Today was excursion day and so I woke up at 8am to prepare my lunch, which were 2 sandwiches. At about 10am, I left for the coach terminal in the city centre. As I walked to the bus stop, there were students and parents touring around the campus, led by student guides. No wonder the students in INSA were quite busy these few days. It was Open House Day. That also explains why the “people of travel” were forced to leave the carpark so as to make way for the cars that kept coming in. At about 1055am, I reached the coach terminal and approached the counter to buy a ticket to Fougeres at 1120am. The lady said the next coach will leave at 1220pm. I took out my pamphlet and realized how blur I was. The 1120am coach is only for Monday till Friday. For Saturday, it will leave at 1220pm. I decided not to buy first and went to the train station. Maybe there would be a train to St Malo at 11 plus and hence I need not wait so long. That was when I realized that I had forgotten to bring along my 12-25 card! Damn. Which meant I can’t take the train unless I want to pay for the full fare. With more than an hour left before 1220pm, I decided to go back INSA and take my 12-25 card.
I had to run and rush because the to and fro bus ride took about an hour (including waiting time) and I might not be able to catch the 1220pm coach to Fougeres. But I realized I was being very foolish because if I wanted to take the coach, then there was no need to go back and take the 12-25 card since it only applies to SNCF trains and coaches. If I wanted to take the train, then I could take my own sweet time to go back and take the card. In the end I was panting when I returned to the coach terminal and managed to buy the ticket in time. And the 12-25 card was uselessly brought along. The coach went eastward and actually came quite close to INSA because I saw the gigantic tower. And it also passed by a huge Leader Price supermarket. Maybe tomorrow I would try to find my way there by foot. Between Rennes and Fougeres, the coach passed by the countryside and there were plenty of farmlands. If I were a cow, I would be happy to live in Brittainy as there is so much grass for me to graze! If only I could speak French well, I wouldn’t mind setting up a farm here. The greenery was really soothing to the eyes.
About an hour later, the coach reached Fougeres and it passed by the castle. Some people got off at a stop near the castle. But most of the people liked me, took the ride until the last stop. That was when I realized that I had ended up at the other end of the town. Stupid. I should have alighted when I passed by the castle. I should have study the map carefully the day before. In the end, I had to walk across the entire town to find the castle. It wasn’t that difficult but it was a lot of walking. But now the weather was really good and I need not put my hands inside my pockets. It must be 10 to 15 degrees today. So I could hold the guide book in my hand and navigate. After half an hour, I reached the outside of the castle. While I tried to find the entrance, I walked the perimeter of the castle and realized that it was surrounded by a river. It wasn’t exactly a moat I would say. I paid 2.90 euros for the entrance which was the student price.
The town Fougeres is all about this castle and nothing else. So I shall give a brief history of the town and of course the castle. Fougeres is known as the Guardian of Brittainy because it is at the border Britainy, Normandy and Maime. The story of the castle goes like this: The Duke of Brittainy Conan IV was a weakling and submitted to the King of England Henry II, who was also the Duke of Normandy during the 12C. However, one of the bravest barons in Brittainy, Raoul II revolted the British yoke. In 1166, Henry II surrounded and besieged the wooden castle for months, finally destroying it. Raoul immediately rebuilt it using stone. Throughout the centuries, this castle was besieged and rebuilt countless of times. The layout of the castle was a “textbook” style of the military architecture during the middle ages.
I had to run and rush because the to and fro bus ride took about an hour (including waiting time) and I might not be able to catch the 1220pm coach to Fougeres. But I realized I was being very foolish because if I wanted to take the coach, then there was no need to go back and take the 12-25 card since it only applies to SNCF trains and coaches. If I wanted to take the train, then I could take my own sweet time to go back and take the card. In the end I was panting when I returned to the coach terminal and managed to buy the ticket in time. And the 12-25 card was uselessly brought along. The coach went eastward and actually came quite close to INSA because I saw the gigantic tower. And it also passed by a huge Leader Price supermarket. Maybe tomorrow I would try to find my way there by foot. Between Rennes and Fougeres, the coach passed by the countryside and there were plenty of farmlands. If I were a cow, I would be happy to live in Brittainy as there is so much grass for me to graze! If only I could speak French well, I wouldn’t mind setting up a farm here. The greenery was really soothing to the eyes.
About an hour later, the coach reached Fougeres and it passed by the castle. Some people got off at a stop near the castle. But most of the people liked me, took the ride until the last stop. That was when I realized that I had ended up at the other end of the town. Stupid. I should have alighted when I passed by the castle. I should have study the map carefully the day before. In the end, I had to walk across the entire town to find the castle. It wasn’t that difficult but it was a lot of walking. But now the weather was really good and I need not put my hands inside my pockets. It must be 10 to 15 degrees today. So I could hold the guide book in my hand and navigate. After half an hour, I reached the outside of the castle. While I tried to find the entrance, I walked the perimeter of the castle and realized that it was surrounded by a river. It wasn’t exactly a moat I would say. I paid 2.90 euros for the entrance which was the student price.
The town Fougeres is all about this castle and nothing else. So I shall give a brief history of the town and of course the castle. Fougeres is known as the Guardian of Brittainy because it is at the border Britainy, Normandy and Maime. The story of the castle goes like this: The Duke of Brittainy Conan IV was a weakling and submitted to the King of England Henry II, who was also the Duke of Normandy during the 12C. However, one of the bravest barons in Brittainy, Raoul II revolted the British yoke. In 1166, Henry II surrounded and besieged the wooden castle for months, finally destroying it. Raoul immediately rebuilt it using stone. Throughout the centuries, this castle was besieged and rebuilt countless of times. The layout of the castle was a “textbook” style of the military architecture during the middle ages.
As mentioned, I toured around the castle first and it was built purposely behind a river called, Narcon on very rocky ground so that attackers could not scale the wall easily. As I entered the gate, I would arrive at the forecourt which is a small area surrounded by 3 towers. This is the first level of defence. Attackers would be besieged by arrows and stones from the 3 towers and as the forecourt is small, they would have no place to run and it would be a perfect slaughterhouse. However, if they manage to pass this defence, they would find themselves crossing a bridge over a moat. Water can be diverted from the River Narcon and flood the moat completely, drowning the attackers. After they passed this moat, they will enter into the outer bailey, which is a large area in the centre of the castle. There is a well there, and during peacetime, it is where commoners do their daily businesses, like a market. The last area of defence would be the inner bailey and this is where defenders will retreat to when all is almost lost. I got the chance to walk around the castle’s perimeter on its walls. From the parapet, I had a good view of the town outside, and the river. Then I climbed the tallest tower and the panorama at the top was magnificent as I could imagine myself as the defender and having a bird’s eye view on the attackers. But I got giddy while climbing the spiral staircase. There are also slots on the walls which are meant for archers.
This castle has 13 towers (some in ruins but a number still well preserved) and from the guide book, the castle is said to be one of the most imposing ones in Europe, if not in France. Personally, I always like this kind of medieval stuff, but I feel that the castle is quite small. It isn’t as grand as I thought it should be because from those medieval movies, I could always see massive castles like those in LOTR. But perhaps those were all computer graphics. After more than 500 years, what remains of these castles could not be as grand as their previous forms. After, touring the castle for an hour, I left and visited a gothic church called Eglise St Sulplice. The exterior of the church has those kind of monsters statues; gothic arts. As like all other holy buildings I visited, at any one time there would just be 1 or 2 people inside. France is really not a very religious country. After that I went to the Public Garden which was built so high up that I had to struggle up the slope. It was as if the garden was at the top of a hill. But in fact, Fougeres has 2 parts; upper town and lower town. The castle and the church were built in the valley Narcon and that area is known as the lower town. The garden was beautiful and right at the top, I had a good view of the entire castle. There was also another church called Eglise St Leonard which also adopted the gothic style of architecture. The interior was a bit different however, esp. the stained-glass windows. Unlike those that I have seen before, the windows in St Leonard were re-painted by modern artists and they really looked cartoony.
At about 345pm, I made my way to the office of tourism and bought a postcard. It was a pity that I didn’t buy any postcard when I was in Vitre last month. From now on, every place that I visited, I would buy a postcard as souvenir. I also asked for a map of the town and the lady pointed out those places which I should visit. The fact is I had already visited those major places of interest because I had the guide book with me. There were however, 2 museums which I missed but I wasn’t interested anyway. One was about clock and the other was on paintings. The main objective of coming to Fougeres is to see the castle. Before I left, she also asked for my nationality just to keep a record. It seemed like all office of tourism would ask this question, same thing happened when I was in Carnac.
With one and a half hour left before the coach departs for Rennes, I just walked around the city centre. I came to a building with a belfry, and as I read the intro, Fougeres and Dinan (another town near Rennes) are the only 2 towns in Brittainy that have belfry. Belfry is just a tower with a bell. It signified the commercial and political power of Fourgeres. The main commercial industries of Fougeres in the past were wool and shoe making. Now the trade of shoe making still exists, but mainly for ladies. At the city centre, I was surprised to find a menhir (single standing stone same as those in Carnac). It was used as a War Memorial in memory of those Bretons who fought and died for Brittainy. With the guide book, I felt that it was more meaningful touring the place as I knew what was what. There was just one place that I missed which is the Forest of Fougeres in the north. There are some stone megaliths there but it was too far and I had too little time to spare. At about 430pm, I decided to make my way back to the coach terminal. However, I found that the depot was deserted and was unsure if this was the correct place to take the coach. At the stipulated time 1712hrs, the coach came and I boarded it. I told the driver that I would like to go to Rennes and asked him the cost. He then asked me my age and when I told him I was 23, he said I could have a 20% reduction. Which meant my fare cost only 2.40 and not 3 euros. Damn. The guy at the coach station in Rennes never told me about this. Wasted 60 cents. But at least now I know about this benefit. I was also happy that I understood the driver’s French and was able to converse in simple French.
On the way back, the cows were still eating grass along the countryside and I got a feeling that Brittainy is really meant for me. Greens, castles, medieval streets (all the streets that I walked on were paved in granite), farms, etc. I personally prefer Fougeres to Rennes because it is a simpler town. Rennes being the capital of Brittainy has somehow lost some of its medieval charm and is more modern. That’s how I feel. Fougeres retains her medieval atmosphere partly due to the castle at her entrance. And it is a strange feeling to see kids playing soccer at the foot of the castle, kicking the ball at the castle wall repeatedly. And there were people fishing at the River Narcon, just in front of the castle. The mix of medieval and modern age is marvelous. I am looking forward to my next trip on next Sat, which could be Dinan, St Malo or Mont St Michel. I have almost dropped the idea of going to the King Arthur Forest because from the map, I have to walk 12km to reach the tomb of Merlin, which is too tiring and too far.
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