Dolmen du Grand-Bouillac

Trip No.203  Entry No.266  Date Added: 24th Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Vendée (85))
Visited: Yes on 6th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: This is a mid sized dolmen with entrance passageway. The main chamber is about 3 metres square with its single capstone slightly fallen. As with many of the dolmens around here, it has a smoothed limestone slab as a floor. There are a couple of entrance passage stone pairs, one of these still with its capstone.

There is a sign which states that until a century ago, there were many menhirs within a few hundred metres of this dolmen, which was still within a large mound at that time.

Dolmen du Griffier

Trip No.204  Entry No.111  Date Added: 3rd Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Yes on 17th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: This dolmen can be found in a field beside the road running west from the village of Coulon, after about a kilometre. The remains are enclosed in a clump of bushes and a tree, about 20 metres from the road. The capstone has collapsed, leaving what at first look is not much more than a heap of stones. Closer inspection reveals it to be an Angevin dolmen, 5m by 2.5m, with an entrance porchway to the south. Unfortunately, the ploughs are getting too close, and are causing damage to the stones.

Dolmen du Jarrier

Trip No.202  Entry No.72  Date Added: 29th Mar 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Normandie:Orne (61))
Visited: Yes on 2nd May 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 2 Access 3

Log Text: A mile or so south of the village centre across both the river and railway on the road to Anglure. The dolmen can be found just before (north of) a crossroads at the top of the hill about 40 metres to the west of the road in a well protected field right under a hedge. It consists of a large capstone resting on four uprights. Typical for this region there is nowhere to park and of course no signs to signify its presence.

Dolmen du Jogard

Trip No.202  Entry No.28  Date Added: 26th Mar 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Normandie:Manche (50))
Visited: Yes on 26th Apr 2005. My rating: Condition 1 Ambience 2 Access 3

Log Text: A much ruined dolmen just northwest of the village of St Germain-des-Vaux on Cap de la Hague right at the northwestern tip of the Cherbourg peninsular.

I am not 100 percent sure that what I saw and photographed in a downpour was the remains of this dolmen or not but it was in the right sort of place. What I saw was a single stone remaining in a field beside the track beyond the house called Le Jogard. I could not enter the field to see if there were any other stones flat to the ground here and there were several loose cows which came and wanted to inspect me !

Dolmen du Lac (Le Cheix)

Trip No.204  Entry No.183  Date Added: 21st Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Auvergne:Puy-de-Dôme (63))
Visited: Yes on 24th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Blimey, it was an effort to get here from Mont Dore, along miles and miles of windy narrow roads in the mountains. From the hamlet of Le Cheix on the D.978 road, take the small lane to the south across the river and then winding up into the hills. Despite some trepidation, the camper van got through the narrow gaps between the buildings, and up the ferociously steep windy lanes. Eventually I came to a junction signposted Le Lac, managed to find a place to park, and got out and walked along this other lane for about half a kilometre.

The dolmen is squashed between a football pitch and a big holiday home, near to a lake. It has got itself a mound, and on top of the mound a 4 metre by 2.5 metre capstone sort of sits on several other stones, but it is all sort of collapsed, and not very high off the ground. It is not very well cared for either, with all sorts of junk piled up around it.

This is a nice place to be, but was it worth all the massive effort to get here ? After visiting the dolmen, I went to look for the Jonas Caves troglodite dwellings, which are way up in the hills beyond the dolmen. This basically consisted of climbing up the cliff in the camper van, first gear for several kilometres. What an absolutely fantastic view from above, with the house and lake seen right below, nestling in amongst all the volcanic cones. Superb.

Dolmen du Mas de Coti

Trip No.203  Entry No.197  Date Added: 20th Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Midi:Lot (46))
Visited: Yes on 31st May 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Sat in a field just beside the D.65 road to the northeast of the village of Varaire near to the Calvarie can be found the remains of this dolmen. It is 4 metres in length, by 1.5 metres wide and 1.5 metres high, with the long capstone broken into two pieces, facing eastwards at 074°. It has in the past been used as a shelter, and a bit of a wall has been built at the back, and the gap in the capstone covered over. As is often the case, there is a tree growing around it.

Dolmen du Moulin à Vent

Trip No.204  Entry No.309  Date Added: 12th Sep 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Couldn't find on 12th Aug 2005

Log Text: I found the old windmill to the northeast of Broc, but saw no signs of any dolmen.

Dolmen du Parc (Saint-Nectaire)

Trip No.204  Entry No.184  Date Added: 24th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Auvergne:Puy-de-Dôme (63))
Visited: Yes on 25th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: This is a pleasant dolmen, sat on a hillside within a sort of sports activity park above the thermal spa and roman baths of St-Nectaire (of cheese fame). It can be found easiest by following the path up the hillside from near to the art-deco Casino, or from other footpaths in the area.

The dolmen has a 3.5m by 2.5m capstone sat up high on five support stones, with a rectangular chamber below, and is made of volcanic blocks. It faces towards the east, which is strangely looking straight into the hillside.

It made me think how people have been in this place for so long, probably due to the hot springs in the valley just a little below. And people still come here to this day to spend time at the thermal spa, even with hot and cold running water everywhere.

Dolmen du Pech (Cazals)

Trip No.205  Entry No.36  Date Added: 19th Oct 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Midi:Tarn-et-Garonne (82))
Visited: Yes on 2nd Sep 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Despite not being marked on any ign maps I have seen, this box tomb dolmen is easily found as it is right beside the D.75B between Bourdoncle and Doumerc by the road to Frau. Subject of an excavation in 1989, and reconstruction in 1992, it is now fenced in, presumably for protection, but it looks terribly ugly because of that.

The chamber seems to be of a double type, open to the east, with a large first chamber 4.5 metres by 2.5 metres between two large side slabs, followed by the smaller chamber between side slabs one metre apart. A single large capstone covers the back chamber and a part of the first, and there is a secondary loose stone structure on the top, covering the capstone. The front of the chamber is walled off from the outside. The odd thing about this dolmen is the rectangular mound it is contained within, which has been subject to a perhaps over-enthusiastic reconstruction. There are other rectangular tombs like this, especially in this locality, but somehow this seems too regular and uniform. The dimensions of the stone mound are about 10 metres wide by 25 metres long. The back, western, end is curved and not squared. The whole thing is most odd.

While reversing to try and park the van here, I completely missed seeing a roadsign and flattened the thing completely - luckily it was only loosely held in the ground and did no damage, and was easy to stand up again !

Dolmen du Pech Cayrou

Trip No.203  Entry No.119  Date Added: 7th Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Midi:Lot (46))
Visited: Yes on 23rd May 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: This one's a bit of a walk up a track and then into a field, but well worth the small effort. Its almost totally enclosed within its mound, with just the large 4 by 3 metres capstone showing above the ground, except to one side where the chamber has been dug into. Most of the chamber is obscured by a large sideslab which has fallen into it, so its difficult to make anything out here.

Apart from the by now normal orchids everywhere, there are the most amazing and vividly coloured butterflies all around this dolmen, and some fantastic views over the Dordogne river valley to the north. There is another mound close by, but thickly covered by bushes and scrub. I could see no obvious remains of a dolmen there, but I wouldnt be surprised if it was one.

Dolmen du Pech Laglayre 0

Trip No.203  Entry No.150  Date Added: 15th Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Midi:Lot (46))
Visited: Yes on 25th May 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 3

Log Text: Dolmens (plural) are marked on my ign map (and on the Michelin too) to the southwest of Gréalou near to the GR65 footpath so I went for a walk to have a look. The first I came to was nothing much more than a stone mound with a wall going over the top. But there was a collapsed chamber in the middle hence a depression and bits of capstone can still be seen.

Dolmen du Pech Laglayre 1

Trip No.203  Entry No.151  Date Added: 15th Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Midi:Lot (46))
Visited: Yes on 25th May 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: High up on top of this dry and barren hill is another mound on top of which can be seen a capstone when approaching. The remains of a central chamber 3m by 1.5 m are clear with its capstone on top. What is slightly less clear is what looked to me like a second chamber in line with the central one to the west and still with a capstone in place on fallen supports. You can see for miles and miles all around up here a place fit for a king but the flies are a dammed nuisance and put me off staying for long.

Dolmen du Pech Laglayre 2

Trip No.203  Entry No.152  Date Added: 15th Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Midi:Lot (46))
Visited: Yes on 25th May 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: After passing various other inconclusive mounds I came across the third proper dolmen I found up here near to some woods and in the nice cool shade at the junction of a couple of track. This is what I call a proper dolmen with most of its mound disappeared for use in the nearby wall no doubt and so it is standing proud on the hillside. The chamber is about 3 metres long by 1.8 m wide and is oriented at about 130°. The capstone sits nicely on top at the usual jaunty angle due to a broken side slab on the south side.

Dolmen du Peyre-Dusets

Trip No.205  Entry No.54  Date Added: 25th Oct 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Midi:Hautes-Pyrénées (65))
Visited: Yes on 6th Sep 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: To the northwest of the village of Poueyferré, take the road up into the hills towards the Dechetterie and park as near as possible to the Chemin Henry IV trackway which runs along the top of the ridge here. Take this ancient trackway northwards, and walk for about a kilometer, where the Peyre-Dusets dolmen can be found. It is signposted.

The dolmen is right beside the track and has a 2 metres by 1 metre chamber covered by a partially fallen capstone which is fairly round and about 2.5 metres in diameter. The dolmen faces towards the southeast and probably has fantastic views towards the mountains, but unfortunately no view at all today while I am here. There is a semblance of the remains of a mound at the back and to the west of the dolmen.

There are lots of deer in and out of the maize in the fields around here, and chestnuts falling onto me from the trees surrounding the lane, which is nice.

Dolmen du Plo de Laganthe

Trip No.200  Entry No.85  Date Added: 18th Jun 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Midi:Tarn (81))
Visited: Yes on 24th Sep 2000. My rating: Access 5

Log Text: Roadside dolmen visited on a drive SE from Toulouse to explore Les Montagnes Noire. Revel, Saissac, Mas Cabardès, Chateaux de Lastours, Gorges de la Clamoux, Dolmens, Mazamet, Toulouse.

Dolmen du Puech Roussel

Trip No.203  Entry No.140  Date Added: 10th Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Midi:Lot (46))
Visited: Couldn't find on 24th May 2005

Log Text: On my ign 1:25000 map, theres a dolmen marked right beside the road here, but could I find it ? I spent ages looking, but no, I did not find it. Studying the map closely after this, I don’t see how I could possibly have missed this, everything else matches exactly, even the swallow hole.

Dolmen Du Riholo

Trip No.203  Entry No.313  Date Added: 29th Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Loire-Atlantique)
Visited: Yes on 9th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: This is a nice site, up on top of a mound surrounded by forest, although it was difficult to make out what exactly remains here. It seems to be a T shaped arrangement, perhaps an east west oriented chamber with an additional northern part ? I must try to look it up somewhere. Basically, what remains are lots of stones on top of a big mound, with one or two capstones still in place.

Dolmen du Val d’Avril

Trip No.204  Entry No.282  Date Added: 11th Sep 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Centre:Loire-et-Cher (41))
Visited: Couldn't find on 8th Aug 2005

Log Text: I could see mothing obvious of the Butte de Champart to the south of the village of Tripleville, despite walking all around the area. It is perhaps all in the trees in the back garden of a house, behind the large woodshed.

Dolmen le Roc del Ser (Faux)

Trip No.203  Entry No.107  Date Added: 6th Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Aquitaine:Dordogne (24))
Visited: Couldn't find on 21st May 2005

Log Text: Supposedly very close to the D.19 is this 5 metre long stone the remains of a dolmen capstone but I couldn’t find it. Have to say that by now I wasn’t looking hard. It said that if you recite an Avé Maria to it the stone will turn nine times.

I really must try and find this one tomorrow. Its been one of those afternoons where I couldn’t find anything and became frustrated. Then it started to rain and then thunderstorms and I find I am driving around fairly aimlessly so decide to stop and find a camp site for the night which as seems to be the case at times like this isn’t easy. I find several closed ones until I find an open one back at Beaumont again but it only accepts tents.

Its got a tiny car park and someone has parked awkwardly behind me and I have to reverse out from a tight spot uphill between the cars. This I do successfully but believing I was out crunch and I have hit the gatepost on the other side and have buggered the new plastic trim at the back corner. It seems to be the only damage. Poor van.

I eventually find a campsite at Couze but with nobody around so I just take a place and plug in for the night. At least the showers work. Wonder who won the F.A. Cup this afternoon ?

Dolmen Ouest de la Croix de Saint-Pierre

Trip No.203  Entry No.8  Date Added: 30th Mar 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Ille-et-Vilaine (35))
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Another fenced off but recently restored mound with a round cairn enclosing a chamber which opens to the east.