Alignements de Gueldro

Trip No.203  Entry No.446  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Couldn't find on 16th Jun 2005

Log Text: I had three attempts at finding the remnants of this once important set of eight parallel rows, but found nothing. The best I found was a bit of uncultivated land, completely covered in gorse and not possible to get to, which was in about the right place, so that was probably it. I found no signs or any other reference to it until afterwards, and the place I found was definately the right place.

Goërem Dolmen

Trip No.203  Entry No.445  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Chambered Tomb Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 16th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: I came all the way out to this poor depressed village at the end of a long peninsula and stayed the night on the harbourside in order to visit this, "the finest angled passage grave in existance". Take a good torch it says. So on a nasty dull grey day I walk round the seafront and through the village till I eventually find it. It is right on the western seafront, in amongst the houses, and has a reasonable amount of land reserved around it. It would probably have a spectacular view if there was one to be seen through all the murk.

Its not a very big mound, just a big enough barrow to cover the passage grave, which is about 20 metres by 10 metres, and up to 3 metres in height maximum, perhaps more originally as the modern ground level is probably higher than it was, particularly with the sea wall here. The entrance is on the south side, but it's gated up, with an iron gate concreted in to the ground, so despite having two torches, I cannot enter and put them to use. But I have to say, that it's no doubt for the best, as the place is littered with broken bottles and other rubbish, with graffitti sprayed everywhere, and badly smelling of a toilet block. This poor little town is clearly suffering from a lack of jobs and investment, and seems to have a bit of a problem with bored youth compared to much of the rest of France. Its a great shame, as I was really looking forward to seeing this place properly. I would like to think that the excellent state of the internal structure is still as it was a few years ago, and that the engraved pillars of the passageway are still in good condition.

Menhir du Bourg (Plouhinec)

Trip No.203  Entry No.444  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 15th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: While driving from Pluhinec to look for the alignements at Kerzine, I found this 2.5 metre tall menhir, without a name, across a field near to a wood behind some houses.

Kerlutu Dolmen

Trip No.203  Entry No.443  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 15th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: This is a nice little dolmen sitting in a little mound in some fields just round the back of the houses, and a hundred or so metres walk. It's got a 3m by 2.5m chamber, partially made with slabs, partly with drystone walling. It is fully covered by its capstone, and there is no sign of an entrance corridor. This dolmen seems to be kept nicely clear of all undergrowth.

Kerguerhan Dolmen

Trip No.203  Entry No.442  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 15th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: This is a pleasant little dolmen sitting in a green area on the outskirts of the village of St Cado near Belz. It has a 3m by 2.5m oval chamber with its capstone still in place, and the first couple of rows of its entrance corridor with a capstone on top of them. Access to it would be possible by car, but my camper van wouldnt fit between the houses and round the corner, so it was a 600 metre walk from the village centre for me.

Kerhuen Dolmens

Trip No.203  Entry No.440  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 15th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: This is a nice find, pleasantly situated at the top of the hill on the village green, with a view over the Etel estuary and its oysterbeds. It's a dolmen with entry passageway, with an oval chamber about 4 metres by 3 metres. The capstone sits on several of the eight side slabs, but is no longer high enough to stand up in, having slipped down on one side. The remains of the passageway are only about 3 metres long, with one capstone surviving, but the road has cut through any more there may once have been. It faces about 140°. The weather is definitely clearing now.

Just 40 metres further up the village green to the south from the obvious dolmen, and hidden by a large oak tree, are the remains of another chamber. It was probably very similar to the northern one but now has no capstones at all, and the remains today are just an oval of slabs, with a couple of passage stones. Less than a hundred years ago, there were the remains of two more dolmens here, but which are now completely destroyed, their only remains now being slight depressions within the village green.

Dolmens des Sept Saints

Trip No.203  Entry No.439  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 15th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 2 Access 4

Log Text: This is a site which until a few days before I visited would have been completely overgrown, but thankfully has had all the gorse, blackthorn etc cut back and cleared.

What you get is a round mound, about 20 to 25 metres in diameter, with the very ruinous remains of three chambers with entry corridors. The central was probably the largest, but this is not much more than a depression in the mound. The northern still has its capstone and a recogniseable passageway, while the southern has an entry passage with one capstone still in place, but only half of a recognisable chamber.

Er Run Dolmen

Trip No.203  Entry No.438  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 15th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 2 Access 4

Log Text: This is a sad looking little dolmen in a field of sweetcorn, looking fallen and getting overgrown and unloved. It is in a hamlet plagued by mad dogs chasing after me, barking and growling continuously. There is a second dolmen here, even more hidden in the undergrowth.

Botlann Dolmen

Trip No.203  Entry No.437  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 15th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 2 Access 5

Log Text: This small dolmen can be found around the back of some new houses at the east of the village of Erdeven, on the road to Ploemel. A 3 metre by 2 metre capstone rests on three supports, with remains of a chamber 2 metres in width. All other remains have gone, but it stands here proudly for the moment, although I suspect that the capstone willl break before too long, looking at the cracks in it.

Géants de Kerzerho

Trip No.203  Entry No.436  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 15th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Fantastic.

Kerzerho Alignements

Trip No.203  Entry No.435  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Multiple Stone Rows / Avenue Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 15th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: Such wonderful stones, I just had to stop and wander around them again.

Sainte-Barbe alignement

Trip No.203  Entry No.434  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Multiple Stone Rows / Avenue Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 15th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: This is an interesting and strange place, slightly off the tourist trails to the west of the D.781 Carnac to Erdeven road near to the village of Ste Barbe. It seems to be two long, widely spaced rows of menhirs heading off parallel to each other at 120°, approximately 40 metres apart from each other. At the western end is a row of really massive stones running across between the rows, normal to them, creating a sort of horseshoe shape. There are just 4 stones, but two of them are the biggest standing stones I have seen anywhere, more than 5 metres in height, possibly 4 to 5 metres in width, and up to 2 metres thick. These must have taken some effort to get into position. It has probably all been altered over the years, and walls have been built into it, but its all most impressive.

Further walking around makes me think that it might not have been a massive horseshoe shape at all, as the presence of other stones in hedges etc suggests that there may have been more parallel lines of stones, about equally spaced either side. Its an intriguing place. I later read that there was once eight lines of stones here, in what was once a set of alignments of major importance. The weather is horribly humid at the moment.

Vieux-Moulin Alignement

Trip No.203  Entry No.433  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 15th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: This is a nice little row of 6 menhirs, up to 4 metres in height, standing on the slopes of a field just near to the busy D.781 Carnac to Erdeven road, just to the north of Plouharnel station. These are nicely shaped and positioned stones.

Rondossec Dolmens

Trip No.203  Entry No.432  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 15th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: This is a remarkably complete monument with three passage dolmens facing eastwards contained within a 20 metre diameter cairn, right near to the centre of the village.

The southernmost chamber is the smallest, a collapsed oval chamber of about 3 m by 2 m with a 5 metre long corridor leading to it, which is still mostly covered. The central chamber is one of those widening of the corridor types, up to 3 metres wide at the back and 5 metres in length, with a 6 metre long corridor. It is all still mostly covered, with two large capstones over the massive chamber.

The northern chamber is rectangular 4 m by 3 m with a 10 metre long entry passageway. It also has a small 2 m by 1 m side chamber off of its southern side, which is very unusual. Although one capstone is missing, the rest are still mostly in place. The two large chambers are high enough to stand up in. This monument had a steady stream of visitors while I was there.

Porz Guen Dolmens

Trip No.203  Entry No.431  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 15th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 5 Access 4

Log Text: Found on the clifftop to the north of the Porz Guen beach on the Cote Sauvage of the Quiberon Peninsula, just a few minutes walk around the spectacular cliff path from various parking places.

These are the remains of two ruined dolmens with entry corridors facing to the south east, probably once within the same large mound, and possibly also remains of a third. The more inland is the most complete, with one capstone surviving on the entry couloir. The chamber is about 3 m by 3 m rectangular and would have been roofed with large corbelled capstones around it, many of which survive. The second chamber is only half there, with some of it now gone over the cliff edge. It has an oval chamber, and a long corridor of which several stones survive. There are other upright positioned stones between the two.

This really is a spectacular place, overlooking a splendid rough sea with surfers out in it below. Excellent.

Quiberon menhir

Trip No.203  Entry No.430  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 15th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 2 Access 5

Log Text: A 5 metre tall menhir is to be found positioned in a little town square near to a war memorial in Quiberon town.

Menhir de Goulvars

Trip No.203  Entry No.429  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 15th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 2 Access 4

Log Text: This massive menhir is now sadly fenced in behind the SNCF holiday complex near to Pointe du Conguel out at the tip of the Quiberon peninsular. It can be found by taking the road beside the SNCF complex until it reaches the grassland behind them, and then taking the trackway to the left. The menhir is hidden behind some large trees and a hedge, and it took me two visits before I found it, my previous visit having taken the wrong track. It really is a lovely stone, well over 5 metres tall and 2 metres in width, and it has been shaped and smoothed. Finding this was a good start to a grotty looking day.

Conguel Menhir

Trip No.203  Entry No.428  Date Added: 21st May 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 14th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 2 Access 5

Log Text: This menhir, about 3 metres tall, has been moved to its current position just outside the SNCF holiday complex from a position nearby when building work was being undertaken. It now serves as a sort of garden feature, and is easily seen from the road.

Conguel Dolmen

Trip No.203  Entry No.427  Date Added: 21st May 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 14th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Beside the road running along the shore out to the tip of Pointe du Conguel, and incorporated into the pavement just outside the SNCF holiday complex, can be seen the remains of this burial chamber. Possibly, one side of it is natural rock, or perhaps a fallen capstone, but it has a definite backstone and two or three other side slabs. It is about 3.5 metres in length, by 1 metre wide, and the road slightly diverts to skirt around it.

Pointe de la Guérite allée couverte

Trip No.203  Entry No.426  Date Added: 21st May 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 14th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 5 Access 5

Log Text: This little allée couverte sits right on the clifftop, still surprisingly within its little cairn of stones, so what you get to see is its 6 capstones lined up facing away from the sea at 100°. It has been cut through by the road at the east end, so it is possible that it was longer than its current 6 metres. But what a superb position it occupies, overlooking the splendid Cote Sauvage.