Bubry - Brandifrout Circuit by the river

Associated with Saint-Trémeur chapel built on the hill in the 17th century, this triangular fountain houses a statue of Saint Trémeur, identifiable by his headless body holding his head under his arm. This saint met a terrible end. Son of King Conomor who reigned over Cornouaille and Poher in the 11th century, he was decapitated by his father who has received a prediction that he would die at the hand of his son. Above the niche decorated with three human masks, is an engraved stone indicating that the fountain was built in 1719 by a TREASURER whose name is illegible. This was the treasurer of the factory council, comprised of priests and laymen who administered the chapel’s finances. They were assisted by a local lord whose arms are depicted on the pediment. These basins were very common and often circular and were it was said, used to rinse the bottom of the bucket so as not to soil the spring. Perhaps people also came to drink the water of saint Trémeur to heal headaches! He was prayed to for this, probably due to his decapitation. Saint Avertin, also present in the chapel in the past, was also prayed to for these same ailments.

This bread oven which did not figure on the 1842 Napoleonic land registry, belonged to the Métairie de Brûlé. The inhabitants of this farm which once belonged to the lords of the nearby Château de Brulé, used it to cook their bread, the basis of their diet. It is characteristic of the ovens built by countryfolk in the 17th and 19th century. From the bottom to the top can be found on its carefully carved facade, the ash pit, the work surface, the semi-circular arched mouth, the two corbels and the vent, a small opening used to evacuate the excess steam. Inside the oven, the plant coverage protects a dome-shaped vault.

Almost 14 km long, the river Brandifrout is a tributary of the Blavet. Lined with sand eroded from the granite bedrock by the water, this well oxygenated river is home to salmon and trout, but also to a very rare shellfish, the freshwater pearl mussel. Living up to one hundred years, this freshwater mussel is under threat by pollution and dams as it needs nitrate-poor waters and Salmonidae to ensure the species survives. The larvae laid by the females stick to the gills of the fish, forming a cyst from which a small mussel hatches.

The Davy bridge is comprised of a central pillar and a deck made from huge blocks of granite and dates from the 17th century. It replaced a much older ford or bridge, since this is the ancient pre-Roman road that linked Carhaix to Locmariaquer. Heading up towards Botfau and Locqueltas, you'll be following this ancient route, which then descended towards the sea, passing through the market town of Quistinic, east of Languidic, then through the market towns of Pluvigner, Brec'h, Auray and Saint-Philibert.

The chapel of Notre-Dame de la Salette was built between 1848 and 1859 at the initiative of its rector in the site of an almost ruined chapel. Built to glorify the apparition of the Virgin Mary to two young shepherds from the village of la Salette in the Alps in 1846, it houses a statue of the Virgin Mary and children but also some 19th and 20th century furniture: statues, paintings, cross, banners, altar, tribune, etc. Two curious fountains were built at the same time. The first, rectangular, was dug inside the chapel. The second, built on a pillar surmounted by a pyramidal roof, is connected to a washhouse further down in the village.The first chapel is dedicated to Saint Gildas, who came from Scotland in the 6th century to preach the gospel, and gave his name to the village of Locqueltas which means Gildas’ place in Breton. The building houses some 17th century furniture: a font, but mainly the statues of Saint Gildas and Saint Bieuzy, from the same workshops.

The open landscape on this plateau offers a panoramic view over the countryside around Bubry. It attests to the farming and its development over the second half of the 20th century. The fields, once surrounded with wooded embankments planted with apple trees, have been merged into large parcels, and the embankments flattened to make way for large farm machinery. Here, the checkered bocage is still visible, although interrupted by a few fields. Hedges and embankments continue to disappear every year, although today farmers are encouraged to restore them as they hold many advantages. The protect the crops and livestock from the wind and sun, limit the evaporation of water and act as a barrier to runoff, pollution and soil erosion. They are also ecological corridors of biodiversity, preventing flooding and providing firewood.

On the slopes and in the bottom of the valley, woodland is omnipresent. Typical Breton species can be found there such as beech, oak and birch. This diversity promotes the development of shrubs and plants, ferns and mosses which act as food stores for mammals, birds, molluscs and insects. There are also some softwoods planted in the 19th century and appreciated by foresters for their rapid growth. 

Located on the banks of the river Brandifrout, the Brulé mills were both part of the Le Brulé seigneury identified from the 16th century. They developed due to the industrial revolution of the 19th century and are some of the rare flour mills still working, selling flour for bread-making and buckwheat, an essential ingredient in crêpes. In 1843, the upper mill in the same location was fed by the Le Brulé stream which flowed from the castle further upstream. Two derivation channels were used to turn the wheels that run the millstones to grind the grain to make flour. The lower mill had a smaller basin but was linked to a fish farm. Comprised of stone dykes forming a bottleneck in the centre of the river, nets were spread in the autumn when eels were leaving the river to reproduce in the Sargasso Sea.

The Bail fountain is at the edge of the Le Brulé path and is protected by an embankment. It can be identified by its rectangular basin. Located downstream of the Talenay to which it is connected by a path, it was probably used to supply the village with water prior to the construction of the wells. Many of these fountains which determined where villages sprang up, have since been forgotten or destroyed in the 1960s and 70s after the potable water network was installed.