Nice that the good weather has returned for a while. We tried to make our leisurely departure from St Malo but couldn't get out of the carpark. Turned out I simply wasn't close enough to the barrier! Anyhoo, we headed south again, along the Rance estuary. Very picturesque it was too.
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| The Rance has several dams, though none as old as this one any more. It was a tidal mill until as late as 1962, the last of several on the river, and from 1962 to 1980 a tidal electricity generator. |
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| This was our outlook for lunch. Superb, though the park was on quite a bit of a slope. |
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| Another barrier, this one for water control. There's a lock at rear to let river traffic through. |
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| A fishing shack, very like the Trabocco of Italy. The net is held open by the poles you see on the left, and dropped into the river. Then the net is lifted again after the poor fishes wander over it. |
We headed into Dinan which is on the end of the navigable section of the Rance. It used to be an important port for textile products, trading to America and the rest of Europe.
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| Dinan port and the 19th C viaduct |
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| The old bridge - about 8th C I think and more of the port. From here the road led up to the 'new' town. |
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| The original main road into town - Rue de Petit Fort. It's lined with galleries now |
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| The town has around 130 half-timbered houses. It didn't suffer in WW2 like so many other towns in Brittany and Normandy. |
It was a lovely day, so while we had planned to travel further we decided to just continue our flanery and stay the night. Because we can.
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Can't blame the French for misspelling. They seem to have the colours right
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| This 14th C house was threatened with destruction so was moved and rebuilt in this square. Very enlightened for ca. 1830! |
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| Some detail from the same house |
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| Lemon muffin and a cuppa. Back to British style. |
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| The clock-tower and later belfry. Built to show off the wealth of Dinan. |
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| We don't make 'em like we used to... |
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| That's Reggie on the left of 4 down below. View from the ramparts to the old port. |
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| The castle and baronial home of the local lord. |
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| J the usurper |
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| Forget the sign - look at those bugs. We believe it is 'flying ant day', though usually that's a lot earlier in the UK. |
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| They light the viaduct up at night - very nice. |
1 comment:
I seem to have missed reading this one earlier - love the viaduct lights. and that gel on the throne.
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