Carnac

Arrived in Carnac and went to the museum to get info on where the tombs and circles etc. were. I bought a book and was given a free map of the megalithic sites in the area around Carnac. It’s amazing the place is just crowded with massive dolmen and alignments of many, many huge stones.

Here are some views of one of the longest alignments at Menec, just outside the town of Carnac.

And this one at Kerlescan or Kermario ( I can’t remember which it is now!) a short distance away also has a dolmen, a tomb of huge stones which would have been covered over with a cairn of smaller stones.

We found a campsite near Vannes about 20 minutes from Carnac that was beside an aerodrome and army parachute training base. We stayed two nights here and saw loads of these guys drifting down on parachutes!!

We tracked down this huge chambered tomb at Mane-lud near Locmariaquer, another lovely seaside town along the coast from Carnac. A house has been built right beside it as you can see. There were many carvings on the rocks inside the passage and chamber.

We went in search of others but they were in a poor state. We came across a little chapel of St Madeleine where we spotted this little building. It houses a special sort of font thing for blessing cattle!

Some plants we saw around Carnac …

Butcher’s Broom Ruscus aculeatus or Jew’s Myrtle. Butchers apparently found this plant useful for sweeping their wooden chopping blocks. It was also used by grocers to protect Christmas displays of bacon and cheeses from mice.

Lords and Ladies (flower) Arum maculatum covered in previous blog.

White Campion Silene alba meaning youthful love in the language of flowers.

Meadow Buttercup Ranunculus acris a more delicate plant than the more common creeping buttercup R. repens. A posy of buttercups can mean prosperity or ingratitude in the language of flowers. Irish farmers used to rub their cow’ udders with buttercups, in imitative magic, to increase the milk yield and the richness of the butter!

And this white member of the fumitory family which I have yet to identify its name etc.

We also spotted this Brimstone butterfly Gonepteryx rhamni The herald of spring!

Heading off towards Clermand-Ferand tomorrow! Saw these wonderful tree stump characters decorating the area around a pub/auberge on the road from Carnac!!

Don't know who this is!