La Harmoye: Nature, Views and Lime History

Three different themes make La Harmoye an appealing place to stay: the landscape around the Cîme de Kerchouan, the lime works at Cartravers and the bread oven in the village centre. Together, they represent nature and views, industrial history and a distinctive feature of the village streetscape. When looking for a hotel in La Harmoye, you can weigh up these different attractions. The following sections explain what makes each one distinctive and how they differ.

Nature at the Cîme de Kerchouan

The Cîme de Kerchouan is a viewpoint offering views over the Pays de Quintin from an altitude of 318 metres. Around the Cîme, low heather, marshes, fir forests and meadows alternate. The natural setting combines panoramas of the Pays de Quintin with changing landscapes; depending on your interests, you can focus more on the views or the landscape itself. The fragile natural habitats at the Cîme de Kerchouan are protected under the European Natura 2000 Directive. Check local access arrangements before visiting.

The Cartravers lime works

The lime works, “Usine de chaux de la Société des fours à chaux de Cartravers,” is located in Cartravers, in La Harmoye. Limestone from Cartravers was extracted in open-pit mines from the 17th century onwards. The works produced quicklime for liming agricultural soils, as well as hydraulic lime for construction. Open-pit mining describes the method of extraction, while the types of lime differ in their agricultural and construction uses. The site’s history therefore encompasses not only extraction, but also production and the products’ different applications.

The site’s first two lime kilns are documented from the beginning of the 19th century and were rebuilt around 1827. These dates refer to different events: the 17th century relates to open-pit mining, while the references to the early 19th century and 1827 concern the kilns and their reconstruction. This makes it possible to distinguish the timeline of lime extraction from the development of the kilns. Both the long history of extraction and the later information about the kilns are therefore relevant to understanding the works.

The bread oven in the village centre

You can see the bread oven in the village centre while walking around La Harmoye. It offers a tangible point of interest in the centre: unlike the landscape at the Cîme and the industrial history of Cartravers, the focus here is on a single feature of the village streetscape. If you are interested in the village centre as well as nature and historic lime production, the bread oven is another point of interest. It allows you to explore La Harmoye not only through its landscape or industrial history, but also through a feature visible in the village centre.

Discover more destinations: Canihuel, Saint-Trimoël, Taden, Plufur, Hengoat, Pordic, Berhet, Landéhen.

For the regional travel overview: Côtes-D’armor.