Roche-aux-Fées (Essé)

Trip No.210  Entry No.2  Date Added: 16th Sep 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Bretagne:Ille-et-Vilaine (35))
Visited: Yes on 3rd Jun 2010. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 5 Access 5

Log Text: June 2010 visit to France to see my sister, and as usual I had my Dad with me. I had decided on a long detour to visit La Roche-aux-Fées, but before we came here, I had told him nothing about it, except to say we were going to visit somewhere special. He is well used to me taking him to old stones all over the place, often on wild goose chases in woods and across fields finding nothing. But not this time.

This monument is now presented quite differently to when I previously visited in 2005, with a large new car park and visitor centre in what would have been fields to the south. Unfortunately, the visitor centre was closed, being open at weekends and holidays only this time of year until July and August when it becomes daily. I have read that this centre is very good, and with a decent book and gift shop.

From the visitor centre, a pathway leads through a nicely landscaped area towards the monument itself, which is hidden behind trees and hedges, until you round the end of a hedge (with a large fallen stone at the corner), and then there it is, in all its splendor, viewed towards the wonderful portal entrance. Even on my second visit here, it is awe inspiring, especially the work on the portico, which is over 4500 years old and still completely level.

My Dad was well impressed too, and couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing. “Oh My!, How can this be so big? What’s this for?” he asked. “It can’t be just to bury somebody in. All these separate room bits? Why? It’s a bit like the side chapels in a Cathedral”. Pretty much my thoughts exactly, and it is good to hear these things coming from somebody else with no prompting.

Somebody had made little piles of pebbles and other decorative bits and pieces placed at various places, which looked good. I am impressed by one of the massive capstones which seems to have been fitted exactly into a gap in the supporting side stones. This place is truly absolutely fantastic. I don’t have the words for it.

The new field around the monument has been splendidly done, and gives it the space it needs. Only two other people came to visit in the time we were here, a large improvement over my previous August Saturday visit. One downside are the various noticeboards now erected here, stating that cracks have been found in some of the stones, and people should be careful and not climb on the stones. I hope that there is no bad damage to the place. What would the Fairies think?

St-Benoit polissoir

Trip No.210  Entry No.5  Date Added: 13th Jun 2020
Site Type: Polissoir Country: France (Normandie:Manche (50))
Visited: Yes on 3rd Jun 2010. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: Decide to take Dad here to see this special stone, so leave the autoroute at St James, to go have a look – the third time I will have tried to take Dad here, having missed it twice before due to roadworks and a shut bridge, and lateness on the previous occasions. Blimey, there are now big brown signs indicating it from the main road.

Set in its nice little marshy area, this is now very well looked after and presented, unlike the old description when I was first looking for it several years ago. The stone is a bit smaller than I remember it, but it is really wonderful. I just love being able to sit and stroke the very polished grooves, and let my mind wander back through the millennia. Again, Dad seemed well impressed at being able to see something like this.