Alignements de Carnac

On day five of me joining Martin on the Brittany leg of his Grand Tour 2024, we headed to the coastal village of Carnac. We came to visit megalithic granite stones, known as the Alignments de Carnac, dating from 3300 to 4500 BC, and varying in size from 0.5 metres to a whopping 6 metres tall, the largest collection of stones of this type in the world.

We parked up to camp at Park Menhir Nord. The plan was to visit Carnac and the monoliths the following day, so for the first evening we just did a short teaser. The stopover was ideally placed to explore the stones, some of which were just a five-minute walk from the carpark. The stones nearest the carpark are smaller and less regimented, and not being behind any sort of barrier can be touched, sat on or insta’d to your heart's content.

The following day was the visit to the alignments proper, which included a pre-booked tour in the afternoon. We'd been lucky so far with the weather in Brittany, but Carnac greeted us with an overcast sky and coastal drizzle, but it didn't dampen our excitement as we headed out on a 5km circular walk taking in the small village of Carnac and the Tumulus Chapel of St Michel, as well as the museum at the Maison de Mégalithes, where the highlight was a guided tour of the stones. The tour allows you walk amongst the largest collection of over 3000 stones, the monoliths de Kermario and Ménec alignement, which are fenced off from general access, and learn more about the history of the stones, or alleged history, since the origin and purpose and design of the stones remains a mystery!

The tour lasted an hour, given so little is known and the origins I was amazed the guide had so much to say, so admit my mind and feet wandered at times, preferring to take in the stones and make the most of having an hour within the closed access area.

Owing to its popularity with visitors, by the 1990s the soil had started to wear away, its degradation putting at risk the integrity of the structures, some of which had indeed been defeated by the sands, or perhaps the hands, of time, and lay flat like fallen soldiers on a battlefield.

Not surprising when we learned they were buried with just 1 /10 th of the stone below the surface of the ground! Now with limited footfall, nature has reclaimed the spaces between these stone giants, with moorland vegetation such as gorse and heather, kept in check by sheep and enjoyed by a diverse range of wildlife.

Tags : monolyth alignment carnac brittany france

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