The area

The cottage is located in Guémené-sur-Scorff in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.

Designated a ‘Small City of Character’, Guémené owes its origin to a feudal motte built around 1050 by a lord named Guégant. A part of the original fortress, built in 1520, can be seen right in the heart of the town.

The wider area, Morbihan, offers the best of two worlds with numerous Medieval villages to explore as well as glorious beaches an hour’s drive from the cottage.

There are a number of cafés, crêperies, a boulangerie, and shops in the village, as well as a large supermarket a 10-minute walk from the cottage. The weekly markets offer an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, fish, poultry and cheese.

Morbihan is the southern-most province in Brittany, and a popular holiday destination. This part of France enjoys a temperate climate, somewhat different for the north and Normandy, owing to the influence of the Atlantic Gulf stream.

Morbihan means ‘Small Sea’ in Breton and the Gulf of Morbihan is officially listed in the Club of the most beautiful bays in the world. The gulf has between 30 and 40 inhabited islands and all but two are privately owned.

Morbihan is an area rich in history and culture, stories and legends. There are many towns to explore with their often thousand-year-old history. Cathedrals with slender towers, war ravaged castles with traces of their ramparts still present, and vast town squares dedicated to weekly market activities can all be found here.

Along the Morbihan coastline, you will find many quays lined with terraces, restaurants and boats. These small Breton ports are irresistibly charming.

There is an amazing mix of inland historic villages, Medieval town centres lined with ancient houses, as well as glorious original-growth forests and a long and varied coastline with wonderful long sandy beaches, picture perfect bays and harbours.

Don’t miss the coastal oyster route to to wander, while enjoying a highly prized meal of fresh Breton oysters!

Summers in the Gulf of Morbihan are hot and sunny. The Gulf has a special microclimate that warms the sea, and its geography protects its many islands and islets from the vagaries of the wild ocean.

The Gulf of Morbihan is a large natural harbour like an inland sea, that few, except for the French in the know, visit annually. There are harbours all over the Gulf, from large marinas filled with international racing yachts to tiny fishing harbours. The harbour at La Trinité-sur-Mer is famous for being home to one of the oldest sailing clubs in France. Regattas take place here six months a year.

Near Auray, you will find Saint-Goustan, a striking estuary harbour where Benjamin Franklin landed in France in 1776, on his way to ask King Louis XVI for help in the American War of Independence.

The over 3,000 standing stones at Carnac are a collection of thousands of granite menhirs, erected between 5,000 and 3,500 BC, that are unusually, arranged in long straight rows. It’s the most important prehistoric site in Europe. These mysterious stones have baffled historians for centuries, some weighing up to 350 tons. The beaches and restaurants around Carnac are pretty special, too.