The Thabor Gardens in Rennes
When you visit Rennes do not miss a walk around The Thabor Gardens!
The Museum of Fine Arts, Rennes
Wonderful, elegant, wide-ranging displays
Wandering in Old Rennes
The Mediaeval City of Rennes is fabulous despite the disastrous fire of 1720. I wandered with my camera and here I just want to share some of the sights.
A City Break in Rennes
Rennes seems an unlikely ‘City Break’ but the one and a half days we spent here were absolutely delightful and I can thoroughly recommend the town, the administrative capital of Brittany, as a stopover to anyone travelling in France. We … Continued
Parc Botanique de Haute Bretagne
As in 2015 the first day in France included a visit to the Parc Botanique de Haute Bretagne. I am going to write about the visit on my gardening site so here is just a taste of this lovely place.
Setting off for Brittany
It is time for my annual ‘French Fix’ and so we set off good and early for the overnight Brittany Ferry from Portsmouth to St Malo. Well, something was clearly wrong as we sat and waited, and waited, and eventually sailed an … Continued
Thetford Priory
This is confusing – the Cluniac Order was founded by William I of Aquitaine and a Benedictine Monk, Saint Berno, appointed as the first Abbot at the Abbey of Cluny in 910. The order spread quickly but Priories were controlled by the mother house … Continued
Ickworth House
It seems that the Manor of Ickworth was a gift from Theodred, Bishop of London (died c.951), to the Abott of St Edmunds and in 1184 came into the hands of the de Ickworth family. A licence to create a park at … Continued
Wyken Hall Gardens
Wyken Vineyards is more than vineyards: there is a manor house dating from 1570 with later additions, and ‘..gardens which include a rose garden, topiary, herb garden, vegetable garden, maze, dell, wild garden, nuttery and an orchard, in addition to a commercial vineyard … Continued
The Gothic Churches in Santarem
It was our last day in Portugal and we lingered for a few hours in Santarém before reluctantly boarding the plane at Lisbon Airport. We managed to see some of the wonderful churches in this ‘must return’ town.