Le Camp de César
No need to head up to Brittany to find the dolmens & menhirs, we have over 200 of them here on our doorstep, going back over 5000 years! We came across this fabulous example just behind the Mairie in Avrillé. It’s called the Camp du César and weighs around 90 tonnes!
With our friends over from Ireland and young Liam in tow, we then headed off to the nearby Château de la Guignardière. You’ll find a a line of menhirs in the castle woods and excavations continue in the park every summer.
Menhirs in the forest, Château de la Guignardière
There is also a riddle trail on the grounds which was a good laugh and we even spotted some deer & fawn (des bébés Bambi, as Liam put it). Entry fee: 10€ adults, 8€ for under 12’s, and free for the under 3’s.
Liam & Aidan, the intrepid explorers
Just 6 or so kms south of Avrillé, direction Le Bernard, you’ll find the monumental Dolmen de la Frébouchère, the biggest in the Vendée. It weighs a mind-blowing 85 tonnes and is over 7.5 metres long!
Le Dolmen de la Frébouchère
These mass burial grounds have yielded prehistoric treasures and if you’d like to know more, get along to the prehistoric park & living museum LE CAIRN in St Hilaire la Forêt, opens beginning of April right through ’til November 2010. In low season, it ’s open afternoons only but definitely worth the visit! You’ll need your dictionaries at the ready ‘cos their website is in French only.
