This large, traditional "lavoir" – an open-air pool or basin set aside for clothes to be washed – is located on Île Grande and dates from the nineteenth century. Two sources supply it and can be seen at the foot of the retaining wall. At spring tide, it was filled with seawater, but, very quickly, the salt water was replaced with freshwater and washing could resume. Opposite the wash-pool is the Toëno peninsula, whose contours have changed significantly as a result of quarry mining. You can see the traces of this activity at the old quarry sites.
The Toëno area, which shows evidence of the granite extraction work of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, is also a marshland of outstanding ecological value. If you visit at low tide, you will...
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The tombolo of sand which links the coast to Île aux Lapins marks the boundary between the coarse, pink sand of Grève Rose beach to the west and the fine, white sand of Grève Blanche beach to the...
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The pink stones of La Clarté have been used since the start of the twentieth century and are characterised by their excellent quality. On your visit to this quarry, find out about the means used to...
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Several hundreds of millions of years old, granite is timeless. Even now, its high quality makes it a material of choice for many uses. The marine bears testament to this: its wall was built from...
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