Morlaix Day is the beginning of the end of our time in Brittany, France. It also falls on the first day of Rentrée. “À la rentrée” is a French expression to mean, “See you in September” or “See you this fall”, its the mark of when kids return to school, adults return to work and all of the holidaymakers flock back to where they came from. Hopefully that will mean a less crowded day!

This was one of those days where I mapped out a whole heap of things to do, and we actually had to keep to a bit of a schedule since some places close early and others are tide-dependent. Not to mention that it was one of the fullest days I’ve ever planned out, which means we will need as much time as we can possibly get! The good news is that most of these places are all surrounding a relatively small region of Morlaix Bay. But the road to access them requires a longer traverse along the coastline.

The Cairn de Barnenez

The day began with the Cairn de Barnenez which overlooks the Bay of Morlaix and remains the largest megalithic mausoleum in Europe. Its over 6500 years old (4500 BC), predating Egyptian pyramids and even Stonehenge! The structure, once covered in earth, looks a bit like a hammerhead shark with stepped sides. There are 11 dolmens or passage tombs, but only a couple of them are partially exposed. Excavations turned up Neolithic pottery, axes and arrowheads as well as Bronze Age pottery.

Our arrival was a tad later than I had hoped but it was deserted. I wasn’t even sure we arrived at the correct spot because the parking lot was so insignificant and other than the small Monument sign. We kind of hoped to sneak a peek at the monument from outside the gates, but the landscape made that impossible (They want you to pay to see it).

It was completely empty as we walked in and Jake purchased our tickets for €6/ea. The guy told him a bunch of stuff in French, but all we could understand was something about a walking tour that starts soon. We thanked him and let ourselves into the tiny little museum / shop, to read a little about the findings through excavation, which were all labeled in French so only gleaned a little bit of information before walking outside to see the real thing.

At first glance, it seems an unimpressive mound of granite stones that are stepped into the grassy knoll, almost blending in completely with the surroundings. At closer inspection we could see a few mausoleums, some of which we could even walk through. Its amazing to think that this structure has seen so much of life and history.

The sun was shining and the walk around this small monument was really nice.

Plouezoc’h

From here we followed the path down south toward Plouezoc’h, a very small village that boasts a lovely church. We took a leisurely pace and stopped every so often to snap some photos.

The small church had a dozen or so people milling outside who all seemed cheerful and acted as if service just got out. We walked in through the doors only to be faced with a procession of people, 6 pallbearers and a casket coming right towards us. Looks like we are accidentally crashing a funeral. OOPS! Thinking quickly I took my hat off (Jake did too) and I wrapped my camera around my back, to try to look less like a tourist, though I’m sure the jig was up. No one seemed to pay us any attention other than a few heads that glanced up from the squeaky door. Thankfully the procession turned to exit out the side of the church, giving us a chance to make a quick escape the way we came in.

Morlaix

So much for the Plouezoc’h adventure, our primary goal lay ahead at Morlaix. Its a beautiful and unique city at the mouth of a long bay and is a hub for maritime trade, sailers, fisherman, cruisers, you name it. Its also home to one of the few old aqueducts that sits very prominently, high over the city. The steep and narrow streets made driving a little challenging, especially when all of the roads converge into one small bottleneck, leaving us in a 3-way traffic jam. We could see the aqueducts ahead and pulled over into the first open space that we came upon, which happened to be right at the marina.

From here we walked along the waterfront toward the city. The reflection in the water was lovely and made for a more dramatic scene ahead. You couldn’t miss the aqueduct and as we meandered, Jake’s new mission was to get as close as possible to the aqueduct, and maybe even walk on it.

From down below its difficult to say what we can access but we found a path that lead straight up not far from the aqueduct below and thought to follow it. The narrow streets were linked by flights of stone steps that lead up up up and up some more. The first landing was the entrance to a monument, another church.

The doors were ajar and so we let ourselves in. Again its so beautiful and elegant. The majesty of the church with the viaduct spanning the town over it’s shoulder was impossible to resist.

Eglise Saint-Melaine

Back outside we continued working our way up the stairs, breathing heavily. I thought we were in good shape but the walk was definitely tough and steep. But it looked promising because we were getting nearer to what looked like a pathway to the lower aqueduct.

We were rewarded with gorgeous views. ‘Venelle aux Prêtres’ (Priests’ Alley) takes you to the first level of the viaduct. This is the symbol of the city, and a crowning glory that overlooks a lovely mosaic of slate roofs and breathtaking views over the old town. From here we followed a path toward the lower-archways, with absolutely wonderful views of the city…the endless city from way up here. It reminded me of Edinburgh, Scotland with the hillside terraces and rooftops that go on and on for infinity.

I can’t believe we can walk across this entire thing, or how impressively high the upper-level is. The point of the aqueduct is obviously to collect water, and so there is a slant – ever so slight, that is purpose-built to funnel water to a holding area for the city. Its brilliant.

The trek back down was a lot easier, and faster. The city went on for miles ahead but we still have a lot of things to see, so we opted to skip it and head back to the car to push on ahead.

Carantec and Pointe de Pen-al-Lann

With all of the fun sights we were feeling the pangs of hunger and surprised at how quick the time has flown today. There were some dark clouds rolling into Morlaix, but they looked to be clearing as we continued out of the city heading north toward Carantec. The next place on the docket is Pointe de Pen-al-Lann. I didn’t know much about this area other than it could be a really nice spot for lunch simply because its on the coast. We have yet to be disappointed by any of the Pointe’s so I just hope this one lives up to the others.

It didn’t take much to find ourselves outside of the city and back in the wilderness, lovely birch trees and grassy knolls with gorgeous flowers blooming in all sorts of colors. As we followed the directions, we made a turn into what you might call a “suburb”, a small tightly knit grouping if stone-homes, all of which with tiny little yards and overlooking the water. The road disappeared to dirt. There were 2 very tiny signs 2 Pointe’s but obviously the car had reached the end of the line. So we parked, grabbed our picnic bag and headed out on the dirt trail. We followed it through a thick forest and low ferns until everything dropped away and the sky opened up.

There was a most spectacular view that was hidden from us just a few moments before. In front of us were the gorgeous turqoise water of the Bay, a massive chateau on an island and the lighthouse on the other. We definitely weren’t expecting anything like this. It was so beautiful!

Jake made us a delicious lunch, homemade baguettes, cheese, sausage and homemade granola bars. As we ate we soaked in the sun and views, and could hear a couple down in the water below. From here I didn’t realize the beach was accessible but we spotted the trail and decided to head down after our grubbage. Too bad I didn’t bring my suit!

Tahiti Beach lay below just begging for us to explore. We were amazed that no one was here (yay Rentrée!) to have such a magnificent view of Louët Island and its lighthouse, as well as the castle of Taurus Island, a 16th century fortress that once protected the bay from enemy attacks. We walked for awhile just happy to be here alone for now.

Ile Callot on Pennénez is an island that is accessible by foot during low-tide. This is why the timing of our day was so important because I hoped that we could actually get out for a walk and check this place out. Its not far from our lunch spot and could be interesting.

Well it wasn’t quite what we imagined. We drove up as far as we dared and then parked just at the edge of the road. This place was extraordinarily crowded, so much for Rentrée. We joined the group following them down the road, which is clearly exposed at low-tide. A bunch of people were shelling off in the distance and there were a bunch of boats that were moored on the hard. Who knows when its due to come back in, but after a little bit of walking, we decided that this hike was not at all exciting, so we bailed.

Saint-Pol-de-Leon

We were making good progress today. The next stop was to check out not one, but two churches in Saint-Pol-de-Leon. I read that both of these churches are supposed to be very significant and bring loads of locals and tourists alike. And based on our understanding of the layout of most of these French villages, we simply headed toward the tallest buildings, which will likely indicate our destination; as churches always tend to have the tallest spires.

That is all well and good, but without specific directions, we somehow ended up on a walking path instead of a road. The cobblestone roadway simply ended into a path and it looked as though we were about to drive straight into a cafe when all of a sudden there was a tiny little parking area with a car that was just pulling out. What great luck! We pulled in and found ourselves straight in front of the massive Cathedral that I saw from a distance.

There was actually pairings on the roof and a magnificent rose-shaped stained glass window, and just so many intricate and gorgeous details. Some of the tombs in here are from the 1400’s and some of the marble tombs are designed after their person – one reminded me of a Seinfeld episode and I couldn’t stop laughing!

Cathedral Saint-Paul-Aurelien
This 13th-century cathedral which stands on the site of the original church founded by Saint Paul Aurélien in the 6th century. The façade is dominated by two polygonal unsymmetrical 50 meter towers. Above the central door is a terrace which enabled the bishop to address a crowd and give blessings and under the right-hand tower is a small door used in the Middle Ages as an entrance for lepers. One dominant feature is the massive Rose Window with intricate stained glass that tells the story of Jesus being crucified.

Beyond its great architectural significance, the cathedral shelters a multitude of unusual artistic curiosities There is a huge organ that was built in 1657-1660 that is composed of over 2,000 pipes. There are also several relics including a crystal tube with a thorn from Christ’s own crown. There are several stone tombs containing some extraordinary people; Marie-Amice Picard who survived 17 years without taking any food. A Roman sarcophagus which is thought to be the sepulture of Conan Mériadec, first Christian king of Brittany, who died in 421.

Two of the marble tombs reminded me of an episode of Seinfeld…

Chapel of Notre-Dame du Creisker
Nearby is the Chapel of Notre-Dame du Creisker. The origin of the chapel goes back to the 6th century. A young linen maid worked on a holiday honoring the Virgin, despite Saint Kirec disapproval and the punishment was that she became completely paralysed. After her repentance the Saint healed her and she gave him her house to be converted into a chapel. The chapel was called “Kreis-Ker” because it was located in the middle of a village, in the inner suburb of St Pol de Léon.

Still today, the chapel and its tower applies a powerful presence on the city.

Roscoff

From here we only had one more place on our docket at the top of the bay, specifically in the city of Roscoff. Even though we were tired, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to at least check out the area, especially since we have no plans to return anytime soon.

We ended up visiting the Botanical Gardens, which were very beautiful on this warm and sunny day. It was a nice way to end the day and offered some marvelous views of the bay. There is a large marina down the way with a ton of cruising boats, sailing boats, even a large cruise-ship. We spotted one very bright pink boat that looked exactly like one of those seen in America’s Cup or Volvo Ocean Race.

Pleyben and Camaret-Sur-Mer

At this point, we’ve seen so many churches that I have to give homage to a couple that were passed over. One of these is in a village called Pleyben and the other in Camaret-Sur-Mer.

The Church of St Germain of Auxerre at Pleyben is one of the great Parish Enclosures with more than a church but it includes calvary, sacristy, a mini “arch-de-triumph” and a full walled enclosure. The building is dominated by two bell-towers; the “Saint Germain” which is topped by a lanterned dome and the second tower with a Gothic-styled spire. Between the two is a stair turret with pinnacles and a spire. The Triumphal Arch of 1725 is also known as the ‘Gate of the Dead’ as coffins would enter through the archway.

This last Church is one that we actually visited when we were in Camaret-Sur-Mer. Its a tiny church by comparison to the other’s we have seen, but its no less lovely.

The Chapelle Notre Dame de Rocamadour is another beautiful and distinctly different type of church in Brittany, but no less beautiful. The chapel is the heart of the pilgrimage of Rocamadour. For nearly a thousand years, pilgrims from all over the world come to meet the Virgin Mary. Sheltered from the rock, holding her Son on her knees, she awaits them. The name of Rocamadour comes from the Breton rock-to-my-dour – rock in the middle of the water.

I think that you could travel to France, and specifically Brittany to go on a “Church-Crawl”. There is so much beauty and history and depth to be seen in every large and small church dotted across the countryside. I’m happy that we were able to witness and experience a small part of that.