The area between St Pol de Leon and Roscoff is a wonderful corner of Britanny to discover.
St Pol de Leon has two great churches to visit and an interesting old town.
One thing is particularly interesting, as it is also very unusual to see.
Inside the cathedral on a shelf, in old wooden boxes are kept the skulls of the notables of the town.
But before to say more about the boxes let's start from the beginning and visit Saint Pol de Leon.
The old town of St Pol de Leon is beautiful and well kept and you will immediately notice the beautiful and imposing Cathedral.
The Cathedral of St Pol de Leon is an absolute masterpiece of the typical medieval architecture in the area of Finisterre, in Brittany.
Inside the beautiful Cathedral, hidden in a corner, many wooden boxes are beautifully carved in the shape of little chapels and through the heart-shaped-hole made in the front of the boxes you can easily see the skulls.
These boxes are named in Brittany Les Boites à Chefs.
In these old wooden boxes are kept the skulls of the notables of the town.
The tradition went on till the XIX century, when these boxes were made, to preserve the skulls of the dead inside the church.
Today these boxes are a rare sight in Brittany.
Want to start your trekking now?
From East of the old town starts the walk along the coast towards Roscoff.
The walk is not long and goes along beautiful bays and beaches.
Just after the little island of St Anne (Ilot Ste-Anne), the amazing beach of Kersaliou opens up with its beautiful rocks.
You don't walk much longer along the coast and you are already at Roscoff.
Roscoff, like Montcontour, that we have already visited, is rightly classified a Petite cité de caractère de Bretagne (a small town of character), for is picturesque buildings and promenade along the coast.
Roscoff is in these days a pretty village from where ferries cross the English Channel to England and Ireland, but it was one time a village with a bad reputation.
Roscoff was a base for the pirates.
Today the beautiful promenade and the old buildings make of Roscoff a wonderful destination for a day at the sea.
Here some photos of Roscoff for you:
This post has been made thanks to the great help, support and friendship of Françoise and Hervé Caroff from Plouescat.
Read more posts on our page Visit France.
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