La Hague: The Nez de Jobourg, the Goury Lighthouse and One of France's Smallest Ports
Normandy, France
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Raz Blanchard Watcher
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225
XP
+100 France
= 325 total
1 day
La Hague: The Nez de Jobourg, the Goury Lighthouse and One of France's Smallest Ports
225 + 100 XP
The Hague headland at the north-western tip of Normandy ends at the 128 m cliffs of the Nez de Jobourg, Icartian gneiss and the oldest rock in the Cotentin at about two billion years, and at the lighthouse on the Gros du Raz off Goury, which marks the Raz Blanchard, one of the strongest tidal races in Europe. In a sheltered valley behind the cliffs, the botanical garden at Vauville, planted from 1947 by Éric and Nicole Pellerin over four hectares, grows hundreds of southern-hemisphere species out of doors.
Required Activities
1
of 4
Walk the customs officers' path to the viewpoint at the Nez de Voidries, next to the Nez de Jobourg itself, where the 128 m cliffs of two-billion-year-old gneiss open a view from the Goury lighthouse right round to the cap de Flamanville, and pick out the mouths of the Lion, Petite église and Grande église caves below
2
of 4
Stand at the port of Goury and look 800 m out at the lighthouse on the Gros du Raz — the first French lighthouse built on a rock barely ten metres across, lit in 1837 after 27 ships were wrecked on the Raz Blanchard in 1823 alone — and watch the tide race running past it
3
of 4
Visit Port Racine at the head of the anse Saint-Martin, two dry-stone granite jetties round a basin of about 8 ares — one of the smallest ports in France
4
of 4
Walk the Jardin botanique du Château de Vauville, with more than 1,000 species from the southern hemisphere
Walk the customs officers' path to the viewpoint at the Nez de Voidries, next to the Nez de Jobourg itself, where the 128 m cliffs of two-billion-year-old gneiss open a view from the Goury lighthouse right round to the cap de Flamanville, and pick out the mouths of the Lion, Petite église and Grande église caves below
Stand at the port of Goury and look 800 m out at the lighthouse on the Gros du Raz — the first French lighthouse built on a rock barely ten metres across, lit in 1837 after 27 ships were wrecked on the Raz Blanchard in 1823 alone — and watch the tide race running past it
Visit Port Racine at the head of the anse Saint-Martin, two dry-stone granite jetties round a basin of about 8 ares — one of the smallest ports in France
Walk the Jardin botanique du Château de Vauville, with more than 1,000 species from the southern hemisphere
Before you go
The Vauville botanical garden opens from April to September, afternoons from 14.00 (Mondays from 12.00), and in October from Wednesday to Sunday 14.00 to 18.00; it is shut from November to March. Entry is 9.50 euros, free under 18. The cliff paths and Port Racine are open all year but exposed — the Raz Blanchard makes this one of the windiest corners of Normandy.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
225 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
325 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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