Wednesday 29th – Thursday 30th May 2024
Having gone as far west as we could go in Brittany, and still having just over a week of our trip left, we decided to head in the general direction of Caen for our ferry crossing next Saturday.
Wednesday: Pont-Criox and Concarneau, Finistère
Pont-Criox:
The small town of Pont-Criox is a short hop from our last stop-over in Audierne. In fact it is just 5 km up the Goyen river.
It is medieval settlement, with dwellings centred around the Monastery Church of Notre-Dame de Roscudon.
There are actually two churches. The Chapelle Saint-Vincent de Pont-Croix which we walked past and is less than 50 metres away, has clearly seen better days and is in a serious state of disrepair:
We took a walk down to the river bank to look for the pont (bridge).
Concarneau:
The harbour town of Concarneau is built around a bay which provides shelter for large and small vessels.
A ship of the french navy was there at the time of our visit and there were also some sailing ships.
The old town is all contained within a walled fortress which is on an island in the bay, with just one land-crossing.
If approaching from the east, you can catch a ferry which takes you into the rear of the island for a fare of 1 €.
The old town has a large number of retailers selling a range of souvenirs and food, but the property is substantially medieval in age:
The chocolaterie had a wide range to choose from and displayed some fine creations to show off their artisanship:
As well as many fine looking vessels, there were a few which seemed less well cared-for:
Outside the old town walls, the high street seemed busy, but the main tourist area is within the fortress.
We had a walk around part of the ramparts which gave a good view over the bay, but not much within the old town, just the back of buildings.
Thursday: Faouët and Pontivy, Morbihan.
When we left Concarneau, we also left the Finistère Department of Brittany, for the Morbihan Department. A much less tourist focused area, as the CampingCarPark aire we found near Faouët, had around 50 places, but we were the only ones there! Creepy, but we had a very quiet night (other than wildlife).
Faouët
The small town of Faouët is known for three main attractions, the huge covered market in the centre of the town which was surrounded by roadworks when we visited,
…and two small chapels, one the the south and the other to the north. Of the two, Chapelle Saint-Fiacre, to the south of the town is by far the most impressive, both inside and out:
There are many extraordinary details within the chapel, but the outstanding feature is the rood screen which is finely carved on both sides:
The Chapelle Sainte-Barbe du Faouët is to the north of the town. Ledgend has it that the local lord was caught in a terrible rock-fall and he prayed to St. Barbe, promising that he build a chapel to her if he survived.
The chapel is more impressive externally, especially the stone staircases which lead down to it.
The small chapel below, also has an altar and is dedicated to St. Michel Archangel.
Inside the Chapelle Sainte-Barbe, is still impressive:
Pontivy:
Apparenty Pontivy owes its name to a 7th century monk called Ivy, who built a bridge here and now the town is named after him. The was name changed to “Napoléonville”, “Bourbonville”, then “Napoléonville” again, before its original name was restored.
The town sits astride the river Blavet, which is also part of the Nantes to Brest Canal at this point.
There are numerous old buildings around the town:
The church is right in the centre of the town:
Its outstanding feature is a very elaborate altarpiece:
Pontivy is not really a major tourist detination, but there are some interesting shops. These two were almost opposite each other on Rue de Fil:
This shop also sells whiskies, but also some other things:
The town also has a large castle, The Château des Rohan, billed as the “Chateau of Rohan Dukes”, which was undergoing some renovation work when we visited:
We spent the night on a motorhome parking spot which allows up to 72 hours stay, but there are no services at this point. I believe there are services elsewhere in the town, but we did not seek them out.
"See-u-Later" 