La Roche Bernard Morbihan France
La Roche Bernard in the department of Morbihan used to be an important port in south eastern Brittany lying on the river Vilaine, trading timber for slates with the UK, and boats were built there using local oak. In those days the harbour was a hectic place, not least because the harbour dried at every ebb tide, and refilled at every flood.
Those days are gone, and now La Roche Bernard’s harbour is permanently full and tranquil thanks to a sea barrage which is 10kms downstream, and which stabilises the level of the Vilaine.
Nowadays La Roche Bernard does very well out of tourism, there being three major yachting marinas nearby (La Roche Bernard itself, Arzal – where the barrage is, and Folleux – upstream of La Roche in the Redon direction). La Roche has a historic centre, Le Vieux Quartier, with the usual tourist attractions (artisanal workshops, restaurants, two museums, a weekly market and so on). In addition there are a number of beautiful beaches from Penestin south to Guerande, and La Roche can be used as a good centre from which to explore this part of Brittany: Guerande, la Baule, Questembert, Redon, Rochefort en Terre, etc..
The immediate area of La Roche Bernard is excellent walking and cycling country. Cyclists can use an extensive network of farm tracks, and the canals which cross Redon, as well as the very quiet roads. Walking is easy as the hills are really quite low, and it is made more interesting by the large variety of wildlife (wild boars, kites, herons, egrets, sacred ibis, buzzards, butterflies such as Swallowtails).
Thanks to rural depopulation in the “thirty glorious years” (1945-1975) of France’s economic revival there were left a lot a picturesque farm houses and manoirs which have been converted to gites and cottages for holidays in this area of Brittany. A lot of British people have settled permanently in the La Roche Bernard area but they do nothing to dilute the “Frenchness” of La Roche.
Bons vacances !
