Get away from it all at the Cap de la Hague

If you’re looking for a beautiful walk in Normandy then it’s the Cap de la Hague you should head for – there’s nowhere further to go if you want to “get away from it all”! This untamed land is raw, it’s nature in tooth and claw – and we’d like to tell you more!

The Nez de Jobourg and its lofty cliffs

For our first trip out at La Hague let’s start at the famous Nez de Jobourg. It’s a blustery wind, a bit rough and remote, but it’s well worth it with this incredible view. You look along a length of craggy cliffs (the tallest are 128 metres high) against the backdrop of the shifting seas churning at their feet, and on the horizon the Channel Islands can be made out, and ferries shuttling to England… 

Port Racine, France’s smallest port

There’s a wonderful coastal path that takes you to Port Racine from Saint-Germain-des-Vaux on the Cotentin Peninsula. On a summer’s day you can get some stunning colours, green hills and turquoise blue seas animated by sailing and fishing boats… A little bit of paradise in Normandy!

This panorama brings to mind one of my holidays on the west coast Ireland as a child. Port Racine is named after the French privateer François Médard Racine who pirated and pestered the English in the West Indies before creating this picturesque harbour and settling down here.

The Prévert Gardens, a step out of time

Port Racine was one of the favourite places for the popular French poet Jacques Prévert. The beautiful gardens here were created by close friends and family of the dreamy poet. They wanted to pay homage to him through plantations: let’s go for a walk among the stone ruins, plants, flowers and poetry! Bring your French dictionary! 

IF YOU LOVE NATURE AND POETRY THIS IS THEPLACE FOR YOU!

L’Anse de Vauville: wild moorland

Head off south of la Hague and take full advantage of the beautiful landscape by walking to Anse de Vauville. Spread out around you are pebble beaches, the English Channel, and verdant moorland, dotted with grazing Normandy cows. There’s always more to take in, for offshore you might glimpse the occasional dolphin or seal, and along the shoreline it is reputed as a haven for various lurking crustacea.

The Botanic Gardens of Vauville, a perfect place to chill out!

In the afternoon we set off to visit the chateau of Vauville and the flower bedecked paths through its Botanic Gardens. These are all plants of the southern hemisphere, from the oriental to the exotic. The atmosphere borders on the zen as you wander among a labyrinthine themed sequence of waterfalls, palm groves and bamboo. In the Exotic garden sit down on the bench there and take in the view of the chateau, it’s the best place for a rest!  

Words by Grégory Cassiau, les-escapades.fr