of flora and fauna. The sea is never more than 15 km from Saint Renan, and its influence is felt everywhere, from the plants to the color of the sky. From the north to the south, discover intimate landscape such as the abers, greens inlets resembling mini-fjords. Long chains of dunes follows on from the creeks where you can watch gannets, cormorants, seagulls. Offshore loom the breton islands : they all have their own unmistakable identity. Some are home to rare species., while the amiable gry seals snooze on the rocks.

The Nature Reserve of Iroise was created on the Molène archipelago.: home to many birds and a colony of grey seals, European otters and dolphins.

To enjoy these fabulous views, take one of the coastal Custom’s Routes : it is a coastal pathway following the capes, points, dunes and beaches and revealing superb landscapes. Now developed for strollers and ramblers, they previously played a important role in surveillance of the coast to help combat smuggling and the pillaging of shipwrecks.

Golf breaks near Saint Renan

Brest-les Abers : 18 holes : An interesting course dissected by valleys. The majority of its holes present a challenge to any golfer.

Brest-Penn ar Bed : 9 holes : Situated halfway from Bret and the coast, the course include water obstacles and elevated greens well protected by bunkers.

Brest-Iroise : 9 & 18 holes : The course offers an unforgettable view of the mont d’arrée and Brest harbour; its 27 holes are designed in the heart of wild moors.

The religious heritage.

The religious heritage is especially apparent and original. There is hardly a single maritime or inland locality without a stone cross, a statue, a church or a chapel bell tower reflecting the religious fervour. Take the time to discover these architectural and artistic marvels. These monuments in local weathered patina stone ( granite, schist, slate), dotted along the roadside reveal the original character of the region.

Breton language

Breton is a Celtic language. In the 5th century massive waves of emigration from the British isles crossed the sea  and renewed the Armorican population. Armorica became Brittany and Breton its language.

Not a minority local dialect, Breton is a true language currently spoken

Gastronomy

Crêpes and galettes are indisputably part of the Breton culinary heritage. The main difference between crêpes and galettes resides in the composition of the batter. For crêpes, the batter is prepared with wheat flour to produce a sweat dish. A galette is based on buckwheat and is a savoury dish typically served with cheese, ham and egg.

Easy recipe for crêpes

Preparation time : 15mn, then resting the batter for one hour minimun ( overnight if possible)

Ingredients : 250g of wheat flour, 4 eggs, 175g of sugar, 3 sachets of vanilla flavoured sugar, 3:4 litre of fresh whole milk, 1 pinch of salt, 250g of half salted butter for cooking

Preparing the batter : Pour the flour into a large bowl, make a well and break an egg into its centre. Beat with a wooden spoon, gradually incorporating the flour. Add three further eggs, one by one. Add the sugar, the vanilla flavoured sugar, salt and then gradually add the milk, pouring it slowly into the centre of the batter. Cover the basin with a tea cloth and leave the batter to rest

How to cook crêpes : Grease the frying pan with a knob of butter and pour in a small ladle of batter. Tilt the frying pan in all directions so the batter spreads out over the entire base. This makes the crêpe very thin. Cook the crêpe for one minute until the edges begin to colour. Then take one edge of the crêpe between the thumb and the index finger and flip it over rapidly so as to cook the other side. Continue until all the batter has been used up. Crêpes are best eaten fresh out of the frying pan, but they can be kept warm sandwiched between two plates during all the cooking.