Fougères

After Quimper we moved to Fougères. The only campsite here is the municipal site on the edge of town. It is very pleasant and not too busy. Although it was quite basic I did get an extra which was a mouse in my shower one day.

Fougères' major monument is a medieval stronghold built on a granite ledge, which was part of the ultimately unsuccessful defence system of the Duchy of Brittany against French aggression.

Fougères also has one of only three belfries in Brittany. Its location serves as the centre of the weekend market, which we visited. The belfry, built 1397, has symbolic importance: funded by local merchants it allowed ordinary people access to timekeeping previously the preserve of the church and nobility.

The Belfry

In the gardens behind Eglise St. Leonard

An English lady offered to take our photo and we asked ‘How long was she staying here for?’ She replied’ I’ve lived here for 15 years!’ must be nice then.

There was a wedding at the Eglise

                        their car                                   the happy couple

    

Fougères fortress – the largest fortress in France

 

Fougères Castle is an amazing monument of medieval military architecture, but also considered one of the best preserved fortified castles in Europe.

Today the castle has been preserved in its authentic form, as it was constructed during the last half of the 15th century. It has a structure, which is made up of three main parts and is a very good example of a medieval fortress.

The first barrier of Fougères Castle serves to protect the castle and is the central place to attack enemies. The second barrier was the place in those centuries where everyday life was bubbling. This area is also used to shelter people in case of attack on the fortress. The third barrier was fenced to protect the entire fortress. Then followed the main retaining walls before the trench was excavated. In cases of attack it was filled with water for better defence.

     

       

Buildings in Fougères

  

Lavoir du Nançon – the old laundry

Altogether we were away 4 weeks and travelled about 950 miles in total. We returned by Brittany Ferries on the Caen – Portsmouth route. For the first time ever we stayed on the docks overnight in amongst other Brits – we felt quite safe and didn’t have to travel too far for the ferry in the morning – 200 metres. Also there was not strike to hold us up like there was last year. A good holiday all-round.

 A new gizmo

Collage creator for some of the photos seen and not seen 

Oldie photo – 1982  Island of Thassos, Greece

This is before our caravanning days, here we are on the way back from Istanbul.

Quimper – Brittany

We moved on to Quimper next and stayed at Camping Orangerie de Lanniron, this is part of the Castel Camping group which are the up market campsites in France. At the time we visited we were not paying up market prices.

This property belonged to the bishops of Quimper, counts of Cornouaille, for thousand years:  some charters of the 13th century were even signed here. In the 15th century, Lord Bertrand de Rosmadec erected a new manor which his successors used until the end of the 18th century either as a permanent residence or a summer residence. In the 13th century Lord François de Coëtlogon extended the property. He will be remembered not only for his great deeds as a bishop but also for creating wonderful gardens.

The campsite was situated in the gardens behind the chateau, by the number of apples on the car in the morning we were in what was the orchard. The swimming pool complex is new this year and very smart.

    

We had made arrangements to meet Joan and Udo, at the campsite, here who had driven from Northern Germany, about 650 miles, a rather long way. Here we are on one of geocaching adventures along the Odet River.

    

Notre-Dame des Carmes church (1383-1420) is in the Gothic style with many old statues and a very nice rose window over the high altar that is considered the loveliest in Bretagne. I thought this tower was very impressive.

More geocaching along the coast. We bumped into another geocacher who was organising a Mega Event and thrust a card into our hands advertising it.

  

Concarneau - Its main attraction is the walled town, with its character houses, built during the 17th and 20th centuries by lawyers, tradesmen, painters and sailors. Concarneau from the 18th century onwards became a major fishing and trading port, specialising in sardines. The canning factories prospered (there were 31 in 1930, but only 4 remain today).

Inside the walled town. It’s very picturesque, but also full of tourists. A welcome break.

   

Quimper is the ancient capital of La Cornouaille, Brittany’s most traditional region, and has a distinctive Breton character. Quimper was originally settled during Roman times. In the 11th century, it was united with the Duchy of Brittany. During the civil wars of the 14th century, the town suffered considerable ruin.

The town has a rustic atmosphere with foot bridges spanning the rivers. The Cathedral of Saint-Corentin, with its Gothic-style façade, was constructed between the 13th and 16th centuries. It is the oldest Gothic structure in lower Brittany. Its two towers are 250 feet tall; its spires were added in the 19th century. The cathedral is dedicated to Quimper's first bishop, Corentin.

         

Out and about in Quimper.

  

Traditional Dress – if the photo looks a bit iffy it is! It is a photo from the side of a van.

Another oldie photo from 1970’s. This was taken on Brunnenstraße in Berlin. The Berlin Wall is to the right. The guy with the hair is Stuart.

Carnac and Trinité-sur-Mer

The Carnac stones are a collection of megalithic sites around the village of Carnac. They consist of alignments, dolmens, tumuli and menhirs. There are more than 3,000 prehistoric standing stones here. This is the the largest collection of standing stones in the world.

Most of the stones are within the Breton village of Carnac, but some to the east are within La Trinité-sur-Mer. The stones were erected during the Neolithic period, probably around 3200 BC, but some may date to as old as 4400 BC. In recent centuries, many of the sites have been neglected, with reports of dolmens being used as sheep shelters, chicken sheds or even ovens. More commonly, stones have been removed to make way for roads or as building materials.

We had some quite windy and rainy weather whilst in this area so we had to choose our day for the visit so we had a clear view of everything.

View from lookout tower looking west.

 

Sue on the tower         Stones close up – there is a fence around the site

        

Kermario Dolmen  - a portal grave

Further along the alignments set back in the woods is this Manio Quadlilateral which is 121 feet long by 33 feet wide. There was a geocache in the vicinity so it was a good afternoon out.

 

The campsite at Trinité-sur-Mer was good with an indoor pool.

This is the first time we had put the awning up on the new caravan. It fitted without any bother – thank goodness.

 

Preparations being made for ‘Les Voiles de L’Espoir’  which I believe translates into ‘ Sails of Hope’. The weather the following day was horrendous so I hope everything went according to plan.

            En Route ***                                         The harbour

    

One of our geocaching adventures took us to an island which was uncovered at low tide. Fortunately we made it there and back before the tide came in. We weren’t too bothered because there must have been 20-30 people collecting shellfish and they were still busy when we arrived at the car park.

        Rock piles on the island.                 Returning to the mainland.

 

This trimaran belonging to the Rothschild Group was berthed in Trinité. The actual size doesn’t come over well in the photo – the mast is 62 feet high!

 

*** Not my photo  Well it is, but I photographed a poster.