A drive through north-west France

[RooFlyer]

Bit of revision





The dining hall













And at the other end, there is Oliver de Clisson himself.

 

[RooFlyer]

More of the grounds

 

[RooFlyer]

The Basilica of Our Lady of the Bramble (La basilique Notre-Dame-du-Roncier) . As you'd expect a long and involved history

The church was rebuilt at the end of the 12th century after the destruction of the town in 1168 by King Henry II of England . Only the chancel reveals any vestiges of this original structure. The vaulting of the false transept and the enlargement of the chancel were carried out in the following century. At the end of the 14th century , the knight and constable Olivier V de Clisson and his second wife, Marguerite de Rohan, had the south apse transformed into an oratory and private chapel . The nave and south aisle were built between 1461 and 1470 by Lord Jean II de Rohan , while the north aisle was completed in 1491, at which time a square tower was erected in the center of the north aisle. This tower contained a strongroom. In 1705, the upper part of the tower collapsed. During the repair work, a bell tower was placed on top between 1731 and 1734.

Oliver de Clisson (1336-1407) and his wife

 

[RooFlyer]

Some of the outside ornamentation. Love a good gargoyle or grotesque.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Did you go here @Jacques Vert ?

No, missed that one...I tend to be a coastal dweller.

 

[RooFlyer]

No, missed that one...I tend to be a coastal dweller.

Wonder who I am thinking of who did French canals?

 

[Jacques Vert]

Wonder who I am thinking of who did French canals?

Yes that was me; I thought you were referring to the town of Malestroit rather than the canal.

I've spent time on the Canal du Midi and the Canal du Nivernais only. Perhaps it's time to check out another canal....

 

[RooFlyer]

Another walk around the town





Dinner at the hotel opposite the chateau





Cold pea soup and fish n' chips, without the chips?

 

[TheRealTMA]

Just lovely small french villages.

 

[RooFlyer]

Josselin to Mont St Michel today, via Merlin's tomb.







Better still, nearby. Luckily I brought my swimmers!



Maybe not. A sip?



Yes! Voila!



Full of youth & vigour, I added an extra stop - Tombe Anglais



Really just another neolithic site, heavily disturbed, it became known as the Englishman's tomb during the Hundred Years war

 

[RooFlyer]

Onto Mont St Michel - one of the highlights of my trip. I booked the Mercure which is excellently placed right on the free shuttle bus ride to the Mont. I covered the actual hotel stay here.

Its typical Mercure standard - basic, but comfortable. A Motel feel about it. An issue though - its in the Caserne area, little service village which is behind a boom gate. The Mercure sent me a code for the gate, which was fine, but I discovered later that it was 20 euro/24hrs.



Shuttle busses are bi-directional, saving having to turn around at the Mont (they actually terminate on the bridge about 300m from the Mont entrance. They park, then the driver goes to the other end and drives off, changing side of the road. Every 15 mins from early to 11pm this time of year (June), later in July/August.

 

[RooFlyer]

Dumped my gear and I was off to the Mont! Nice fine day, abt 25 degrees. Tide was out; the area has one of the biggest tidal ranges in the world.







There are wide footpaths either side of the roasd on the bridge, but some just need to use the road, notwithstanding ...





This was just a recce; I have an Abbey tour in the morning. So up the Grande Rue, packed, as expected.





The steps up to the Abbey entrance and ticket office; I turned around at that point -



and walked the ramparts around the town.





Walked the 2.6km back to the Mercure via the dam.





For many years, the Mont was attached to the mainland by a causeway. This caused the area around the causeway to silt up and the Mont would eventually become an isthmus. In 2014 a large project was finished whereby a bridge was built to the Island, the causeway was taken away and a dam was put on the Couesnon River, which is tidal. At high tide, the gates are opened and the river fills with water. The gates close as the tide turns and at some later point they are slowly opened. leading to a stream of water entering the bay close to the bridge, flushing sediment out.

 

[RooFlyer]

In the evening I went back to have dinner. The only place I could find with an outside terrace turned out to be pretty ordinary - the old saying, good location, cough food/service. The guy managed to forget my beer twice. I had moules frits and a number of little mussels - I later learned that it wasn't mussel season.