Vieux-Viel: Church, Earth Mounds and Cider

Vieux-Viel brings together church architecture, historic earthworks, the menhir Pierre Fichée with a local legend, and a cider press offering tours and tastings. This gives you different interests to consider when planning your trip: architecture, local folklore and cider. When choosing a hotel in Vieux-Viel, you can start by thinking about which of these aspects of your stay matter to you.

Saint-Martin-de-Tours Church

The present-day Saint-Martin-de-Tours Church was built in 1854. An older Gothic window was reused on the north side of the choir. The building thus combines the construction period of the present-day church with an older architectural feature. Its floor plan is in the shape of a Latin cross; it also has a false barrel vault and a bell tower porch. The polygonal, chamfered choir has a skylight niche. These features describe different aspects of the building: the floor plan shows its layout, the vault its ceiling shape, and the choir its end wall.

Cross and Château du Châtelier

The oldest cross in Vieux-Viel is a granite cross dating from 1554. It is said to have been erected by a member of the Bouyer family. Château du Châtelier, also known as Chastellier, is privately owned and cannot be visited. Check access arrangements again before your trip.

Two Earth Mounds Compared

The Motte Bertier is an earth mound measuring about 25 m in diameter and about 4 m in height, which was under the authority of the lordship of Motte-Bertier. A nearby stream suggests that the mound was surrounded by a water-filled ditch. At the Motte de Tréet, also known as Tréhel, a ditch is still present. It was once filled by water from the nearby stream.

The Motte de Tréet is about 30 m in diameter and 5 m high. It probably served to guard a former mill. Its measurements also distinguish it from Bertier: Tréet is larger in both diameter and height. The two sites thus combine similar earthworks with different reported relationships to ditches and streams.

Menhir and Local Legend

The menhir Pierre Fichée is made of granite and is 2 m high. According to local legend, the devil dropped it while carrying materials for the construction of Mont-Saint-Michel in his sack. The menhir thus provides a tangible link to local folklore: the story connects the stone with the construction project at Mont-Saint-Michel, but remains a legend.

Pressoir de Henwiel Cider Press

Pressoir de Henwiel is a cider press located in Vieux-Viel, in the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel. It includes 9.5 hectares of organically farmed orchards. Among other products, cider and apple juice are made on site. The range of products may change. Tours and tastings are available year-round by prior reservation. Check the reservation arrangements before you travel.

Discover more destinations: Coësmes, Sougéal, Saint-Médard-Sur-Ille, La Mézière, Noyal-Sous-Bazouges, La Fontenelle, Goven, Combourg.

View the wider travel guide: Ille-Et-Vilaine.