We’re following the Finisterre coast north now and our first stop is at a church we passed on our way in on Tuesday. In the churchyard is the oldest calvary in France - it was made in 1450. Calvaries are unique to Brittany and consist of a large square base upon which there are many stone carvings. As you walk clockwise around the calvary the scenes form a walk-around Bible lesson.
Next stop, about 10km further up the coast we came to the Treguennec pebble crushing plant. This WW2 remnant was built to provide ballast for the concrete which was used to make the defensive structures in the area. At its peak it produced hundreds of cubic meters of crushed stone each week.
Next to the plant was part of the “Atlantic Wall”. This defensive system stretches from Spain to Norway and consists of guns, bunkers and other defensive structures. Here there is a wall about 20m tall and several hundred meters long - we had no idea that an actual wall had been built in some places!
After coffee we continued onwards until we arrived at the Chapelle de Languidou. This is a ruin because stone was taken to build defences during the civil war. The remains consist of stubby walls and the roof support pillars. There is an impressive stone surround of a large rose window remaining behind the altar.
Next up we headed to Mendez-Dregan which is the site of a number of Megalithic structures. Closest to the car park is a large necropolis which has been well preserved. It is interesting to see the various burial chambers in this ancient site and wonder what it originally looked like. There are some other structures along the coast path but as the wind was howling by now and there were frequent showers we decided not to risk it.
We were planning to drive to the Raz which is a high windswept headland to the west. However, given the weather we thought better of it and headed instead to Intermarche where there’s a Flot-bleu to empty our loo - exciting lives we lead!
We had lunch first as it was raining when we arrived. After emptying the tanks we headed to Lidl. What better way to spend a wet afternoon?
Fully stocked up for another week we drove on to Loperec where there is a free Aire de Camping Car. We filled our water tank and tucked Kiki into a corner before setting out for a look around this tiny town. The rain has stopped and the sun made an appearance as we wandered into the centre. Here we came across some information boards describing the history of the town. We followed the trail past the old school, blacksmiths forge and general store until we came to the church square. Here there were various other shops and trades including a wheelwright. We learnt that it used to take a whole month to make a single waggon wheel!
Continuing onwards we passed the town water reservoir which supplied water via steel pipes to the five taps around the town until the 1950’s. Down by the river we came to the wash house which was built after WW2 and used by the washerwomen until the 1960’s! The route followed the river out of town before looping back to where we are parked.
We had our evening meal before settling down for the night.
No comments:
Post a Comment