![]() Folklore goes so far as to say that each fairy carried two stones, one under each arm.Īfter delivering stones to La Roche-aux-Fées the fairies would then return to their quarry where they would eat their meals and rest. As I pointed out above, the site I mentioned first is called the ‘rock of the fairies’ because it was the fairies who are said to have brought the large stones from the nearby quarries and erected the structure. As with many other menhirs and megalithic sites around Europe, this little cluster of sites in north eastern Brittany are also explained by local folklore traditions associated with fairies. And the cluster of houses around them, a very small hamlet, goes by the same name. La Table-aux-Fées Saulnières The two stones at Saulnières may be fallen (see the photograph), they are known as La Table-aux-Fées Saulnières. As they appear to be nothing more than fallen stones, visitors to the area would not be missing out if they missed this site and focussing on the others instead. The two ‘menhirs’ at Saulnières are now on private property and therefore not accessible to the public. There are also menhirs at the nearby towns of Theil-de-Bretagne, Janzé, Retiers and Saulnières. The menhirs have been fenced off from adjacent agricultural lands, and a bench as been provided for visitors to site and contemplate whatever it is one thinks about when looking at enigmatic standing stones like these. They were placed about fifty metres apart, on a slight rise that has a wonderful view of the surrounding countryside. ![]() On the outskirts of the town of Sel-de-Bretagne are two standing stones, that are officially known as ‘les menhirs du Champ de la Pierre et du Champ Horel du Sel-de-Bretagne.’ The two stones are very different in shape and colour one is a greyish-red schist and the other white quartz. Sel-de-Bretagne And there are about five other menhir sites in the area – I managed to get to two of them on the same day as visiting La Roche-aux-Fées. I was so lucky with the weather (just look at the blue sky in the photographs), but what I was thrilled to see was the final colours of autumn. ![]() And of course, that gave me an opportunity to check on the progress at Mont Saint-Michel since my visit there in June. Given I do not live that far from Brittany, I decided on a weeks break exploring these megalithic sites and some of the Medieval castles. And one of these other concentrations can be found in north eastern Brittany, not far from Mont Saint-Michel and the various Medieval forts and castles in that area. While I was there I saw a map showing the menhirs and megaliths of Brittany and was surprised to learn that there were similar concentrations of these sites elsewhere in the region, not just around the Baie de Quiberon as I had long thought. That area is well known for its concentration of some truly enigmatic megalithic sites, from the Carnac standing stone alignments, the diverse megalithic arrangements at Locmariaquer and the passage tomb on the island of Gavrinis. Earlier in the year I visited the Carnac area on the southern Brittany coast.
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