Beautiful Dinan

Dinan is a really surprising town. On one hand it is a beautiful 14/15th century town perched on top of a hill but on the other it is a port as well with its very own stone bridge.

We had a full day in Dinan to look around and also have a bit of a rest. We went for a walk around the walled section of the town and found the viaduct, built in 1852 to replace an earlier smaller bridge. We also found the walls of the town and climbed up to spectacular views down into the port of Dinan.

Dinan is on the river Rouse and the Tourist Information Centre directed us to go for a walk down the valley to the village Lehon and then walk along to the port of Dinan then back up the hill to the town - so this is what we did.

The village of Lehon was about a 10 min walk away and was very pleasant and peaceful. It had old stone buildings and a stone bridge over the river. Overlooking the village on the other side of the valley are the remains of a 12th century fort.

There is also a 6th century abbey and some picturesque stone houses and buildings. The abbey had a chequered history, Norman invaders destroyed it but it was rebuilt, it went on to become a tannery and it was also used as an ammunition storage depot during the Revolution. Finally in the late 1800s it was restored as a church.

From Lehon we wandered down stream past some school kids paddling down river in typically chaotic fashion. The water would have been freezing but they were clowning about.

The port of Dinan was quite busy with some large boats tied up. We had to have a coffee and a drink before we could tackle the walk back up the hill to Dinan town. Some of the buildings we walked past were clearly very old.

At the top we had to stop for lunch and a siesta before we went to explore the ramparts of the town. Like many towns Dinan had walls but unlike many towns much of the walls are still intact. We walked through the town and climbed the steps to the ramparts. A good view across town and of the walls themselves.

After an exhausting day we needed some emergency supplies of cheese and a good bottle of rose wine.

Tomorrow we leave Dinan and head south to Chinon for a couple of nights.Les mer