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France: The Best of Brittany
Tour Code: FRA32A two-centre, 8-day holiday exploring Brittany in search of birds, butterflies and other wildlife between the glorious French seasons of spring and summer.
£1,895 (Inc ferry)
£1,745
Highlights
Tour Itinerary and Reports
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Summary
Brittany is just a ferry ride across the English Channel, but the roll-call of birds, butterflies and other wildlife is surprisingly different. This 2-centre, late spring, holiday showcases those birds and butterflies that we don’t find here at all, or are rare and in decline, in Britain. We begin in La Roche Bernard where we shall visit a vast private forest with wide rides ideal for a number of butterfly species and woodland birds. A barge trip in the nearby Briere National Park we hope will yield Savi’s and Grasshopper Warblers. We shall also visit one of the most beautiful bays in the world, the Gulf of Morbihan. Next, we travel north to Perros Guirec for our last three nights. In this region, we will see a mosaic of habitats of wet woodland, peat bogs and prairie where we will hope to encounter Marsh Fritillary, Purple Hairstreak, Map and Swallowtail as well as various skipper species and birds such as Willow Warbler, Dartford Warbler and Yellowhammer. We will enjoy a boat trip to the Sept Îles and enjoy a huge seabird colony. The moorland of northern Brittany attracts up to 20 pairs of Montagu’s Harrier at this time of year as well as Hen Harrier which we will hope to see.
- 2-centre wildlife holiday in northern France and led by a local expert
- Breeding Kentish Plover, Glossy Ibis, Golden Oriole all possible!
- Exciting butterflies may include Purple Emperor, Marsh Fritillary, Swallowtail and Map
- Look for breeding Black-winged Stilt and rare French-breeding race of Bluethroat
- Barge cruise in superb Brière Regional Nature Park with Whiskered and Caspian Terns and Glossy Ibis
- A boat trip to the seabird colonies of the Sept Isles
- French cuisine, picnics included with local foods
The wild and rugged coastline around of Brittany with its windswept marshes and expansive sandy beaches, is the region in which we will first be based on this new, 2-centre, wildlife holiday. To get there we will travel across the Channel by ferry, this being another in our growing portfolio of 'flightless' tours. During the first stage of this holiday, we’ll explore the coast and wetlands of northern Brittany, looking for such resident and migrant birds as Kentish and Little Ringed Plover, Common Quail, Red-backed Shrike and Marsh Harrier. The northernmost stretch of Brittany’s coastline is known as the Emerald Coast, and here we will hope to enjoy the songs of Nightingales, Cirl Buntings, Woodlarks, Melodious Warblers, Cuckoos and other species less frequently heard to the north of the Channel. We will also head inland to explore the Forest of Rennes, Brittany’s largest forest. Here, domes and plateaux are separated by wide forested valleys, providing a rich and varied habitat that holds breeding Honey Buzzards, Nightjars and Dartford Warblers, as well as Black, Middle Spotted and Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers. Brittany supports a diverse range of butterflies and during our walks we hope to find such species as Swallowtail, Camberwell Beauty, Purple Emperor, Lesser Purple Emperor, Marsh and Knapweed Fritillaries, Wood White, Black-veined White, Sooty Copper, Long-tailed Blue and the Map butterfly, among many others.
For the latter half of our holiday we will be based on Brittany’s southern coast, where the Gulf of Morbihan offers an extensive mosaic of mudflats, creeks and bays. Here we will go in search of a range of breeding species, including Mediterranean Gull, Avocet, Black-winged Stilt and the exquisite Bluethroat. Nearby, Crested Tit, Short-toed Treecreeper and Firecrest may be found in the pine woods, whilst in Brière Regional Nature Park – a truly impressive area protecting over 100,000 acres of marshland – we will hope to see Purple Heron, Glossy Ibis, Black Kite, Caspian and Whiskered Terns, Spoonbill and Black-necked Grebe. Finally, at La Forêt du Gâvre, we will explore both the forest and the surrounding grasslands where Golden Oriole, Corncrake, Wryneck, Bonelli’s Warbler and a variety of woodpeckers all breed. Raptors to be seen here include breeding Goshawk and Honey Buzzard, whilst Short-toed Eagles are regularly seen during the summer.
Outline Itinerary
Dates & Prices
2025
Tour Leader: Martyn Williams
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The majority of our wildlife tours focus primarily on birds, allowing us to offer a huge choice of bird holidays. On most of our birdwatching tours we aim to see a wide variety of species, while taking time to enjoy other wildlife as well as cultural highlights and architecture.
Naturetrek Birdwatching Tours
We have one of the largest selections of professionally organised, small group birdwatching holidays around the world and all of our birdwatching tours are accompanied by at least one professional ornithologist leader with detailed knowledge of the area.
The majority of our bird tours have a relaxed, flexible approach which allows more time for photography, detailed wildlife exploration, leisure time and the region’s people, culture, history and architecture, while allowing the group to see a wide range of bird species.
Here is a small selection of our many bird holidays:
- Southern Morocco – an exploration of the birdlife in Morocco’s southern deserts, oases and mountains
- The Camargue in Spring – a short break to enjoy the spring birds of the Rhône Delta and Camargue wetland
- Wallcreepers & Cranes in Northern Spain – a 2-centre holiday focusing on Lammergeier, Wallcreepers, raptors, Cranes, bustards, sandgrouse and more!
- Madeira & Desertas Islands – A Seabird Extravaganza! – a short break focusing on special breeding seabirds, including a night on the remote Destertas Islands
- Peru – Macaws & Machu Picchu – searches for boobies, macaws and Inca Terns
- Spain & Morocco: Birding on Two Continents! – watch the spectacular spring bird migration from both sides of the Straits of Gibraltar
Our Bargain Birdwatching Selection
Our Bargain Bird Tours are intensive birdwatching holidays suitable for the serious birder. They are led by expert English-speaking local guides (and not accompanied from the UK by a tour leader). You can expect a higher-paced tour and to spend long hours in the field.
Our specialist recommends...
Byron Palacios - Tour Leader
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Butterfly Watching Holidays Led by Expert Naturalists
Who can fail to be delighted by butterflies – the intensity and variety of their colours, their delicate beauty and fascinating life cycles? Our tours allow butterfly-watching enthusiasts to observe marvellous species all around the world. Sadly, butterflies are in decline in many regions. To help prevent the loss of these beautiful creatures, our butterfly holidays make a direct contribution to their conservation.
Naturetrek Butterfly Tours
- We offer an excellent range of dedicated butterfly holidays
- All tours are led by a Naturetrek butterfly-watching expert
- Although butterflies are the main focus of our butterfly tours, we also take time to observe other wildlife
- By booking one of our dedicated butterfly holidays you will automatically be making a contribution to their conservation.
Here’s a selection of our dedicated butterfly tours:
Although we include butterfly-watching in many of our holidays, we offer a wide selection of dedicated butterfly tours, including:
- The Cevennes – we look for butterflies in the Massif Central
- Butterflies in Normandy – we go in search of some of Normandy’s 160 species of butterfly
- Sweden's Butterflies & Dragonflies – Sweden is home to Large Blue, Apollo, Scarce Copper and many more species
- Butterflies of the Dolomites – we explore sheltered valleys and butterfly hot-spots in the Italian Dolomites
- Sri Lanka - A Butterfly Tour – seeking Sri Lanka’s dazzling tropical species
- Butterflies of Morocco's High Atlas Mountains – a search for the butterflies of the High Atlas Mountains, with a wealth of other wildlife and mountain walks in spectacular scenery.
Naturetrek & Butterfly Conservation
As a top category ‘Gold’ corporate sponsor of Butterfly Conservation (BC), we donate around £1,500 annually to the charity. As well as this, since 2002 we have donated 10% of all income generated by our annual programme of butterfly tours that we run in partnership with BC, and give BC membership to all non-members joining the tours.
Our specialist recommends...
Tom Brereton - Operations Manager
Flight-free Wildlife Holidays
At Naturetrek we make full use of the Eurostar rail service through the channel tunnel, and of the ferry routes between England’s south coast and France and Spain, to offer a range of ‘flightless’ wildlife holidays in Belgium, Holland, France and Spain. In addition, we also offer the widest selection of wildlife holidays within the UK, none of which require a flight to participate in. Therefore, if you prefer not to fly, for whatever reason, we have a range of varied and exciting wildlife holidays for you to choose from, and we are committed to regularly adding more.
It is also the case that many of our other holidays within Europe are also accessible by rail. Generally, where there’s a will, there’s a way, and we’d be pleased to offer advice to anybody who wishes to join any of our tours within Europe by a means other than flying!
Our specialist recommends...
Kerrie Porteous - Operations Manager
Prefer to Travel in a Private Group?
For any interested natural history club or society, we can arrange for a private departure of this tour.
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Why Naturetrek?
At Naturetrek we craft expertly-guided group and tailor-made wildlife holidays and cruises to all seven continents. On one of our holidays, you can be assured that our passionate team will enable you to experience and enjoy the best of the world's wildlife and natural spectacles in as comfortable and rewarding a manner as possible, caring as best we can for the environment in the process. We are proud to provide:
- The widest choice of wildlife holidays worldwide
- Tours managed and led by naturalists, for naturalists
- Outstanding value and exceptional customer service
Furthermore, as a Naturetrek client, our office team are always to on hand to help you – so if you have any queries about your holiday, whether before or after you have booked, we will be delighted to answer them on the phone. Please just give our team a call!
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