Huelgoat, with its vast granite rocks, sparkling silver river and enchanted moss covered woods, sits on the edge of a large man-made lake. It is only a 15 minute drive from our holiday cottage in central Brittany. The name Huelgoat is taken from the Breton for high (huel) and wood (goat).

The area surrounding Huelgoat offers many attractions including approximately 10 square kilometers of forest. The town is a very popular tourist destination. The friendly volunteers at the tourist office, which can be found in the town square, speak English.

Huelgoat is our closest town for amenities. There are banks, chemists, doctors and a dentist, a cinema, post office and a newsagent amongst other things. If you need groceries there is an '8 A Huit' grocery store in the central square. An Intermarche supermarket on the road to Berrien sells fuel and is open Sunday mornings.

Bars, restaurants and boulangeries surround the main square and a number of creperies line the lakeside drive. A weekly market is held in Place Aristide on Thursday mornings where you will find lots of local treats on offer. Parking around town is free and ample.

A municipal outdoor pool is open in summer and you can fish on the lake. Buy your permit at the Peinture store in the main square. If you want to try some local produce visit Miellerie de Huelgoat which sells honey from the surrounding Monts d'Arrée and Les 4 Saisons for jams which are made in Huelgoat.

You can download the official Huelgoat tourist information leaflet from here: . You will find more information on Huelgoat on the website.

Above the town are the enchanting gardens of ' Les arbes du monde au Huelgoat '. This lovely arboretum contains about 3,600 types of trees and shrubs from five continents. Andean and Himalayan plants are strongly represented. It is well worth a visit particularly during the spring and autumn.

Le Chaos De Rochers immediately adjoins the town. It is an array of vast granite rocks and boulders (some 20m high) which borders the sparkling river Argent. Here you will find the Grotte Du Diable (cave of the devil) which plunges 10m below Huelgoat's lake.

Park in town and walk to the entrance to the chaos which is by the bridge at the end of the lake. It is a great place for a picnic.

There are many well marked trails you can use to explore the woods. Obtain walking maps of the forest from the tourist office in Huelgoat or use the ones provided in the gite.

The forest was first mined for lead and silver by the Celts and Romans. It reached its heyday in the 18th and 19th centuries when around 1,600 people were employed to produce up to 700 tonnes of lead and nearly two tonnes of silver each year.

The river Argent, which means silver in French, flows from the lake that lies at the centre of Huelgoat. The lake, which covers 15 hectares and is popular with fishermen. Two canals were constructed in the 16th century by German miners to run the hydraulic machinery at the old lead and silver mine which can be found in the middle of the forest.

The old mine workings, wheel and ruined master’s house are all that remain today. We have a printed walk with a map available in the gite which will take you along the route of the old canal to the mine if you wish to see them for yourself.

Strange rock formations litter these luxuriant woodlands. The ancient forest covers about 1000 hectares. One of the most impressive boulders is La Roche Tremblante (trembling rock). This huge granite stone weighs 137 tonnes and is 7 meters in length. It is pivoted in such a way that it can be moved if you know the right place to push. These huge lumps of granite are also known as Logan stones.

Some local teenagers took pity on us and showed us the pivot point. Andy had a go at moving it, successfully, as a couple of passing Dutch tourists will attest (if you can find them to ask!). These types of stones are also known as “roulers” and were a symbol of universal balance for the Druids.

Another impressive rock formation you won’t want to miss is Le Champignon or the mushroom. You will need to leave the forest proper to see it as it is actually in a little wooded area across from the Intermarche supermarket on the road that leads to Berrien from Huelgoat.

During the spring and summer this huge 200 tonne granite boulder, balanced on a smaller rock to form the shape of a mushroom, is obscured by dense foliage. If you can’t see it from the road there is a fingerpost opposite the supermarket car park to show you the way. It is about 200 meter walk along a footpath from the Le Chaos d'Huelgoat in the forest.

This lush green boulder strewn wood has a number of legends associated with it.  Here are a few to whet your appetite. Bear in mind that there seem to be lots of different versions of these so I've picked the ones that I like the most!

Le Camp d'Artus & La Grotte D'Artus

It is said that King Arthur, of the legendary Knights of the Round Table, was buried with his servants in the natural cave of La Grotte D'Artus. Legend has it that there is a fabulous treasure in this cave garded by demons who fly around in the form of Willo-the-wisps. Arthur had found this treasure in the Valley Of No Return with the Wizard Merlin's help.

Andy and I visited Le Camp d'Artus, a large iron age hill fort which can be found in the middle of the forest, on our first trip to Huelgoat where we had one of our traditional jambon et fromage baguette picnics.  Whilst tucking into our crunchy baguettes we heard a loud hullabaloo, dogs barking, horns blowing - yes, it was the infamous "la chasse"! One of the hunters, luridly clad in a bright orange vest, called out to us in English (he obviously knew only mad Brits would be picnicking in the middle of January), "Are you not afraid?!" "Non!" we responded - though now I have learnt how many of these chasseurs manage to shoot each other perhaps we should have been!

In the 4th Century Gradlon Mawr (Gradlon the Great), king of Cornouaille, fell in love with a beautiful half-woman/half-fairy. They had a daughter, Dahut, who was raised by her father after her mother left him. Her mother eventually returned and took possession of Dahut's mind.

Dahut became a cruel princess who took a new lover each night and in the morning would throw them into the River Argent from the Kastell Guibel which was built on a bluff above the river. In high winds, it is said that you can hear the cries and complaints of her dead lovers coming from the depths of the abyss. If ever you hear them, you must say the ritual phrase “May God forgive the dead" and pray for their eternal rest...

In ancient times, so it is told, a giant called Garguantua stopped in the forest of Huelgoat where he was suddenly struck by a terrible hunger. The locals were very miserable (or perhaps just poor) and only offered him a thin porridge which, one suspects, did not sate his hunger.

He continued on his way to the Léon and found some more people who served him a hearty meal.

Later as he was strolling along the coast, he lost his temper and hurled some large rocks that he found on the shore towards Huelgoat, thus forming the fantastic chaos of moss covered boulders that you can see littering the forest today!

The grotto is not far from the bridge that crosses the river Argent in the centre of Huelgoat. It is a few hundred metres from Le Moulin du Chaos which is working water mill dating from 1339 at the entrance of the forest on the edge of the town.

You need to go down some slippery metal steps which have a handrails to access the grotto itself - be warned - it is quite dark and a torch wouldn't go amiss! It is also quiet cool and makes a nice retreat on a hot summers day.

The grotto is supposedly the gateway to Hell. Legend says that it is found at the end of a street lined with bars known as the Chemin de  l'Enfer (Path to Hell). Anyone who manages to reach the last bar in the street in a sober state will be allowed by the devil to return home and spared his evil doings. Drunkards will be damned to Hell forever – you have been warned!

It is said that this lovely crystal clear pool has healing powers given by the fairy of the forest. One legend says that the Lady of the Lake came to see Arthur see while he was bathing here and she healed his wounds with magic water from the pool. One thing for sure the water is refreshing -  just ask Andy who decided to go for a (brief) wade in the pool when we picnicked beside it once.

Another legend says that one day St. Peter and God descended to earth, dressed as a lumberjack and a labourer respectively. They were accompanied by a pregnant sow.  These holy figures came across a house inhabited by an old baker woman. They told her that the sow was about to give birth and that they would give it to her on the condition that they would have half of its litter when they returned. The woman agreed. They said that they would be back in a week. The baker built a hut for the beast and cared for her.

The following day the sow gave birth to eight piglets. The baker thought that St. Peter and God would not know how many piglets the sow gave birth to, so she thought that she would tell them that there only four had been born. She hid four of the piglets in the unlit oven. When the travellers returned they asked how many piglets had been born. “Four.” said the baker. God and St. Peter asked “What about the ones in the oven, do they not count?”. The woman quickly apologised for the lie and St. Peter opened the oven and the four piglets scampered off into the forest. The warm ashes had singed their coats.

Since that time people say that pigs from Huelgoat have brown hair. Personally I think that they were just looking for an excuse to have a cochon grillé or a hog roast as we would call it!

This legend purports that, during the day, fairies would paint their long hair with combs of gold using the pond as a looking glass. If a fairy was caught talking to a boy she was thrown into the pond as a punishment and would drown!

The folk tale goes on to say that you can see the fairies at the bottom of the pond by moonlight but, beware! These beautiful innocent looking creatures will lure you in and then turn into the ugly toothless witches who can cast an evil spell on you.

Local folklore identifies this as the site of the Virgin Mary’s first house. It is a sort of cave created by a pile of boulders formed into strange shapes.

Amongst some of the items that imaginative visitors to the forest have identified are a cauldron, a ladle, a butter dish, a butter churn, some bellows, armchairs and a bed – not that I can imagine that it would be very comfortable to sleep in!

Supposedly you can even spot Jesus’ cradle – would that mean that Mary would rock the rock?