This manor is private and is not opened to visits.

This is the native home to Chateaubriand's mother: Apolline de Bedée.

François-René de Chateaubruand's parents actually married in Bourseul's church in 1753 and lived in this house for three years.

The main house dates back to the end of the 16th, beginning of the 17th century. The chapel was built in the 17th century in place of the first one which was from the 14th century.

They had as a servant, an Angolan nammed "La France" baptised and buried in Bourseul under the name of Eugène.

"The good La France, my father's valet shared with la Villeneuve part of my affection." (extract from Memories of my Life)

This board takes you through the history of Sassay Spring since its use, in 1916, by Doctor Chambrin in complementary military campaign hospitals. In 1920, we came to take the waters in Plancoët and to drink the water of Nazareth.



It's only on August 2nd 1928 that Sassay's water is categorised as "natural mineral water" by ministerial decree. To this day it is the only one in Brittany to have this acknowledgement.



Right from 1928, in order to protect the spring from pollutions linked to agriculture and to ensure its continuation, a building, nicknamed the "Griffon" was built. Around it, and since then, a protection perimetre of 96 ha was instaured on Brandefer hillock on which every agricultural activity is prohibited.

In order to breathe a little, we propose you stop here to enjoy, as a medieval cartographer did, the view given by the hillock.

The old hamlet of Plancoët is easily spotted on your left, the hamlet of Nazareth on your right. Separating the two villages : the road, the railway tracks, the Arguenon River.

Imagine two centuries ago, the arrival of the young Chateaubriand by carriage, feeble newborn and weaken, to find the "good air of Plancoët".

Following your path you enter into a natural sensitive zone, qualified by scientists as an "exceptional island of ordinary biodiversity", and the house to over 795 animal species.



From this point, we can see, West of Plancoët, Monchoix manor, home of happiness which belonged to Antoine de Bedée, called Bedée the Artichoke.

"My uncle's castle, the count of Bedée, was situated a league away from Plancoët, in an elevated and pleasant position. Everything breathed joice there; my uncle hilarity was endless. He had tree daughters, Caroline, Marie and Flore, and a son, the count of la Boistardais, adviser to the Parliament, who shared his heart's fulfilment. Mon-Choix was always full of the gentlemen of the area. We played music, danced, hunted; we knew jubilation from dawn to dusk. My aunt Madame de Bedée who was seeing my uncle cheerfully eating away his funds and his income, got justly crossed, but wasn't heard out. On the contrarary, her bad temper increased the good spirits of her family, particularly as my aunt herself was prone to many peculiarities; she always had a quarrelsome hunting dog laying in her fold and a private boar which filled the castle with his grunts. When I arrived from the dark and silent paternal house to this home of party and noise, I felt like being in true paradise. This contrast became more apparent, when my family was based in the countryside. To go from Combourg to Mon-Choix, was going from the desert to the world, from the keep of an old Gaulish baron to the villa of a Roman prince." (extract from Memories of my Life).



Imagine the young Chateaubriand coming here two centuries earlier to take a nap and let himself dream.

Facing him, the marshes were in water which the warm summer days turned into mist, favourable to dreams.

That's here that he had the vision of druidess Velléda, Romantic figure of the "martyrs".

"Soldiers warned me that for a few days a woman exited the wood at the beginning of night, went up alone in a bark and crossed the lake, got down on the opposite bank and disappeared.

Hidden amongst the rocks, I waited for a few moments without seeing anything appear. (...) I discover a skiff hanging on the top of a wave, a woman lead it; she was singing whilst fighting the storm, she looked like she was playing amongst the winds; one would have said they were under her powers, so much was she appearing to challenge them. (...) Soon she reaches the shore, soars to terra firma, goes deep into the woods. She passed by me without seeing me. She was tall of height, a black tunique, short with no leaves, barely served as a veil on her nakedness. She was carrying a golden sickle hung to a bronze belt and was crowned of an oak tree branch. The whiteness of her arms and of her skin, her blue eyes, her pink lips, her long blond hair floating freely, told of the daughter of the Gauls, and contrasted by their softness to her proud and wilde gate. She sang with a melodious voice terrible words and her bare breast fell and rose as the waters' foam." (Extract from Martyrs)

The first board, located at the foot of the hillock, right next to Sassay water plant, gives details on the itinerary you are going to make and locates all the different boards you'll get to come across.





The site you are about to discover, preserved for over two decades, was qualified as "ordinary biodiversity exceptional island" by scientists. Therefore, we ask you to be careful during your walk and to respect the indications, the quietness of the place and above all, the nature surrounding you.



For more details: www.bio-scene.org/panoramique/tertre-de-brandefer/

At the foot of the hillock, you can discover Natural Mineral Water of Plancoët Company’s water production plant. This thousand of virtues water contributed to Plancoët’s renown. The only mineral water of Brittany since 1928, the spring became a high technology company.

The first stone building is the original production plant, built in the 20’s at the times of pharmacy’s stamps and the first tourists. It now houses a museum, punctually opened during occasional visits. The adjoining white building came to get the better of it after the growth of demand, parallel to the growth of supermarkets. Finally, the production plant of today testifies to the importance of the company with a production of over 50 million bottles a year.



More info on: www.eau-plancoet.com . For supervised visits: http://www/valdarguenon.fr/balades.php4

This board, by a large panorama, retraces Plancoët's history from Gallo-Roman times, and the Middle Ages with its walls and its castle.



François Renée de Chateaubriand, born in Saint-Malo, 25km away from Plancoët, often cam to visit his grand-mother: Madame de Bédée, "at the good air of Plancoët", where he frequented Clos Bourget, went on long walks by Brandefer Hillock and Nazareth, hamlet from Corseul, linked to Plancoët in 1841.



Plancoeët's economical development was linked to its port activity, the sea, that can be seen from the site, being only 4km axay, with the exploitation of marl, then dairies developed following alcohol distilleries, of which the old chimney can be made out, Sassay water plant coming in addition and to complete these activities.

In order to breathe a little, we offer you this stop to enjoy, as a medieval cartographer did, the view given by the hillock.

The old hamlet of Plancoët is easily spotted on your left, the hamlet of Nazareth on your right. Separating the two villages : the road, the railway tracks, the Arguenon River.

Imagine two centuries ago the arrival of the young Chateaubriand by carriage, feeble newborn and weaken, to find the "good air of Plancoët".

Following your path you enter into a natural sensitive zone, qualified by scientists as an "exceptional island of ordinary biodiversity", and is the house to over 795 animal species.

Just to catch your breath!

At the Brandefert Hillock you are entering a sensitive natural zone, qualified by scientists as an “exceptional ordinary biodiversity spot” where over 795 species of animals can be found.

It’s the drainage basin of Plancoët Natural Spring Water and one of the reasons of its purity.



Right at the beginning of the descent, on top of the field, you’ll have a beautiful panoramic view (as illustrated by the picture at the start of the itinerary), the Arguenon River facing you, and on either side: westerly: Plancoët, easterly: Nazareth, which became one single village in 1841.

In his peregrinations in the nature, Chateaubriand may have come to quench his thirst to the water from this spring. It's only at the beginning of the 20th century that Doctor Chambrin's finding, then mayor of the village, on his patients lead to this water being categorised as natural mineral water (1928).

A first water plant is created (granite house in front of you) helped by the birth of tourism and need of heatlth (already!).



After the war, a second plant (white building) comes out of the ground to follow the growth of demand, linked to the birth of supermarkets and plastic bottles.

The growth continues with the current plant. Plancoët's mineral water (still and sparkling water since 2010) and Ste-Alix spring water follow their watery path well anchored in their area.



Caution: after this point the itinerary becomes harder. You can also read the rest of the document and go directly to the 11th point without being lost.

From this point, we can see, West of Plancoët, Monchoix manor, home of happiness which belonged to Antoine de Bedée, called Bedée the Artichoke.



"My uncle's castle, the count of Bedée, was situated a league away from Plancoët, in an elevated and pleasant position. Everything breathed joice there; my uncle hilarity was endless. He had tree daughters, Caroline, Marie and Flore, and a son, the count of la Boistardais, adviser to the Parliament, who shared his heart fulfilment. Mon-Choix was always full of the gentlemen of the area. We played music, danced, hunted; we knew jubilation from dawn to dusk. My aunt Madame de Bedée who was seeing my uncle cheerfully eating away his funds and his income, got justly crossed, but wasn't heard out. On the contrarary, her bad temper increased the good spirits of her family, particularly as my aunt herself was prone to many peculiarities; she always had a quarrelsome hunting dog laying in her fold and a private boar which filled the castle with his grunts. When I arrived from the dark and silent paternal house to this home of party and noise, I felt like being in true paradise. This contrast became more apparent, when my family was based in the countryside. To go from Combourg to Mon-Choix, was going from the desert to the world, from the keep of an old Gaulish baron to the villa of a Roman prince." (extract from Memories of my Life)



Going to step n°9 is going a long way on a rocky path. You can go directly to step n°10 without getting lost story-wise.

In Rue de l'Abbaye, you go by, at n°43, Chateaubriand's grand-mother's house.

You will be able to get a better view once you crossed protected rue de Velléda.

"If ever I saw happiness on earth, it no doubt was in this house. (...) Madame de Bedée didn't walk anymore but apart from that she had none of the inconveniences of her age. She was an agreeable old woman, plump, white, clean, tall by looks, of beautiful and noble ways, wearing antique pleated dresses and a black laced headdress tied below the chin. She had an ornated mind, grave conversation, serious temper. She was being taken care of by her sister Mademoiselle de Boistilleul, whom looked like her only through her goodness. (...) My grand-mother counted on her sister for the care of the house: she dined at eleven o'clock in the morning, slept for two hours after her diner; at one she woke up, she was caried to her garden where she took the fresh air surrounded by her sister, her children and grand-children. At four she entered her salon, a gaming table was placed; Mademoiselle de Boistilleul knocked with tongues on the chimney plate, and a few moments afterwards we saw entering three other old maidens who exited the neighbouring house at my aunt's call. These three sisters of whom the youngest was fifty-eight years old, were called demoiselles Ville-de-Neuf. Daughters of a poor gentleman, instead of sharing his small inheritance, they enjoyed it together, never left one another, and never left their father's village; bound since their childhood, they lived next to each other, and came everyday at the agreed signal through the chimney, play a game of quadrille with their old friend. The game started, these old ladies quarelled. It was the only event of their life and the only moment when the equality of their temper was altered; at eight supper brought back serenity.' (extracts from Memories of my Life)

Going down the steps you arrive in a valley away from the main road.

In Chateaubriand's time, these houses were the only ones in the hamlet. Nazareth district was an artisans' district.

The façades gave out on the street; the shop was held at the ground floor (the old shop windows can be made out on the façades) and the people lived on the first floor. At the back was a back-shop, a work-shop, sometimes an oven, a garden for the food missing and at the bottom of the valley, water, the essential element to every and any activity.

"My grand-mother lived in the only street of the hamlet de l'Abbaye, a pretty small house of which the gardens went down in terraces to a valley and at the end of which a small fountain, surrounded by willow trees, could be found. (extract from Memories of my Life)

Two hillocks cut by the Rue de l’Abbaye; the hillock of la Janière is the smallest, the panorama it offers on the town is no less interesting.

Plancoët used to have two train stations! One for the tramway that went to le Guildo (brick-made building after the boule fields) and one on the train tracks from Lison to Brest, today developing.

Plancoët is also a port at the back of a ria.



In the middle of the 19th century, the light boats were numerous to dock there and load or unload grains, apples, wood, « marne » ou « tangue » of the sea (mud to spread on the fields, used as a fertiliser on the crops)



The arrival of the train in 1879 meant its decline.

The club is opened all year round.



You can rent kayaks and canoes on the river part of the Arguenon, or try out a nature escapade, on the ria through a descent of the maritime Arguenon or at sea around the Ebihens archipelago.



For more information, call the: 02 96 84 16 12

At all time was Plancoët an important crossing point:

First a road, thanks to the ford, the lowest on the Arguenon River, a back of ria port; very busy in the 19th century and a train station, still open, which allowed the first visitors to come by train.

In front of you, you'll see proto-industrial architectural elements (mills, factories...)