Cap Frehel

Cap Frehel is a headland of red sandstone and schist standing about seventy metres above the sea at the end of a wide plateau of heath, some four hundred hectares of gorse, heather and low scrub that flowers yellow from spring and purple in late summer. The cliffs and offshore stacks hold breeding seabirds including kittiwakes, guillemots, razorbills and fulmars, protected as a reserve with viewing points set back from the nests. A lighthouse of 1950 replaced one destroyed in the war and can be climbed. On clear days the view reaches to the Channel Islands. The GR34 coast path crosses the cape.

What you actually see

• The red cliffs - sandstone and schist dropping seventy metres.
• The heath - four hundred hectares of gorse and heather in flower.
• The seabird colonies - kittiwakes, guillemots and razorbills on the stacks.
• The lighthouse - the 1950 tower, climbed for the coastal view.

When to go

May to September; gorse flowers from spring and heather in August, and seabirds are on the cliffs from spring to midsummer. Wind is constant. Winter storms make the paths dangerous.

Honest expectations

Cliff edges are unfenced in places. The seabird reserve keeps visitors back from the best nesting ledges. Parking charges apply in season and the site is busy in August.

Nearby

Fort la Latte lies east; Erquy is west.