Le Hourdel, departing from La Mollière d'Aval and returning via the seafront.

de fr

This route takes no more than 30 minutes along the roadside (small, quiet roads) and passes through the Hourdel quarries. It takes you to Pointe du Hourdel and then to the blockhouse, where you can observe seals: harbour seals and grey seals.
Be careful of high tides, which can be very strong and make the route very dangerous!

Details

n°22347153
Creation:
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 9.16 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 40 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 7 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 7 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 9 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1 m
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Photos

Seals

Description of the walk

Park in the car park next to the motorhome park on Rue Faidherbe.

(S/E) Follow Rue Faidherbe eastwards to the small chapel by the roadside.

(1) Do not turn left at the chapel, but continue along Rue Carnot until you reach the D3 roundabout.

(2) Turn left towards the quarries, leaving the D3 on your right.

(3) Turn left at the first street and follow the GSM sign to the first pond.

(4) Turn right to reach the large sandpit pond. From this point, you will find several areas with tables. Go around the quarry on the right.

(5) Turn right, then left towards an industrial estate.

(6) Turn right to reach Quai Gavois and arrive at Pointe du Hourdel.

(7) Turn left and walk on the pebbles without taking the coastal path. Then follow the pebble beach on the left to reach the blockhouse.

(8) If you have followed the tide instructions, get your binoculars ready and enjoy watching the seals on the sandbanks. It's a magnificent sight! Continue along the seafront until you reach a path lined with palisades.

(9) Turn left to return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 8 m - Car park (or motorhome park) Rue Faidherbe
  2. 1 : km 0.74 - alt. 6 m - The little chapel
  3. 2 : km 1.15 - alt. 6 m - Entrance to the path
  4. 3 : km 1.46 - alt. 5 m - Mobile phone coverage
  5. 4 : km 1.88 - alt. 6 m - Entrance to the sand pits
  6. 5 : km 3.03 - alt. 6 m - Les Granets
  7. 6 : km 3.83 - alt. 7 m - Towards Pointe du Hourdel
  8. 7 : km 4.78 - alt. 7 m - The Hourdel Point
  9. 8 : km 5.99 - alt. 1 m - The blockhouse
  10. 9 : km 8.82 - alt. 8 m - Junction of the Route Blanche
  11. S/E : km 9.16 - alt. 8 m - Car park (or motorhome park) Rue Faidherbe

Notes

After point (4), you can find shelter if necessary or for a break.

Consider bringing binoculars.
Remember to take sunglasses, which are very useful on the sand when the wind is blowing, which is not uncommon.
Bring a windbreaker, especially if you feel the cold.
Remember to protect your head.
Of course, do not forget to drink plenty of fluids regularly and respect the beautiful places you visit.

Worth a visit

High point of the hike: Seals can be seen near the blockhouse from three hours before low tide to two hours after low tide. The return to the starting point is along the seafront on pebbles and sand, with a headwind that makes the effort more strenuous.

Remember to check the tide times to calculate your journey time so that you can observe the seals.

Reviews and comments

4 / 5
Based on 10 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
3.4 / 5
kimNBC
kimNBC

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 14, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A bit of tarmac at the start, but not much traffic. The section through the quarry and past the ponds was quite muddy. It was low tide and we did indeed see the seals. An easy and pleasant walk

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Lulu2014
Lulu2014

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 01, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

To be done in good weather

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Dubois Thérèse
Dubois Thérèse

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 19, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful route, slightly spoiled by the noise from the quarry, and challenging to continue on the pebbles...
Suggestion: you can go directly from point 1 to point 4 and avoid the small D3 road.
Even at high tide, the seals are visible when they stick their heads out of the water.
The Hourdel point is magnificent

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larochenet
larochenet

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 16, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk. There is a bit of tarmac road, but it's not very busy so it's fine.
I took a shortcut through the quarries, but it's better to follow the suggested route (I didn't have enough time).
I didn't see any seals, but I enjoyed the hike!
Thank you.

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Caron Daniel
Caron Daniel

Sorry, we followed a different route from one of the members of our group.
Thank you.

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Éric Camille
Éric Camille

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 11, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Easy hike.
Lacks interest.

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GERARDphilippe
GERARDphilippe

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 17, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

An atypical circular

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fzutterman
fzutterman

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 11, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

It is no longer possible to follow this route as described. We tried to do it in the opposite direction, but access to the quarry area towards point 5 is prohibited and there is a barrier. The entire quarry area is uninteresting anyway, as it is an industrial zone (dirt, noise). As an alternative, we took a detour south via "Le Cordier". It is nicer, although of moderate interest (fields). The part along the sea is very pretty. The round trip along the sea is undoubtedly the best solution.

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hotas
hotas

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 22, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Very busy route : No

Hello,
Along a road to La Vierge, dusty paths for 8-metre-wide lorries flanked by barbed wire fences to Le Hourdel with views of the sand quarries and loading points, only the return trip along the coast is pleasant. The desire to make a circular comes at a price! It is better to make a return trip on the beach, taking advantage of low tide to go onto the sandbanks (preferably at ebb tide for safety) and coming back higher up at the edge of the vegetation.
I do not recommend the proposed route.

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Danic
Danic

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 31, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We stood out once again, but we did this route in the morning and in the opposite direction to make sure we saw the seals, which my granddaughter absolutely did not want to miss. We achieved our goal and the first part (up to the blockhouse) went very smoothly. After that, there were more people, but it was very quiet again after leaving Le Hourdel.

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Hamard Alain
Hamard Alain

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 14, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

The final stretch to the car park is uninteresting, with crowded pavements (vehicles) and heavy road traffic.
Looking closely at the IGN map, there are other possible and safer routes.
It's a shame, because Pointe du Hourdel is magnificent, with the spectacle of seals and seal pups (depending on the tides) as the grand finale!
To be reviewed.
Thank you.

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