Le Yaudet is situated at the mouth of the river Léguer which winds its way into the ancient port of Lannion on the North Coast of Brittany. It is a small hamlet built around a granite promontory which commands views across the the centre of the Pink Granite Coastal approaches. It is not surprising therefore that the Romans built a fort at le Yaudet where they could defend the access to one of their most important strongholds on this coast.
Today there is little evidence of the structure other than several level plateaux surrounded by the remains of stone walls and earthworks however it is still possible to stand on the fort site and admire the surrounding coastal vista. In the 50's and 60's several excavations were carried out on the site resulting in several finds of Roman coins and other indications of Roman occupation.
A new programme of research excavations began in 1991 and continued annually until 2002. The work was a Franco-British collaboration involving the
Institute of Archaeology, University of Oxford and the Centre de
recherche bretonne et celtique, Université de Bretagne. Excavations uncovered evidence of Iron Age occupation and it appeared the romans had built much of their fortifications on the original defence platforms. Due to the location of the fort several Roman villas were built in the surrounding countryside many of which may still remain undiscovered.
The original village developed around the fort and some of the houses in occupation today are said to date from the 16th century. Le Yaudet is now a popular tourist site and provides a pleasant location for a weekend walk along one of its many paths leading from and to the two small beaches nestled at the foot of the promontory.
The main beach can be reached by a steep road descending from the village down to a small inlet surrounded by small houses clinging to the surrounding slopes. This is one of the many beautiful areas to explore on this stretch of the coast.
Some beautiful pictures - looks like a cool ploace to visit.
Posted by: lavenderbongo | Sunday, September 06, 2009 at 06:13 AM