PORTRAIT OF SAINT CAST AND A COASTAL WALK

Saint Cast (you pronounce 'Cast' as 'Ka' which is also the way you pronounce the letter 'K' so, if you were to write down 'St. K', French people would understand where you meant) is a small seaside town in Brittany which has been part of my history and of my family for decades. It is a place made marvellous by good weather and in bad it is better than merely tolerable. There is a wonderful beach with a promenade entirely free from commerce, apart from one restaurant. There are cliff walks that challenge the elderly but make them believe the expenditure of energy and the taxing of inflexible joints are worth the effort. The sea is pretty clean although no longer can you buy car windscreen stickers that pronounce 'St. Cast La Pure'. Above all the place is relaxing (you are not compelled to take those cliff walks), pleasant and totally French.

Here are some photographs I have taken:

St. Cast has been a seaside resort for many, many years. Some of the houses reflect a wealthier time (Desirable residence with Sea View)

 And here's another complete with balcony adjacent and a gazebo made from concrete crafted to resemble logs of wood - also with Sea View.

 

 

The views are impressive. Here is La Grande Plage seen from La Pointe de la Garde followed by another view taken from the other end of the beach.

 

 

 

 

And here you can see another of St. Cast's beaches - it has 7 altogether - this is La Plage de la Mare. In the distance you can see Fort La Latte  where the film The Vikings was filmed.

 

 You can't see much of St. Cast in the picture below but beyond the silhouetted trees is the Grande Plage which faces East so this is what you would see when you awakened had you gone to sleep on the beach  the night before - don't ask me why you would do this.

 

 

The St. Castine local government has very wisely kept an area of the beach fenced off so there is an unspoiled natural area free from human-generated pollution.

Apart from the seagrass, sea holly and so on there are hundreds of evening primrose plants some of which you can see here.

 

A view from our former apartment of a rather splendid arc en ciel which exactly the same as ours at home.

 

 Now, let us take a walk along one of the coastal paths. They are known as Sentiers des Douaniers, or Coastguards' Paths because that was what they once were. The paths are marked, here and there, with short paint strokes in red and white, and they are seen on rocks and trees - not along the whole route but just ... here and there. It is your absolute right to walk along these paths and they give you wonderful cliff top views as well a bit of a cardiological workout.

Here is the starting point, say,

And after a bit of a climb you might see this.

or this

 

 

and if you look down on the ground you might see this

 

 

or this

 

or this

 

or this

 

and then when you have completed the walk you will see this

 

 

After having spent a fortnight in July here I am returning to spend another week in September. I really do like this place (and have done since 1965 when I discovered it!).