Georges Rouzeau - 2009-06-08

The above-sea part of a marine plateau which never reaches more than 20 metres deep, the Molène archipelago boasts around fifty islands. Quéménès, a rock shelf approximately 1.6 km long and 400 m wide, is one of them.

 

It is in spring that the island, covered with an immense carpet of pink flowers, is at its loveliest. Several dozen species of marine birds noisily circle the sky; most noticeable are the seagulls which nest upon the coastal pebble ridges. The kirri-kirri-kirri of the common tern, a sharp, rapid cry, rips the air. And that bird with the bright red beak - surely a Eurasian oystercatcher?

 

 

 

All of the sanitary facilities respect the island’s fragile environment: there are dry composting toilets, phyto-filtration of waste water and rainwater collecting cisterns; electricity is produced by a windmill and solar panels. Since 2008, a young couple, David and Soizic Cuisnier, are the new inhabitants of this small corner of paradise. However, unlike Adam and Eve (one can’t help but make the comparison) they work very hard indeed welcoming guests and seeing to the work on the farm.

 

It seems that visitors often ask the young couple what there is to do on ‘their’ island. The question seems quite unnecessary, really - Quéménès is such a rich and intense place. A few ideas nevertheless:  you could set off looking for signs of prehistoric habitats; develop a passion for remnants of 19C agriculture, especially the kelp harvest which was used to make soda ash for iodine production; watch and identify the flora and fauna...

 

 

 

 

 

David and Soizic Cuisnier’s blog:

 

1, rue du Lieutenant Jourden

29217 Le Conquet

Tel: 02 98 89 08 99

An intimate and charming address in Le Conquet, a small port of the Finistère which is perfect for an overnight stay before sailing to Molène or Ouessant. Built in 1573, this ship owner’s home underwent many metamorphoses (as a grocer’s, for example) before undergoing a radical makeover which restored its lustrous panache - note the superb spiral Gothic staircase which leads up to the rooms. The guest rooms, each different, have many wood furnishings, as owner Michel Tromeur is a cabinetmaker by profession and his wife Joëlle an interior decorator. The designer touch is also present on the ground floor salon de thé where breakfast is served.

Rooms from € 93.

 

 

Pointe Saint-Mathieu

29217 Plougonvelin

Tel: 02 98 89 00 19

 

Chef Philippe Corre has the great good fortune to live and work at the Pointe St. Mathieu on a spectacular site at the very edge of the European continent where a lighthouse, a semaphore, the ruins of an abbey and the natural coastline all converge. His subtle, light cuisine gives seafood such as fish tartares, clams, abalone, lobster, sea bass, turbot and red mullet pride of place.

The hotel has 25 rooms looking out onto the lighthouse, the sea or the abbey. Spa and a covered, heated pool.