The long, narrow ÎLE DE BATZ (pronounced "Ba") mirrors Roscoff across the water, separated from it by a sea channel that's barely 200m wide at low tide but perhaps five times that when the tide is high. Appearances from the mainland are somewhat deceptive: the island's old town, home to a thousand or so farmers and fishermen, fills much of its southern shoreline, but those parts of Batz not visible from Roscoff are much wilder and more windswept. With no cars permitted, and some great expanses of sandy beach it makes a wonderfully quiet retreat for families in particular, whether you're camping or staying in one of its two old-fashioned little hotels.Ferries from Roscoff arrive at the quayside of the old town. There's a nice small beach along the edge of the harbour, though the sea withdraws so far at low tide that the port turns into a morass of slimy seaweed. You may well spot the island's best beach from the boat – it's the white-sand Grève Blanche towards its eastern end. Walking in that direction also brings you to the hostel, and the 44-metre lighthouse that stands on the island's peak, all of 23m above sea level (second half of June daily except Wed 2–5pm; July to mid-Sept daily 1–5.30pm; €1.50). Two separate companies operate ten-minute ferry services to the Île de Batz from Roscoff's long pier. Between late June and mid-September, the service is pretty much non-stop between 8am and 8pm daily; for the rest of the year, both Compagnie Maritime Armein (tel 02.98.61.77.75) and Compagnie Finistérienne (tel 02.98.61.78.87) run eight to ten trips daily between 8.30am and 7pm; the return fare is €6, with a €5 charge for bikes. The island's nicest hotel, at the centre of the harbour, is the Grand Hôtel Morvan (tel 02.98.61.78.06; €30–40; closed Dec to mid-Feb), which serves good meals on its large seafront terraces. There's a hostel in a beautiful setting, by the beach at the evocatively named Creach ar Bolloc'h (tel 02.98.61.77.69; closed Oct–Easter; €8). Alternate spellings:: France, Īle de Batz, Île de Batz, Ile de Batz
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