A walk in Kersaint

DEPARTURE from the Kersaint chapel parking lot.

Kersaint, "village of saints", owes its name to the story of Saint Tanguy and Sainte Haude, in the 6th century. They were the children of Galon du Chastel, lord of Trémazan, whose majestic castle ruins can still be seen at Kersaint, near the shore.
A modest religious edifice dedicated to the two saints was soon erected on the spot where Haude was beheaded by her brother as the victim of deception. In the 15th century, the du Chastels replaced it with the present chapel, most of which dates from the 16th century. In 1518, the chapel, dedicated to Notre Dame du Vrai Secours, was elevated by the du Chastels to the rank of collegiate church.

This beautiful viaduct, crossed by a narrow road, was built between 1911 and 1913 to cross this deep valley for a railway line running from Brest to Porspoder.
© Patrimoine Iroise

This viaduct is also known as the "potato train viaduct".

The Saint-Haude fountain is a spring located in a charming wooded setting, far from any habitation.
A small basin allows water to be collected directly from the spring and filled into containers.
A stone gutter then directs the liquid to a rather crude washhouse lined with a few large flagstones. The first, on the right-hand side, is in fact a Gallic stele which, lying down, has found a new use here.
©Commune de Landunvez

This house was built between 1550 and 1560 for a small community of six canons created in 1518 by the lord of Trémazan Tanguy(V) du Chastel to manage the Kersaint chapel, which was the object of numerous pilgrimages. Prior to this construction, the "white fathers" lived in private homes, a situation that made it difficult for them to carry out their second function as herbalists-apothecaries.

Patrimoine Iroise

The dungeon we can see today is that of an ancient fortress in ruins.

Enjoy views of the rocks of Portsall, the lighthouse and rocks of Corn Carhai, the landmarks of Men Louet, the beacons of La Pendante and Besquel, the islands of Enez Segou and Guilligui, whose cross dominates the port of Portsall, and where you'll find a site dating from the Neolithic period (over 5000 years BC).