Houat, the biggest sister, is 5 km long by 1.3 km wide, and has hunched up against the passing of history over her shores, sharing blood and tears with Hoëdic. She was twice invaded by the British (XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries) having already held them off in 1496. She served as a refuge for royalist soldiers who escaped from the Quiberon landing (1795), and then for the leader of the Chouans, Cadoudal, until contraband trading then surged up between the islands and the Rhuys peninsula.
Weakened by these successive invasions, the village suffered great misery in complete autarchy. The only things that allowed the people to survive in the face of the indifference of their governors was a small coastal shipping trade, a few meagre oat harvests and fishing. Houat, ostracised for reasons of contraband, then instigated a theocratic system under the uncontested iron rule of the rector. The priest therefore held both the sword and the incense burner on the island, making him both its spiritual and worldly leader.
The port of Er Beg to the east of the island, built and paid for by the inhabitants, had just been devastated by a furious storm when the winter of 51 came as another blow for Houat. Today, you will land at Port-Saint-Gildas, a lively place from dawn onwards with its fifty strong fleet of coloured fishing boats. Roughly a hundred men, known as "caseyeurs", trap crabs, lobsters and shrimps in their "casiers" or pots and "line" fishermen fish for seabass and conger eels. The smells of fish and shellfish are followed by the peppery scents of the moor as you gradually cross over the steep path of the village. The storm proof houses, whether set nose to tail or skew-whiff, try to stand out from one another with patches of blue, red or green shutters surrounded by hollyhocks. Each little street will lead you towards something new to discover.
This glorious monument is more than a simple ruin, having made it possible to drive Admiral Berckley's five hundred men out of the island with its garrison of just fifteen men. Further on, the Eclosarium (a museum to be visited) is home to a centre for the study and production of plankton.
The south-west coast
A track hugs the breaks in the cliff exposed to the open sea winds. A few well-sheltered sandy creeks follow one after another up to the Seniz Point headland.
To the west of the island, two small sentinel islands (Uric and Seines) keep a watchful eye on the immaculate beach. In the north, Beg Er Vachif welcomes colonies of nesting birds into its cliffs.
Treac'h er Goured
Here, the island looks as if it is sticking out a long tongue of fine sand at the mainland. Well sheltered from the dominant winds by the dunes, take an unforgettable walk where gnarled shrubs mingle with cliff carnations, maram grass and even jasmine oatgrass.
Warning: cars are not allowed on the island.
