Pontivy to Bon Repos

22 August

From Pontivy, the canal/river was particularly pretty, the still day gifting us reflections of the trees on the banks of the Blavet. 

We easily reached the hydro dam - built between 1932 and 1931 - completely stuffing the canal system at the time. And the current bike trail. The trail climbs steeply up to a point overlooking the hydro lake, and follows an old railway line along past the lake, until it rejoins the Blavet at Bon Repos. 

The ups and downs are gentle, as befits a train line, until the end where the trail branches off steeply down to Bon Repos, where there is an old abbey. And an old forge, as it happens, so we had a second opportunity to visit both an abbey and a forge after all.

We decided to stay the night at the Abbey, which had been a Cistercian abbey (founded by a Rohan, 12th century), fell into complete disrepair after the revolution and since 1986 has been in a state of restoration, first by a group of passionate volunteers, now with help from other agencies. There is a small restaurant and hotel.

The main part of the Abbey is given over to exhibitions and a shop with lots of enticing books. There is still a lot of restoration to be done.

After a restorative cider in the sun we biked over to the forge (10km) which is in excellent condition, having also had restorative work done. The main house, where the maitre (=CEO) used to live is still lived in by the family that owns it, and the foremen's houses also seem to be lived in. Outbuildings are clearly still used. The school didn't close until 1967.

It is essentially a 17th century forge (actually 4 forges), manufacturing steel, with workers' and managers' accommodation, chapel, school, bakery, communal oven, canteen, terraced gardens and more, which lasted until 1877. People seem to have continued to live there for about another century and before it became a tourist attraction there was some restoration done, but essentially it remains a good example of the industrial heritage of the region.

Workers' accommodation

The workers did not have to pay for accommodation and they had schooling long before it was compulsory, as well as a pension system for widows and orphans which was well in advance of society at large.

Back at the abbey once more we decided to go for the fixed price meal, which was of very good quality, washed down with a local cider which was also very good. Plenty of sleep in the 'step-back-into-the-past' beds and there was even a bath with a plug!! We were well-pleased with our decision to stop there instead of continuing on. A really pleasant afternoon and evening.