Starting off for Brittany
Finally, time off in Brittany! The overnight ferry from Portsmouth delivers us to St Malo early in the morning. I haven’t finished writing about the Parish Enclosures, but I will be returning to those in the weeks ahead.
The Church of Saint Yves in La Roche-Maurice
The Church of Saint Yves was built in the 16C on the site of a 14C Chapel built by the Rohan family, the rulers in the area. From the ruined castle you can look down on the church enclosure in … Continued
The Church of St Yves in La Roche-Maurice
The first castle at La Roche-Maurice was built in the 5C, and followed by another in the 11C, but this was demolished on the order of the King of France. There was also an early Chapel which has gone. The current Enclos … Continued
A walk from St-Cadou
St Cadou is named after Saint Cadoc (aka Cadmael) who founded the Abbey of Llancarfan in Wales in the 6C, and then retired to Brittany to live as a hermit. The town dates to the Middle Ages, the Church is 17C, … Continued
Ile de Batz & a garden
On the north coast of Brittany, there are two wonderful gardens: the Jardin Botanique et Exotique in Roscoff, and the Jardin Georges Delaselle on the Île de Batz. A short, 15-minute ferry trip took us from Roscoff to Porz Kernok on the island … Continued
A visit to Brest
Brest is the biggest town in Finistère and the second biggest military port in France but although we had visited Brittany three times we had never been to Brest. So we parked overlooking the harbour, on the edge of the … Continued
The Church of Lampaul-Guimiliau
I love the Church at Lampaul-Guimiliau, one of the Enclos Paroissiaux in western Brittany built with wealth created by growing flax and trading in canvas and linen in the 16C-18C.
Inside the Church at Guimiliau, Brittany
The Church in Guimiliau is a classic Enclos Paroissial of the 16C-17C: walled enclosure with a Triumphal Arch (for the dead), Ossuary, Calvary, South Porch, Sacristy, and Church. I explore the external carvings every time I visit, and the interior of the … Continued
The Church of Guimiliau, Brittany
The Church of Guimiliau is named after Miliau, a Breton Prince who was decapitated by his brother in c.542 and later sanctified. (Of course history is not quite so clear – there are several different versions of his tory!)