Friday 23 September 2011

By the lake

A couple of times we visited Lac de Guerlédan, an artificial lake created in the 1920s for hydroelectric power. Being late in the season it was quiet, but there were still some watersports going on, and we saw a cruise boat going up the lake. C was impressed with the quality of the sand on the beach we stopped off at - certainly more sandy than many beaches here.










At one end of the lake is the Abbaye de bon-Repos, an old (founded in the 12th century) Cistercian abbey which had fallen into total repair, but in the '80s the local community started work on restoring it. The church is still a ruin, but the abbey building is well restored. There was an exhibition on monastic food and cooking, which was interesting to me. In the cloisters they had planted beds of wild-flowers - beautiful.




 






Model of the abbey as it appeared in the 18th century

Old pigeon loft / dovecote

2 comments:

Lorraine said...

There has to be a story behind that little house on the walkway. What a curiosity. My husband has wanted to try kayaking - I love the bright colors of the kayaks, but I would never get in one. The wildflowers are so pretty. What a picturesque place to visit.

Carole said...

These are GREAT pictures. I loved seeing all the castle ruins when we were there and hope to come back someday and see more. The abbey picture are wonderful.