Several locals had told us that we have to go to Kerascoët, a picturesque Breton village from the 15th century. It's more of a hamlet than a village close to the Atlantic coast, surrounded by several equally small villages. We had to take narrow country roads to get there - our preferred roads anyway.
In the following pictures you will see how quickly the weather changed from one minute to the next and back again - supposedly this is quite typical for Bretagne. We had blue sky, gray sky a couple minutes later and sometimes it even looked like it was going to rain (it didn't).
The other remarkable thing was that we were the only people in this village. It seemed a bit deserted - no tourists, but also no locals. We were here on one of the last rather cool October days, so it might not be a big suprise that there wasn't much of village life here.
The stone cottages with their thatched roofs were beautiful though. Thatched roofs seem to be typical for these old Breton cottages, and some of you might have seen them in the British Isles as well. You can also find them in the North of Germany, including its islands. In the past, these roofs were made with rye straw, but are nowadays replaced by reed.
Thatched roofs are expensive to maintain - and insurance is also high because of the elevated fire danger. The roof in this following image doesn't look that good anymore and probably is in need of some repair or even replacement.
Narrow alleys were winding through the village.
"Ker" is the Breton word for "village" and "Kerascoët" means "village of the so-called Hascoët".
There was still an old community bakehouse close to the main square of the village. I couldn't find any information whether it is still used (like some of the old ones in Germany still are).
The same goes for the old well.
We noticed a lot of hydrangea in the village which were still quite beautiful even though it was rather late in the season. It must be so lovely in the summer.
Windows - there were beautiful windows to photograph with colorful frames and shutters. I have always had a "thing" for windows...
... and doors as well. I'm not quite sure what was going on with this blue door though. I wonder whether the person who built/installed it had a little bit too much of cidre and calvados.
You certainly notice that the color blue is quite prevalent in this village. Fences, garden gates, doors, window frames, shutters are painted in blue. I learned that in old times people painted them with leftover paint from their fishing boats.
10 comments:
Definitely picturesque = in the extreme. I do hope that communal bread oven does work. And like you I am drawn to the windows...
Kerascoët’s picturesque thatched cottages and swiftly shifting Breton skies made for a memorable, if quiet, visit—though the charming old roofs and their rickety wall ladders suggest beauty comes with its maintenance challenges.
What a charming village, steeped in antiquity, redolent with history. I would imagine that you felt a sense of timelessness as you walked around and could quite easily transport yourself back to an earlier time. We can always count on you to show us the “other” side of a country, Carola, far from the conventional tourist attractions. I can’t help but notice that these streets are pleasingly free of mobs of litter-dropping people, only adding to the pleasure. Hugs hugs - David
...Carola, thanks for taking me along to see this storybook village.
Such an interesting and picturesque village, Carola, but the lack of any other humans, whether inhabitants or visitors, was intriguing. Did you ever learn whether this is a deserted location or just had very shy residents?
So charming:)
To me, this is perfect. I love everything about these buildings.
It looks just so charming and I loved your photos. My kinds of buildings. But how very odd you didn't even see any locals. Makes for postcard photos but very strange.
What a charming village to wander through. I, too, am fascinated by doors and windows, particularly those windows with the different coloured shutters. Thanks for showing us your photos.
Me ha gustado mucho, es un pueblo precioso. Gracias y besos.
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