Le Gast, the menhirs and the Jardins de La Peignie offer different thematic ways to explore Ménéac: village history, megalithic heritage and garden culture. These themes can be distinguished through the dates of the houses, the heights of the menhirs and the garden collections. You can therefore choose a focus based on whether you are more interested in historic buildings, stone monuments or plants.

Le Gast: village history across two construction dates

Le Gast is the oldest village in the commune of Ménéac. One house there was built in 1574; another house in Le Gast dates from 1728. The first date falls in the 16th century, the second in the 18th century. The two dates are 154 years apart. Together, they provide two clearly dated examples of different historical periods in the village.

A lintel on the house dating from 1728 bears the inscription IHS, a Christogram. A lintel is the horizontal upper part of a doorway; naming it precisely locates the inscription on the house. This provides another concrete detail by which to describe the building, in addition to its construction date. Anyone interested in historic houses will find both a historical context and a specific feature at the entrance.

Menhirs: comparing heights

The Menhir de Bellouan is seven metres high, while the Menhir du Chauchix is five metres high. The stated heights therefore differ by two metres, allowing a direct comparison of the sizes of these two named menhirs. The menhirs of Camblot are among the megalithic monuments of Ménéac. The theme thus includes not only individual monuments with specific heights, but also a named group within the commune’s megalithic heritage.

Garden collection and events

The Jardins de La Peignie feature 450 varieties of old roses. They also include 200 specimen trees and shrubs planted across 1.6 hectares. These details highlight different aspects of the collection: the roses are described by variety, while the trees and shrubs are described by their number and the area they cover. Botanical diversity and the scale of the plantings therefore stand as distinct themes alongside the village and megalithic history.

The Jardins de La Peignie programme includes cultural and festive events; individual events vary. If you would like to plan your trip around one of these events, check in advance which event falls within your travel dates. Alongside its collections, the garden thus offers a distinct focus on events. When choosing a theme, it makes a difference whether you are mainly interested in plant collections or in cultural and festive events.

Discover more destinations: Nostang, Ambon, Mauron, Guiscriff, Rieux, La Trinité-Sur-Mer, Saint Gorgon, Saint-Jean-Brévelay

For the regional travel overview: Morbihan.