Photo : Phillip Capper / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Cap de la Hague
At the north-western end of the Cotentin peninsula, the Cap de la Hague marks the most advanced point of this natural region that has remained largely wild. Facing the Channel Island of Alderney, the Raz Blanchard, one of the strongest tidal currents in Europe, stirs these waters, reputed difficult for navigation.
La Hague long kept a remarkable traditional habitat, made of granite hamlets scattered across a short-cropped heath where almost constant winds blow. The La Hague lighthouse, also called the Goury lighthouse, stands 800 metres offshore on an isolated rock, signalling for more than a century and a half this passage feared by sailors.
The area is discovered by the customs officers' path, which runs along the coast as close as possible to the cliffs between the Nez de Jobourg and the port of Goury, offering impressive views over the ocean and the currents that stir it. Spring and summer, when the heath is in flower, remain the best seasons for hiking in this territory exposed to the elements.
