Saint Michael’s Mount is like a pearl in a box of sand. Listed as an international heritage site by UNESCO, it’s the 8th wonder of the world. This little rock in the middle of an almost infinitely large bay is topped with a little village. The main road is called La Grand-Rue, and is lined with pretty houses from the Middle Ages, each crammed up to its neighbour. The abbey was originally a modest Roman chapel built by monks over 1200 years ago. Later, it was enlarged to become a real work of gothic art. At the top, you’ll see a golden statue of the Archangel Saint Michael, which shines in the sun. At the beginning of the 8th century, this saint would inspire Aubert, bishop of Avranches. In the 10th century, a few monks from the Saint Wandrille Abbey in Normandy would build a magnificent abbey, taking only 16 years to do so, a miracle in real terms, perhaps inspired by Saint-Michael himself. The granite blocks, which came by boat from the Chausey islands, near the Cotentin peninsular, were shaped then dragged to the top of the hill. It’s a titanic task, and the abbey seems so fragile and precious despite their enormous weight. Inside, the atmosphere is sacred, the crypt seeming to contain angels, whose shadows you can make out on the pillars.
The bay surrounding the mount is a gigantic stretch of sand which is covered by each high tide. It’s 23km long and 60km wide, so you can imagine the speed with which the tide comes up – sometimes at over 10km/h! If you walk onto the sand around the mount, don’t forget to return 2 hours before high tide, or the sea will come and find you. The fields round the bay are regularly flooded with seawater, and the sheep which graze there have a delicious salty taste when cooked.
Although the immense stretch of sand seems somewhat monotonous and lifeless, nothing could be further from the truth. There is a large range of wildlife, thousands of birds, shellfish, oysters, and even fish under the water line, waiting for the tide. A colony of brown seals regularly comes to spend the winter here.
Les Monts d’Arrée
This is a landscape of irregular hills and unsteady footing, where paths disappear into an ominous ghostly mist. The Bretons call les Monts d’Arée “the doors of hell”. Although they are only 400m high, these hills deserve the name “monts” – the climate is cold in winter, and the slopes are fairly steep and covered in stone. It’s easy to get lost if you leave the footpaths. Les Monts d’Arrée cover a large proportion of the Armorique National Parc, and nature is intact and well preserved there. Eagles and numerous other animals flourish. The arid peaks at Roc’h Trévézel or Menez Hom are brilliant places to experience a vista of the surrounding area. Beyond the plains you can make out woods almost hidden by wisps of blue mist. In the swamp at Yeun Elez, there are said to be the ghosts of tortured souls drowned by exorcists when they clear a haunted house. So watch out…
However, when the devil is not around, Les Monts d’Arrée are truly enchanting. There are several little villages with only a tiny population, each with its own rather secular traditions. You’ll hear fables and music that are unique to this tiny area.
Between Plouyé and Berrien, south east of Les Monts, you’ll find the Huelgoat forest (“High Forest” in Breton). It’s a magic landscape, bathed in a beautiful golden light, where strange chaotic rock forms juxtapose with lush vegetation. This, and les Monts themselves, make a heavenly place to hike, or ride a horse.
