Le Passous

Ask any true Agonais-Coutainvillais and they’ll tell you that “Passous” isn’t just a square. Rather, it’s a century-old neighborhood that extends beyond the simple avenue that bears its name, from the dike running from the Cale du Passous to the sailing school, and encompasses the Camping les Mouettes, as well as a number of residential streets. The name Passous comes from the Norman patois pronunciation of “passage”, which the inhabitants used to walk between the village of Agon and the mielle (hill). Agon and the mielle (a sandy hill covered with maritime plants), which separated two ponds, the two “Essays”, of which all that remains today is the Mare de l’Essay leisure park. Old-timers will also recall that the Passous district was the stronghold of “Tonton Guy”, Guy Leclerc, who for decades perpetuated the exploitation of Agon’s wooden fisheries.You can learn more about the millennia-old history of Agon-Coutainville’s wooden fisheries, “Charlotte” and “Pierrette”, in the brochure “Des pêcheries en bois” (“Wooden fisheries” ). In particular, you can discover the secrets of this local material heritage by taking part in Anton’s Balade, where you’ll be invited to tour the oyster and mussel beds and ” La Petite” – the last remaining fishery at Agon-Coutainville, and by signing up for a visit to the “La Maillard” fishery at Hauteville-sur-Mer in the company of its ambassador Jean-Claude Lepeu. From the Passous dike, you can observe at low tide the “roques du Passous” or “Passous rocks” – according to the Norman language used! -all more or less visible and affectionately bearing their own little names, “Rocher de Baleine”, “Les Tannières”, “La Roque”, “La Ronde”, “La Salouze”Les Oiseaux”, among many others… They are made of phtanite, black in color and covered with algae, which can sometimes be recognized in old Agonais buildings.