Chêne de Tronjoly

Bulat-Pestivien

In a quiet valley of the Côtes-d'Armor, not far from the Marian shrine of Bulat-Pestivien, stands a botanical colossus that the Bretons also call Ar Ven Der, "the great oak". With a trunk close to twelve metres in girth, it ranks among the most impressive oaks in France, planted according to local tradition at a symbolic crossroads where three small watersheds meet, a spot the ancients held to be charged with power. Its trunk, largely hollow, once had a most unusual occupant: around 1750, a hermit named Le Graët is said to have fitted out his cell and his library inside it, living as a recluse in the belly of the tree in the middle of the wood. The villagers readily credited him with protective powers, and the oak remains today a place for walks and quiet reflection, surrounded by the discreet murmur of the stream that runs at its feet. Still vigorous despite its venerable age, it goes on spreading a generous canopy and draws every year lovers of trees and the curious, who come to measure, at the foot of its knotted trunk, the almost dizzying scale of the time it has lived through.

Getting there : About 2 km north of the village of Bulat-Pestivien, near the D 31; parking possible nearby, then a short walk to the oak, which stands near a stream

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound