L'Armoirie menhir

Trip No.204  Entry No.62  Date Added: 11th Jul 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Couldn't find on 13th Jul 2005

Log Text: I could not find the forest track which leads to this menhir, again there are no signposts obvious, and this stone is not even marked on the ign 1:25000 map, so I didn’t spend long looking.

Supposedly it’s a 1.5 metre tall menhir that has been broken, standing to the southwest of the alignement, between the D.779 and L'Armorie crossroads. So the menhir would be less imposing than most of the stones in the alignement.

La Pierre Percée (La Chapelle-Basse-Mer)

Trip No.204  Entry No.63  Date Added: 16th Jul 2020
Site Type: Modern Stone Circle etc Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Loire-Atlantique)
Visited: Yes on 14th Jul 2005. My rating: Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: I dont know whether there ever was an ancient menhir here, but today there is a modern sculpture of a woman looking out over the Loire, with a hole of course, and its rather nice.

La Pierre Blanche (Oudon)

Trip No.204  Entry No.64  Date Added: 16th Jul 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Loire-Atlantique)
Visited: Yes on 14th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: This is a massive lump of white quartz, more than 4 metres tall and 3 metres wide, in a vineyard up on the hills overlooking the beautiful Loire river, to the north of Oudon. As seems to be the case with this quartz, it keeps lovely and cool on a scorching hot day, and is nice and sparkly.

Pierre Meslière

Trip No.204  Entry No.65  Date Added: 16th Jul 2020
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Loire-Atlantique)
Visited: Yes on 14th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: This was most unexpected, I saw a sign to this from St Géréon, so just followed the signs. There is a large rocky outcrop high above the river Loire, around which evidence of man living here has been found dating back to the paleolithic. From the neolithic period, when the settlement was extended, there was once a line of 48 menhirs running east to west. It says that today only two remain, the rest having been destroyed for roadbuilding, along with much of the natural rocky outcrop. The site was first recognised for what it was in 1878 by Pitre de L'Isle, and explored much more thoroughly by Alexandre Bernard throughout the last century. His books and studies are shown in the chateau.

Pierres Meslières Menhirs

Trip No.204  Entry No.66  Date Added: 3rd Oct 2020
Site Type: Standing Stones Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Loire-Atlantique)
Visited: Yes on 14th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Pierres Meslières, menhir 1: This is a squat little menhir, half hidden in the hedge and bank between the railway and the vineyard. It is possible that ground level is now much higher here than it was, the railway line being about 10 metres lower. As I write, a TGV whizzes past. The remaining menhir is about 1.5 metres above track level, and looks lost in the hedge, almost like a field clearance stone.

Pierres Meslières Menhirs

Trip No.204  Entry No.67  Date Added: 3rd Oct 2020
Site Type: Standing Stones Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Loire-Atlantique)
Visited: Yes on 14th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Pierres Meslières, menhir 2: This menhir is between 3 and 4 metres tall, with a lot of ivy growing on it, besides the trackway at the bottom of the vineyard to the south of the rock outcrop. It is in need of a haircut.

La Pierre Couvretière (Ancenis)

Trip No.204  Entry No.68  Date Added: 16th Jul 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Loire-Atlantique)
Visited: Yes on 14th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: The remains of this dolmen can be found by following the road along the north bank of the river Loire to the east of Ancenis chateau for about 800 metres, beyond the little pleasure boat port and into the industrial estate. It is signposted, and there is a little grassy open area between industrial units. This dolmen is another of those which demonstrates the rising of the sea level over the last few thousand years, as now instead of there being a mound around it, it is in a little hollow, dug out for it. The dolmen, which consists of a 4 metre square capstone, partially sitting on two side supports, but fallen at the north side, is now within a sort of pond, the land around it having been reclaimed from swampland. The level of the water here is below that of the river Loire, just a hundred metres away.

Dolmen du Champ-du-Ruisseau

Trip No.204  Entry No.69  Date Added: 16th Jul 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Yes on 14th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 2 Access 3

Log Text: On a signposted village walk, just to the east of the village of Villemaison can be found this dolmen. It is a little allée couverte about 6 metres long and still partly within a mound, and has four capstones still covering the passage. There are also some entry blocking slabs.

I was just about to take a picture or two when a man shouted at me to get out of the field - its dangerous he said. He went on to say it was private property, and that as it was a monument historique it needed protecting which is why it was fenced off. Quite how planting trees on it helps in its protection I don't know, nor how the fact that a farm track has been driven over the top of it. What a terrible state it is getting into. It needs protecting from the people supposedly protecting it.

Dolmen de Romme

Trip No.204  Entry No.70  Date Added: 16th Jul 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Couldn't find on 14th Jul 2005

Log Text: I saw no evidence of this one, supposedly just to the northeast of the ruined chateau, beside the river Romme. The best option is that it is somewhere down a private and gated trackway.

Dolmen de la Colleterie

Trip No.204  Entry No.71  Date Added: 16th Jul 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Couldn't find on 14th Jul 2005

Log Text: I had no chance of finding this, although I tried very hard for quite some length of time. The roads around here are all barricaded off so that they can build the new motorway north of Angers. I don't think that the dolmen marked on my map will be in the path of the motorway. I had a long walk round all the tracks I could find which looked like it might be there, but it is probably in dense woodland. I found lots of bees and a deer though.

Beaupréau Dolmen

Trip No.204  Entry No.72  Date Added: 16th Jul 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Yes on 14th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: About 600 metres walk round the back of the farm can be found this dolmen and its outlying menhir, which can clearly be seen from the road. The farmer was only too pleased to point it out to me. It's a fairly large Angevine dolmen, with chamber 4 metres by 3 metres, with a single capstone sitting on 2 large sidestones and a backstone. It opens to the east, and there are the usual couple of entry portals, although the northern one has fallen. Out the back is another smaller chamber, but this is falling down a bit, so it is difficult to make out where it would open to, probably to the south. Thirty metres to the west of the dolmen is a nice pointed menhir, probably about 3 metres high, but in a fenced off field with cows in, so I left it alone.

Beaupréau Menhir

Trip No.204  Entry No.73  Date Added: 16th Jul 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Yes on 14th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Thirty metres to the west of the dolmen is a nice pointed menhir, probably about 3 metres high, but in a fenced off field with cows in, so I left it alone.

Dolmen de la Madeleine (Gennes)

Trip No.204  Entry No.75  Date Added: 16th Jul 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Yes on 15th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: What a monster this is, its bigger than my house ! Easily found just to the south of Gennes, beside the D.69 road to Doué, at the top of the hill. Cannot be missed. It's a fairly simple thing, but the proportions are enormous.

The rectangular chamber is 11 metres long, 4.5 metres wide and 3.5 metres high inside, made with massive slabs. Three 5.5 metre wide capstones are held up on three side slabs each side, with a fourth added on the north side to help hold it all up.

The back slab has been cut to make access, and its not to any surprise this has been lived in in the past, and it has an internal wall and large round oven type thing. The chamber faces east, and has unfortunately suffered much vandalism - it is obviously used as a den by people - many fires are in evidence, and graffitti. Overall its a bit too industrial for my taste !

Avort Dolmen

Trip No.204  Entry No.76  Date Added: 16th Jul 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Yes on 15th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Found about 80 metres to the west of the D.70 road southwest of Gennes, with a trackway leading to it. Its a typical Angevine dolmen with a 4 m by 2.5 m chamber, made using large slabs covered by a single large capstone. The entrance, and its two porch stones, is to the east. It is still substantially within its mound, atop which a tree is growing. The southern side slab is broken, allowing easy access.

Dolmen de la Pagerie

Trip No.204  Entry No.77  Date Added: 16th Jul 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Yes on 15th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: This monster dolmen can be found a few hundred metres up the GR.XX footpath from near the farm of the same name, just to the southwest of Gennes. It is another of the enormous dolmens they have around here, with the main chamber being 10 metres long by 5 metres wide, made using enormous slabs of the sarsen like rock. The whole thing is covered with just two massive capstones, the back one of which is still on top of its three support stones, but the forward one has fallenon the eastern side. The entranceway is still largely in place and opens to the south, looking down the valley, but again its corner stone has fallen to the east. This is another incredible monument that could do with a bit of TLC. It is overgrown, and used as a dumping ground for agricultural waste from the fields around. It looks like there are regular fires inside, which are breaking up the stones in the corner, and I have no doubt that the rear capstone will fall soon, as its side support is broken and cracking. Its incredible when you see how big these things are, and have lasted for so long, its a shame the modern world is ruining them.

Pierre Longue du Bouchet

Trip No.204  Entry No.78  Date Added: 16th Jul 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Yes on 15th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: A fine menhir, standing around 3.5 metres tall near the top of a hill amongst the fields and forests. Its a nice triangular shaped slab of the local sarsen like stone. It is fairly easily found with the ign 1:25000 map, a few hundred metres walk along a track from the roadside above Bouchet.

Dolmen de la Forêt (Gennes)

Trip No.204  Entry No.79  Date Added: 16th Jul 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Yes on 15th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: About half a kilometre to the northwest of La Pierre Longue, and at a junction of lanes can be found this dolmen, right beside the road. It's a typical Angevin dolmen, with its main chamber being 4 metres by 2.5 metres and rectangular, made with large single slabs along the sides and back. It has two capstones, and an internal partition stone which is possibly there to hold the capstones up, however there is a hole through this internal stone, linking the two parts of the chamber. There is a very nice entranceway looking to the east, with its two side slabs and the two door stones very nicely in position with their capstone on top. This could do with a bit of a tidy up.

Pierre-qui-Pousse (Le Sale Village)

Trip No.204  Entry No.80  Date Added: 16th Jul 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Yes on 15th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: This six metre tall menhir stands just beside the road between Le Sale Village and Nideville, to the west of Gennes, amongst some modern houses. In fact, it is on the opposite side of the road to where it is marked on my ign 1:25000 map, and looks like it might have been moved here fairly recently.

While I was visiting, I noted that there was a hole dug down one side of the stone, showing at least another metre of stone below ground level. But quite why one side should have been excavated I dont know. Maybe somebody wants it to fall over.

Menhir des Varennes de Cumeray

Trip No.204  Entry No.81  Date Added: 16th Jul 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Yes on 15th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: This 3.5 metre tall triangular slab of rock is set upright in the forest at the top of the hill above Cumeray. Easily found along a forest track after a few hundred metres walk. Beware the vicious brambles surrounding it - they tore my shirt while trying to get a picture.

Dolmen des Varennes de Cumeray 1

Trip No.204  Entry No.83  Date Added: 16th Jul 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Yes on 15th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 3

Log Text: A hundred or so metres southeast of the menhir is this difficult to find dolmen, buried deep in the undergrowth. Although the capstone has completely collapsed and broken into several pieces, its easy to see that there was a rectangular chamber, about 3.5m by 2 metres with an entrance to the east. It could do with a bit of clearance work around it.