Maison des Fées (Miré)

Trip No.204  Entry No.318  Date Added: 12th Sep 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Yes on 12th Aug 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Just at the northern edge of the village of Miré, just off the main D.27 roadnorth, and beside a little side road can be found this dolmen. It's a tall dolmen with a single capstone covering a squarish chamber of about 3 metres dimension, and over 2 metres tall. With it being right at the side of the road, it cant be sure that it's not been altered at all, and there are some rather large gaps in the stones. There are 4 support stones, two of them being large slabs, the other two fairly slender.

Dolmen de la Petifaie

Trip No.204  Entry No.319  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: This is on private property in a dense woodland beside the road, and is well fenced off.

Pierre a Sacrifice (Putifay)

Trip No.204  Entry No.320  Date Added: 12th Sep 2020
Site Type: Polissoir Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Yes on 12th Aug 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Near to the dolmen de Putifaie, and right beside the road can be found this stone once thought to be a sacrificial stone. It's now known that the grooves and channels in the stone are the result of it being used to polish axes and other implements. I have to say that I couldn't see anything much in the way of polishing surfaces, the various shapes in the stone looked more natural to me. Perhaps the polishing grooves are under the tree roots etc which are growing on one side of the stone.

Pierre-Fritte (Jumallene)

Trip No.204  Entry No.321  Date Added: 16th Sep 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Yes on 13th Aug 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: To the south of the village of Préviere along the D.6 road, and after a couple of kilometres is a signpost to Pierre Fritte. From there it's about 500 metres walk along the farm track, taking the left turn at the crossing of tracks. It's a very nice menhir, 5.2 metres tall and shaped so that it is flat on the eastern face and pointed at the top. It has also been Christianised or vandalised, according to your viewpoint, with a cross carved with an inscription, and a niche carved with a china virgin placed inside. Both of these alterations are on the menhirs flat face. An appalling bit of metal grill has been very crudely bolted over the niche, presumably to protect from vandalism the statue of the virgin. It's all a bit of a shame really, its completely spoiled what would have otherwise been a splendid menhir.

Champ Des Louères Menhir

Trip No.204  Entry No.322  Date Added: 16th Sep 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Loire-Atlantique)
Visited: Yes on 13th Aug 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Well signposted from the village of Saint-Aubin-Des-Châteaux, these lead to a parking area beside the sports centre, from where the menhir is a walk of a few hundred metres. It's a very big stone, 3.5 metres tall, 3 metres wide and over a metre thick, and it lives in a field beside the trackway. There are a couple of intriguing round holes/niches within it, but I don't know whether these are natural or have been cut.

Pierre de Richebourg

Trip No.204  Entry No.323  Date Added: 16th Sep 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Bretagne:Ille-et-Vilaine (35))
Visited: Yes on 13th Aug 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: I could initially find no evidence of this stone, looking for it from the east, and thought that it is probably somewhere in the fenced off woodland grounds of the big house on the top of the hill. Further investigation from the north, the D.41 road to Retiers, and I found a trackway which takes you to right besides it, and it is signposted.

The menhir is behind the fence, beside a pond. The stone is about 3 metres tall by 3 metres wide, and looks fairly much just like a big lump of rock. Very difficult to photograph, with not only the fence in the way, but also the dark from being within the woodland.

Roche-aux-Fées (Essé)

Trip No.204  Entry No.324  Date Added: 16th Sep 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Bretagne:Ille-et-Vilaine (35))
Visited: Yes on 13th Aug 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: Small notes only for this very well known and popular site, which I was originally thinking of saving to be my last megalithic visit of my whole 6 month tour. First thoughts, Aaaaarrrrrgghhhh, it's busy. And you pay to get in. Aaaarrrgghhhhh. Never mind, I have to see it. I decided not to take my book with me and write much, I'll just go and have a look and take some photographs.

OK, it wasn't so bad as I first thought. After I had been here a while, most of the people had gone, and it was in fact free entry, but with a little shop and information shed you have to go through first. In fact, it's not a bad place at all. In actual fact, it's a truly fantastic place. It is really beautiful when not overrun by people.

It is a massive Angevin dolmen, 20 metres long by almost 5 metres wide and 2 metres high. The main chamber is divided into four sections by three internal upright slabs. The entrance porchway is about 3 metres long, and fronted by the most lovely portico, consisting of two uprights and a lintel of carefully worked and positioned stone. It is truly awesome. This is definitely one to visit - but try not to come when everyone else has !

La Roche Piquée (Baudouinais)

Trip No.204  Entry No.325  Date Added: 16th Sep 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Bretagne:Ille-et-Vilaine (35))
Visited: Yes on 13th Aug 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 3

Log Text: A few kilometres to the west of the village of Livré-sur-Changeon, and a few kilometres to the south of the little town of St-Aubin-du-Cormier, near to the hamlet of Baudouinais can be seen this menhir marked on some of my maps as Pierre Piquée. It is signposted, and after a little walk along a farm track it can be seen across the fields. When I visited, the field was well fenced off, and full of cows, so I didn't get to visit the stone properly, but I would estimate it to be about 4 metres tall.

Allée Couverte le Rocher Jacquot

Trip No.204  Entry No.326  Date Added: 16th Sep 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Bretagne:Ille-et-Vilaine (35))
Visited: Yes on 13th Aug 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: The remains of this monument can be found a few kilometres northwest of Fougères, along the D.17 road towards St-Germain-en-Cogles. It is signposted, but not very clearly, and there is a little trackway and fenced off area around it.

At first I thought it was the remains of a dolmen with entry corridor, but further investigation in the undergrowth suggested to me that it is the remains of a well damaged allée couverte. One capstone remains in place on top of some largish stones, with the sideslabs of a passageway leading off towards the east. It looks like there was perhaps another chamber nearby, indeed perhaps the whole thing was once several passageways and chambers within a single mound, of which traces around it survive.

Pierre Courcoulée (Landean)

Trip No.204  Entry No.327  Date Added: 16th Sep 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Bretagne:Ille-et-Vilaine (35))
Visited: Yes on 13th Aug 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: North of Fougères, in the forest, are several megalithic remains. The Pierre Courcoulée is towards the northwest of the forest and well signposted, it is just 200m from a big forest carpark and has its own circular walk which can be followed.

The dolmen is in a little clearing with signpost, and is the remains of a little allée couverte. The western end is fairly ruinous, but the east end is quite complete and has a closing stone. There are 7 metres of chamber remaining, with two large capstones covering most of it. As the eastern end is not the entry, I would think that this is a lateral entry chamber, with the entrance somewhere on the south side, like several of the other nearby Mayenne monuments. It is in the remains of a mound, and there is evidence for some of the stones of its peristalith still being in place.

Pierre du Trésor

Trip No.204  Entry No.328  Date Added: 16th Sep 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Ille-et-Vilaine (35))
Visited: Yes on 13th Aug 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Deep in the darkest depths of Fougères forest can be found the Pierre du Trésor. Its actually only about a 400 metre signposted walk from the big car park at the Chennedet crossing of the main D177 road north from Fougères, and the traffic on this busy road is only 100 metres away. My gps didnt stand a chance of picking up a signal, and my camera insisted on using its flash, even on this bright and sunny afternoon.

Its hard to tell exactly what these stones are the remains of. It could be a fairly large simple dolmen which has now collapsed. Normal ground level would be above the stones, and they are now seen within a pit which has been dug around them at some point, no doubt people looking for the treasure. What is probably a capstone is about 4.5 by 2.5 metres, and very irregularly shaped. It is possible to wriggle underneath it, if that should be your want.

Cordon des Druides

Trip No.204  Entry No.329  Date Added: 16th Sep 2020
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment Country: France (Bretagne:Ille-et-Vilaine (35))
Visited: Yes on 13th Aug 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: This long line of white quartz stones is easy to find in the Fougères Forest, north of the town. It is about 500 metres east of the big parking area at Chennedet crossroads along the D177 road, and has a sign and a few parking places nearby.

The row is about 250 metres long, and the white quartz blocks are spaced at about 3 metres apart. The row runs at an alignment of 233° / 053° or Southwest to Northeast. The largest stones are at the centre of the row, up to two metres in height, but most are much smaller. Apart from this long row, there are several other quartz blocks which seem to have once been a parallel row nearby.

Landigou Menhir

Trip No.205  Entry No.1  Date Added: 13th Oct 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Normandie:Orne (61))
Visited: Couldn't find on 29th Aug 2005

Log Text: Looking for this menhir marked on my map, I could find nothing

Menhir de la Croix Carrée (Landigou)

Trip No.205  Entry No.2  Date Added: 13th Oct 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Normandie:Orne (61))
Visited: Yes on 29th Aug 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Looking for a menhir marked on my map, I could find nothing, so asked a lady walking her dog, and she directed me to this roadside cross. It has a historic monument signpost, which states that it is a megalithic monument of unknown origin. About 1.2 metres tall, it is of square section, with large crosses carved into each face, joining each other around the corners. Perhaps it was once a menhir, perhaps once an iron age stele. Its hard to tell. But it is not the menhir I was looking for !

La Pierre au Diable

Trip No.205  Entry No.3  Date Added: 13th Oct 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Mayenne (53))
Visited: Couldn't find on 29th Aug 2005

Log Text: I couldn't easily find this one, nor anywhere to park to have a proper look. It is not very near to the road, and so I left.

Menhir dit Pierre Saint-Julien

Trip No.205  Entry No.4  Date Added: 13th Oct 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Sarthe (72))
Visited: Yes on 29th Aug 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Pierre Saint Julien is a 3.5 metre tall menhir, stood outside the main entrance to St Julien Cathedral, Le Mans. It is a truly lovely stone, made from a very heavily stratified, and vividly coloured rock. From certain angles, and in the right light, it looks for all the world to be a man dressed in hooded cloak stood outside the entrance of this sacred place. I do not know where the stone originally came from.

la Pierre Couverte (Parigné)

Trip No.205  Entry No.5  Date Added: 13th Oct 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Sarthe (72))
Visited: Yes on 29th Aug 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: This dolmen can be fairly easily found at a junction of tracks in the Bois de Bruon, near to Parigné-le-Pôlin, a few kilometres south of Le Mans, and just off the N23 road. The largish capstone, 4 m by 3.5 m, sits on top of 4 collapsed support stones, with another one nearby. its a pleasant little walk along a forest track from where I parked the van.

Pierres de Mère et Fille

Trip No.205  Entry No.6  Date Added: 13th Oct 2020
Site Type: Standing Stones Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Sarthe (72))
Visited: Yes on 29th Aug 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: The mother and daughter stones can be easily found in the forest to the northeast of La Fleche, and are signposted from nearby. Both are nicely shaped pointed slabs, and they are about 8 metres from each other in an east west direction. The mother stone is more than 4 metres tall, and is the western of the pair, The daughter is just over 2 metres tall, and at the east. It is stated on a nearby signpost that the stones are thought to represent the sun and moon, although the evidence for this is not stated.

Pierre Potelée

Trip No.205  Entry No.7  Date Added: 13th Oct 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Sarthe (72))
Visited: Yes on 29th Aug 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: This stone is about half a kilometre east of the Mere et Fille stones in the forest and is also signposted. I parked in a parking area near to the signpost and walked for several kilometres before returning to my van having found nothing except for more signposts at the other end of the forest track pointing back from where I had come. As I got back to the van, I could see the stone, less than 100 metres from where I had parked, down a different track ! The stone is a slab on its end, between 2.5 and 3 metres tall, and 2 metres wide, with many holes on one side.

Pierre Percée (Draché)

Trip No.205  Entry No.8  Date Added: 13th Oct 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Centre:Indre-et-Loire (37))
Visited: Yes on 30th Aug 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: A few kilometres to the south of the village of Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine along the N.10, and this stone is signposted, less than a kilometre to the west along a minor road. The stone has its own little parking area and explanatory signpost, and is set in a nice open grassy area.

The stone is about 3.5 metres tall, slightly leaning and pointing skywards. About two thirds of the way up is an intriguing hole through the stone, oval in shape, about 25 cm by 20 cm, which is perhaps natural.

This menhir has many legends associated with it, and it is said that if children or babies are passed through the hole, they will be cured and immune to various diseases. There is also a legend that the stone was used for sacrifices, and that all of the parts of the sacrificial body must be passed through the hole. It is thought that it may originally have been some form of marker stone for a nearby ancient cemetery, now no longer to be seen.