Meeting Some Stone-Faced Saints at the Valley of the Saints, Brittany, France

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(Edited)

I haven't done much today, so I looked at my photo archive from a past visit to La Vallée des Saints (The Valley of the Saints) in Carnoët, Brittany. Officially opened in 2012, the plan was to erect 1,000 statues representing the monks who came over from Ireland, Wales or Cornwall to bring Christianity to Brittany.

I have always liked statues and monuments, so it was really useful that many of the statues had small plaques nearby explaining to visitors who the saint was, and giving a little history about them. There were also information boards while walking around.

Entry was free, but you pay for your car parking when you leave. You have to walk up the hill to the start of it, the car park is kind of halfway along the hill. There is accessible parking for disabled people at the very top.

The statues are made out of granite and are sculpted by contemporary artists. They are all spread over the hillside. They are quite a formidable sight as some of them are several metres high and very unique.

I like the animal statues but I think this one is one of my favourites by artist Cyril Pouliquen. It depicts Saint Darerca, known as the "Mother of Saints." I like the colour of the foliage in the background as well.

I expect they look different in all kinds of weather as well. A bit of mist would have been great! Having said that, I don't think I'd like walking through the field on my own in the dark.

Visiting the The Valley of the Saints (La Vallée des Saints) was a really interesting and fascinating experience. It was very easy to spend a few hours there taking in all of the views and details of the sculptures.



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There are so many monuments in that valley. I wondered, how many monuments could they have built?

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I think they have 190 now but are planning for 1,000.

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It's definitely a spot where you could spend hours just taking in all the details!😊

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Some very strange stone statues! I hope they won’t start walking in the

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