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For reservations & enquiries:
Susan & Steve Anderson
Le Crann
56310 Quistinic
Bretagne
FRANCE
T: + 33 (0) 2 97 51 32 63
M: + 44 (0) 77 62 94 11 11
E: bonjourbrittany@gmail.com
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2013 Reservations
Book now and secure at 2012 prices!
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©2012 www.gitesinsouthernbrittany.com
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Activities
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 Beaches
Within easy reach (about 30 to 45 minutes drive away) are the many wonderful sandy beaches of Southern Brittany; Guidel-Plage, Fort Bloque, Kerpape Plage, Lamor-Plage, Port-Louis, Gavres, Erdeven, Carnac, Trinite-sur-Mer, St-Philibert, Locmariquer, Quiberon to name but a few. Whatever your taste in beaches, whether small sheltered coves or large wild stretches, there is something for all tastes. The yachting havens of Etel or Trinite-sur-Mer are great places for an afternoon tea and cake after spending a day at their child-friendly beaches.
However, don't forget to enjoy the river and lake beaches right on our doorstep. A 5 minute drive away is a delightful unspoilt river beach at Minezan on the Blavet River and 30 minutes away the lake beaches at Guerledan.
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 Walking
Brittany has an abundance of way-marked paths with our commune of Quistinic having been blessed with more than its fair share - a perfect ramblers delight through magnificent and magical hilly terrain, or the serene Blavet River with its safe towpath has many kilometres of easy paths.
Pathways lead directly from the cottages and link up with major pathways and other walking routes published by the commune of Quistinic and the Blavet Valley tourist board. We have a library of published walks and cycle routes in the area for our guests to enjoy and are establishing a tailor-made collection of easy-to-follow walking routes from the cottages, including routes to the attraction of Poul Fetan, the 16th century "living" village and the restaurant and bar at the Old Mill at Botconan. We provide our guests with the local Carte IGN map, the French equivalent of the UK OS 1:25000 map.
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 Cycling
Take advantage of our bicycles provided free of charge to pick up your morning baguette, a leisurely cycle along the 50 kms plus of flat towpath along the River Blavet or explore the stunning country roads and off-road tracks through hamlets, valleys and forests. We have a library of published cycle rides as well as our tailor-made collection of easy to follow routes direct from Le Crann.
All our bicycles are mountain bicycles so they are suitable for off-roading and the roads. We have 7 adult bicycles, 3 child bicycles, 1 bicycle carrier and 1 baby bike seat on site which are available on request, free of charge, for guests to use. We have information on all the bicycle hire shops in the area. Please remember to bring your bicycle helmets with you.
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 Horse Riding
The Breton culture is so entwined with the life of the horse and this love of horses can be seen everywhere. There are horse riding schools in the area and at the coast - a list is available in the cottages.
The medieval town of Hennebont, in the Blavet Valley, is also home to the National Stud, Les Haras National (www.haras-hennebont.fr) dedicated to the breeding of pure blood stallions, which puts on equestrian shows and cart trips throughout the summer and school holidays - a must for any horse enthusiast. Various free horse riding events also take place throughout the year at the Parc du Haras.
For a truly unique day out, our own commune of Quistinic is host to the Pardon Des Chevaux at the end of July - a festival dedicated to the horse and farm animals, where the horses are blessed at a church service.
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 Kayaking
You don’t need to go far to find the opportunity to kayak or canoe, with canoe hire (with or without instructor as well as 1/2 or full day trips) at Pont Augan, Lochrist, St Nicolas-des-Eaux and Pontivy on the Blavet river. At Lochrist there is a Water Park with mini-rapids and obstacle course for the more adventurous.
All along the coast there are numerous centres for sea kayaking as well as some lake kayaking at Ste-Hélène or Lac de Guerlédan
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 Water Sports
In addition to kayaking mentioned above, there are a host of other water sports to be found all along the coast and at some of the inland centres, details of which are available in the Information Pack at Le Crann:
- Surfing
- Windsurfing
- Sailing
- Diving
- Jet skiing
- Sand yachting
- Waterskiing
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Golf
We are well located to access 6 golf courses within a one hour journey. Of these, four are Formule Golf courses (St. Laurent, Ploemeur, Lorient, Baden). Close by is the challenging undulating 9 hole golf course at Rimaison just 25 minutes away. There are also many others slightly further afield which are well worth a visit. Please see below for more information on all these courses.
We will be pleased to assist in booking tee times. If you don't bring your own clubs and wish to play an impromptu game, we have two sets of good quality golf clubs available on request free of charge for our guests to use. We have detailed information on all the courses and directions available in the cottages. If you wish further information on the specific golf course, click on the links below:
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 Fishing
Brittany has some of the best fishing rivers in France, as well as something like a third of France's coastline, giving a great variety for keen anglers. The local rivers are excellent for both coarse and fly-fishing (both salmon and trout) and the Blavet River system, with its 28 fishing rivers and streams, contains salmon, trout, bream, pike, perch, zander, roach, carp and dace.
Fishing permits are required for inland fishing (not sea-side fishing which requires no permits) and can be purchased for a day (10€), one week (30€) or annual period (68€), and will cover fishing in the whole department of Morbihan. We can buy your fishing permits for you in advance of your stay or assist you with arranging these whilst you are here.
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 Tennis
There are two local tennis outdoor courts in Bubry, a short 10 minutes drive away, that are free to use on a first come-first serve basis.
There are also tennis courts at St. Barthelemy (indoor) and Baud (outdoor)
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 Other Activities
In addition to all of the above there is a choice of other activities both close by or within a one hour drive:
- Archery
- Wall climbing
- Paint balling
- Tree climbing
- Quad bikes
- Ice-skating
- Games parks
- Sky-diving
- Go-karting
- Clay pigeon shooting
- Pottery painting
- Indoor bowling
- Indoor Laser
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Sightseeing
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Historic Towns and Castles
Close by there are many beautiful medieval towns and castles to visit. Hennebont with its magnificent ramparts and floral displays is spectacular on market day and in the summer organised walks take place in and around the area. Auray is not to be missed with a lively market in the high town on Mondays and delightful 15th century half-timbered houses, many of these fine restaurants, clustered around the old quay. It is an artist lovers' paradise with many galleries lining the road down to the port which bustles on a Sunday afternoon when the French take an amble down the river to walk off Sunday lunch. Pontivy, originally named after a monk called Ivy from Northumberland in England, was renamed Napoleonville when Napoleon made it the strategic centre of Brittany and built extensively on the medieval centre. For one of the best examples of medieval architecture, don't miss 15th Century Château Rohan. Vannes is the capital of Morbihan and the medieval heart of the town with almost 200 timber-framed building is a joy to behold. Josselin Castle is well worth a visit, one of the few remaining Breton castles still owned by one of the old ruling families. And not to be missed is Concarneau with its 14th Century Ville Close (Walled Town) situated in the middle of the harbour.
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 Carnac and the megalithes
The department of Morbihan in France is a treasure trove for its megalithic structures erected around 5000BC and no trip to this region is complete without a visit to the World Heritage Site of Carnac with its 3000 standing stones arranged in alignments. Equally unmissable (and less crowded) are the 1000 standing stones at Erdeven. The Grand Menhir site at Locmariquer, the Cairn at Petit Mont or catch a boat to the island of Gavrinis to see what is arguably one of the most amazing megalithic monuments. Keep a look out wherever you are and you will see them: a menhir (single standing stone by itself or in an alignment); cromlech's (menhirs in a circle); dolmen (stones topped by others) and tumulus (tomb covered with stone or earth and normally incorporating dolmen).
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Working Villages
There are some beautifully restored Breton villages in the region to demonstrate life and culture of that time:
- The charming 16th century village of Poul Fetan (www.poul-fetan.com), has been immaculately restored to show life at that time with demonstrations in the summer holidays. There is a delightful auberge specialising in organic, traditional fare. Many of our guests take the opportunity to walk from Le Crann to Poul Fetan, one of the major tourist attractions in the area.
- If you want to step even further back in time, 15 minutes away near Melrand is the Village de l'an Mil (www.melrand-village-an-mil.info), a 1000 year old reconstructed village.
- About 30 minutes away is Forges des Salles, an 18th Century Iron working village near Lac de Guerlédan.
- St-Dégan near Auray gives a flavour of a traditional Breton farm
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 Churches and Chapels
Brittany is dotted with inspiring churches and quaint chapels with their own unique architectural features. There are some really noteworthy churches amongst them being Ste-Anne-d’Auray the second greatest pilgrimage shrine after Lourdes in France and the 15th century church at Kernascléden. But not to be missed is the Arts in the Chapels exhibition which takes place in the Blavet Valley region between July and September - an amazing opportunity to see the spectacular Breton countryside and architecture of seldom open chapels.
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Arthurian Legends
Brittany is proud of its Celtic heritage and east of Josselin is Paimpont Forest, centre of the legend of King Arthur in Brittany. Paimpont Forest, once part of the super-forest of Broceliande, is where Merlin was supposed to have once lived and died. Find Merlin’s tomb and Morgan’s “valley of no return”. The Château de Comper has various shows and talks in the summer months
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World War History
Lorient was home to the major submarine base of World War II, which unfortunately meant 90% of the city was destroyed in the bombing, but not the submarine base. More fortunately than most, the city has been redeveloped with some attractive modernist architecture clustered around the yacht basin, which makes is a pleasure to visit, especially during the Lorient Inter-Celtique festival and the opportunity to visit the submarine base and a surviving under-ground shelter (abri). There are guided tours of the submarine base including a submarine in French, English and German.
Closer to home is the little chapel of Notre-Dame du Cloitre in Quistinic which was an infirmary for the Breton resistance in WW II. St Anne D'Auray also hosts the most amazing war memorial to those Breton soldiers who lost their lives in WWI and the Breton Resistance Museum can be found near Malestroit.
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 Farms, Animals & Aquariums
With little ones it is always important to have an abundance of animal attractions. Unbeliveably, in addition to several animal parks and farms, there is also a zoo, donkey farm, ant & bee museum, bat museum, insect museum, aquarium, butterfly farm, the national stud dedicated to pure bred horses, ostrich farm , salmon museum and a donkey farm.
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 Boat Trips
Take a cruise down the River Blavet, or one of many boat trips to the off shore islands and around the beautiful inland sea of the Gulf du Morbihan, where you can stop off on some of the larger islands for lunch, a walk and even a cycle. We have details of all the boat trips available and can give assistance in how to fit one of these into a day trip out.
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 Museums
There is an amazing range of museums in the area, something for all tastes and some so fascinating they must not to be missed. From ecomuseums covering an ironworking factory, the ancient crafts, several ancient working villages and farms, insect museums, a bat museum, a museum to electricity, postcards and weaving, natural history and history museums, a sailing museum, a museum to marine research, naval museums, dolls museums, a museum to salmon and another to tuna fisherman and the not to be missed Poéte Ferrailleur, a world of amazing moving sculptures.
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 Art
Art, architecture and nature lovers can follow the Art in the Chapel exhibitions throughout the summer for a tour of the Blavet River chapels. There are four driving routes to follow, with contemporary art displayed in some of the amazing chapels of the Blavet Valley. This is a wonderful way to explore both the stunning countryside and architecture of chapels, most of which are seldom open to the public. Pont-Aven is an artists' haven, a picturesque town, and home to Paul Gauguin and the Pont Aven School of Painting, who painted both here and at Le Pouldu.
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Events
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The true charm and friendliness of the Breton culture becomes apparent if you have the opportunity to take part in any type of local festival or event where, with good humour and gentleness, visitors are warmly included whether it be a rustic village meal, some local games to a full-blown festival.
Le Crann is ideally situated in the stunning Breton countryside to give you a true flavour of local Breton culture. Find our “Hidden Gems” to give you even more flavour of local life.
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Cultural Events
There is hardly a week that goes by throughout the year without some festival in the region, and in the summer months you will be hard pressed to decide which one to see. On arrival we issue you a specially prepared listing of weekly events so you have the opportunity to partake of a little bit of Breton culture.
The Bretons have an innate love of music, dance and food which go hand-in-hand at any Breton festival, whether it be a Fête (festival), Fest-Noz (night festival) or Pardon (a religious ceremony to a particular saint). If you are of a non-religious disposition, do not let these put you off going to a Pardon. Typically, the church service (you do not have to attend) is followed by a procession with traditional music, dress and banners. The feast is then followed by dancing, music and traditional games. Our own unique Pardon des Chevaux in Quistinic is a little different, with a blessing of the horses. The Grand Pardon of Sainte Anne d'Auray on the 26th of July each year is the most important of the pardons.
Lorient hosts the delightful 10 day Inter-Celtique music festival at the end of July/beginning of August each year when all the Celtic nations descend on Lorient for a rich tapestry of music, food and dance in and around the yacht harbour. Josselin and Hennebont hold magnificent annual medieval festivals and the Bastille celebrations on the 14th July are well worth a visit.
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 Markets
Every day of the week, there is a marvellous array of markets from which to pickup fresh local produce or merely to savour French life. On arrival, we provide a full listing of all the local markets including any seasonal markets so you don’t miss out on your travels out and about. There are un-missable markets at the medieval towns of Auray on a Monday and Hennebont on a Thursday. In July and August, Port Louis holds a lively night market every Tuesday evening with live music.
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 Antique fairs
The French love a “brocante”, “trocs et puce”, “bric-à-brac”, vide-greniers or anthing else you wish to call a second-hand sale. This is normally a major part of a Sunday life but can also take place any other day of the week. In order that you don’t miss out we provide information on all the local fairs taking place during your stay.
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