Walk around Brech

Another lovely day dawned in Landévant – we were so lucky to be blessed with warm weather and clear skies in September and determined to spend as much time as possible outside. Today’s walk was around Brech, on the River Loch, and a few miles north of Auray– 8 kms of easy walking.

We parked in the shade outside the Eco Museum at St-Dégan, which was closed in the morning, and set off along lovely woodland tracks and sunken paths.

There was a Roman road connecting Vannes with Quimper and all that remains of one of the bridges at the Pont de Kerfroud is this crossing and small arch.

Sunken paths are very common in Brittany, with high walls on both sides, made of stone, or mud built up around the trees. Many are below the level of the surrounding fields. When we emerged from one of these tunnels we found the sign below. The Chouans were, amongst other things, a Royalist group who were against aspects of the French Revolution.

Bucolic scenes in the sunshine…

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And then the path returned to the woods, and past a fisherman before returning us to the car park – a lovely walk.

And then we drove to the Chapel of Saint Quirin with its associated Fountain. The Chapel was built in 1676 and belonged to the Kerivallan Mansion (about which I can’t find any information) and was unlike any of the other chapels I had seen in Brittany. Saint Quirin appears to have been a Roman soldier who converted to Christianity in c.200 AD and was martyred for his faith. This seems an odd choice for a dedication in rural Brittany – maybe I have the wrong saint… The Chapel is also described as a stopover for pilgrims en route to Ste Anne d’Auray, or perhaps even Santiago do Compostela.

The altarpiece of tufa and marble is lavish, thought to be the most spectacular in Morbihan, and designed by Olivier Martinet, an architect who lived in Auray and who also designed the altarpiece for the church in Auray, mid 1600s. The Chapel

And so we returned to the gîte – the end of a lovely day in Brittany.

Further information
The walk at St Dégan