Archipel des Glénan

The Glénan archipelago is  an enchanting group of islands off the Southern shore of Brittany.  it is now home to the famous Les Glénans sailing school where a number of record breaking yachtsmen have learnt their trade.


There can be some confusion between the ‘Archipel des Glénan’  (no “S”  )  the Islands, and the Sailing school  ‘ Les Glénans’  (with an “S” )    the sailing school has a number of sites around France and abroad, so yes you will find ‘Les Glénans’ in Baltimore Ireland

On a Sunny warm day it really is easy to imagine you are on a tropical island paradise, the islands have beautiful white beaches, and the central lagoon contains crystal clear water reflecting the blue of the sky.

The island of St Nicolas hosts the smallest nature reserve in France, here you will find the Glénan Narcissus, it doesn’t grow anywhere else in France.
Attempts to protect it in 1974 (visitors were digging up the bulbs and trampling the land bare) fencing was errected prohibiting entry. This allowed the natural vegetation to grow (gorse and ferns) which then overun and choked the Narcissi. The next move was to allow sheep to graze, but this was still not effective. Finally the land is now mowed just prior to the new growth of the Narcissi, and the plant is now recovering.
The Archipelago lays some ten miles off the coast, but an easy paddle with the tide. The Islands are private and permission should be sought before camping.  The environment is very fragile with no water supplies, you must take your own.

This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.