Le Petit Dolmen de Bagneux

Trip No.204  Entry No.94  Date Added: 20th Jul 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Saw from a distance on 16th Jul 2005

Log Text: High up on a cliff edge (because of a quarry) this dolmen can just about be seen through the trees from the roadside next to the cemetary. However, its on private land, and a proper viewing is not possible. It looks like a pretty big dolmen despite its name, and perhaps a more typical Angevine dolmen. It looks to be in fairly good condition.

Dolmens du Bois de la Chenaise

Trip No.204  Entry No.95  Date Added: 20th Jul 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Couldn't find on 16th Jul 2005

Log Text: This is within a fenced off and private area. There was no way I could get to see this one, which is in a wood on top of a hill.

La Pierre Couverte de Mousseau

Trip No.204  Entry No.96  Date Added: 20th Jul 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Yes on 16th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: This is a fairly ruined Angevine type dolmen, in a field of sunflowers just to the east of the village of Ulmes, reached by a couple of hundred metres walk in a gap in the crops. The chamber would have been about 4 metres wide by 5 metres long, with an entranceway at the northeast, which is several metres in length. The whole thing is rather falling down and covered in undergrowth, but can still be clearly seen. Two capstones of the chamber, and one for the entranceway are still in place.

La Vacherie Dolmen

Trip No.204  Entry No.97  Date Added: 20th Jul 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Yes on 16th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 5 Access 4

Log Text: This is a nice little site, and easy to find to the south of Distré, as it is signposted. The dolmenis in a little woodland clearing in a marshy area, which makes it nice and green and shady on this hot afternoon. The dolmen is what I am now taking to be a standard Angevine dolmen, with a 4m by 3m rectangular chamber, with a 2 metre long entranceway at the eastern end. The main chamber is capped by a single capstone which rests on two side slabs each side, one of which on the northern side has collapsed. The cover slab for the entranceway has unfortunately fallen. It's a shame, but as is often the case, the dolmen is used for beer drinking, smoking and fires, by I assume the local youths, and the pleasant green grassy area is littered with broken bottles and other rubbish.

Pierre Fiche de Chacé

Trip No.204  Entry No.98  Date Added: 20th Jul 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Yes on 16th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: This is a nice menhir to find, a few hundred metres walk along a track near to the river Thouet, just to the west of the village of Chacé. The menhir is about 4 metres high, 2 metres wide and with a sloping top, as so many do have. It is signposted from the road, and they go to the effort of cutting all the nettles and other undergrowth for a reasonable distance around it. If only all the local communities were this concerned about their ancient stones. Some nice ducks swimming about in the river.

Menhir dit de Grésil

Trip No.204  Entry No.99  Date Added: 20th Jul 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Couldn't find on 16th Jul 2005

Log Text: There are three menhirs marked on my 1:100,000 map here in the region of the ring road to the south of the town of Montreuil-Bellay. I struggled to find any of them, so went to the local Super U to check out the 1:25,000 map. Turns out there are 4 menhirs to be found, and three castles, one of which blocks off most of the town to a camping car. This menhir is somewhere in a swamp by the river Thouet, between a major road junction and the river Thouet, with no chance of being able to find it.

La Pierre de Lenay

Trip No.204  Entry No.100  Date Added: 20th Jul 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Couldn't find on 16th Jul 2005

Log Text: This menhir is supposedly right by the river Thouet at Lenay, and looked as if it would be easy to find. I looked, and looked again, but found nothing. Must be on private land.

Grande Pierre de la Prée de Thouars

Trip No.204  Entry No.101  Date Added: 20th Jul 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Couldn't find on 16th Jul 2005

Log Text: Supposedly near the river Thouet south of Lenay, and it looked easy to find from the map. I looked, but found nothing, despite walking for what seemed like miles. It must be behind the farm somewhere.

l'Accomodement Menhir

Trip No.204  Entry No.102  Date Added: 20th Jul 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Couldn't find on 16th Jul 2005

Log Text: Somewhere between a new major road junction and a railway junction, in farmland. I tried, including driving round many farm tracks, but could find no signs of this at all.

Dolmen de la Pierrelée

Trip No.204  Entry No.103  Date Added: 20th Jul 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Yes on 16th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Just to the south of Montsoreau, on the hills above the Loire valley can be found this strange dolmen. It was difficult to find and to park nearby, but its close to the Tete Loire cycle route, and signposted about 50 metres into a field under some trees. What's left of this Angevine dolmen is still within a mound, although how ancientthe mound is I wouldn't like to say. But the odd thing is that it has been lived in, and the inside has been rebuilt with stone blocks to allow a doorway and stairs down into it, which are not in the original entrance. It also has a fireplace and a chimney complete with pot, and a water trough. A most odd place.

La Pierre-Folle allée couverte

Trip No.204  Entry No.104  Date Added: 3rd Aug 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Poitou:Vienne (86))
Visited: Couldn't find on 17th Jul 2005

Log Text: To the north of Bournand, but in a very vaguely marked place on my map, is marked the Pierre Folle allée couverte. In the village of Bournand, there is a sign pointing to the Pierre Folle, but as is often the case, there are no more signs later, and try as I might, without a detailed map I could not find this. After my failed visit, I found out that it is an 18 metre long allée couvert, on inaccessible private land within a Renaissance Lodge. It is said to be a superb megalithic monument.

Dolmen d'Epennes

Trip No.204  Entry No.105  Date Added: 3rd Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Vienne (86))
Visited: Yes on 17th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 2 Access 4

Log Text: Not marked on any of my maps, but I found this mentioned from the same source that I found out the information about the nearby Pierre Folle. It is just to the east of the hamlet of Epennes, south of Bournand, about 300 metres from the road junction and across a field.

It looks to be a fairly standard 4 x 2.5 metre Angevine dolmen with its entrance to the south east, but it's all a bit of a wreck and overgrown. Unfortunately, the field it is in is cropped very close and damage looks to have been done by farm machinery recently.

La Roche Vernaise

Trip No.204  Entry No.106  Date Added: 3rd Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Vienne (86))
Visited: Couldn't find on 17th May 2005. My rating: Condition 1 Ambience 2 Access 4

Log Text: On top of a hillock near a junction of lanes to the west of La Roche Vernaise is a big jumble of large stones. It is hard to know whether this is the actual dolmen, or just a load of field clearance stones, but it was the only likely candidate I found in this area. Perhaps it has all been fairly recently all moved to the edges of the fields. There is a lot of stone, so perhaps it was a fairly big dolmen, at least 10 metres in length. It is difficult to know. I don't think I actually found the real dolmen, which is perhaps a bit to the north of here.

La Pierre Crapaud

Trip No.204  Entry No.107  Date Added: 3rd Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Vienne (86))
Visited: Yes on 17th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 2 Access 4

Log Text: This dolmen can be found a few hundred metres down a track to the south west of the village of Trois-Moutiers, where it resides just inside a field which was full of sunflowers when I visited, which meant that i could not get right to the dolmen. What I could see is a large capstone sat on top of some sort of support stones at one end, and the ground at the other.

Vaon Dolmen

Trip No.204  Entry No.108  Date Added: 3rd Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Vienne (86))
Visited: Yes on 17th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: This nice dolmen can be found about a kilometre southeast of the village of Trois-Moutiers, and is easy to find because it is signposted. It is about a 300 metre walk from where you can park near to a barn. It is a fairly complete Angevin dolmen with a 5m by 2.5m main chamber fronted at the east end by a 2.5 by 1.5 metre entrance porch. The two capstones of the main chamber are still in place, although the roofstone of the entrance has fallen. Nicely shaded by a large tree, there was a wasp nest inside when I was here, which distracted slightly from my visit.

Dolmen de la Fontaine au Son 1

Trip No.204  Entry No.109  Date Added: 3rd Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Vienne (86))
Visited: Yes on 17th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: There are two dolmens here, about 30 metres apart, near to the Fontaines de Son water treatment plant. The eastern dolmen is now fenced off, partly because of the water works, but probably also because it looks to be in a dangerous state, It is an Angevin dolmen with a 4m by 2.5 m chamber underneath a single capstone and its entrance to the east. Most of this is however now collapsed.

Dolmen de la Fontaine au Son 2

Trip No.204  Entry No.110  Date Added: 3rd Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Vienne (86))
Visited: Yes on 17th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: There are two dolmens here, about 30 metres apart, near to the Fontaines de Son water treatment plant. The western dolmen is slightly bigger, and in a bit better condition. It seems to have a north south oriented chamber, with two capstones surviving, covering the southern part of the 8 metre long chamber. The northern end has collapsed. It is difficult to tell where the entrance would have been. Oddly, this dolmen has a well tended grassy area besides it, but the dolmen itself is right in the corner and quite overgrown. It is also right on the farm track out the back, and dangerously close to getting bashed with each passing tractor.

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.

l'Accomodement Menhir

Trip No.204  Entry No.112  Date Added: 20th Jul 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Yes on 17th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 2 Access 4

Log Text: Passing again, I tried again to find this menhir. This stone is actually right beside the railway cutting on the eastern side, just to the south of the new ring road, and visible from it. It is on the hilltop, but fallen - perhaps just put there when they were building the railway - who knows ? The stone is about 3 metres in length, but only a metre high. I think perhaps it is broken.

Le Carroir Bon-Air

Trip No.204  Entry No.113  Date Added: 4th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Centre:Indre-et-Loire (37))
Visited: Yes on 18th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Up in the hills overlooking the Vienne river, in the Chinon wine producing area can be found the remains of this dolmen. It is signposted, just to the north of Ligré and then just about a hundred metres walk along a track from the road.

It is a fairly large dolmen with main chamber 6 m by 3 m, covered by two large capstones which are still in place. Unfortunately several of the side support stones have fallen, with the resulting collapse of much of the chamber. The entrance is at the southeast, but the porchway has fallen, leaving just a few lumps of stone on the ground.