If de Saint-Solen

Lanvallay (Saint-Solen)

The yew of Saint-Solen is not the largest in Brittany, but one of the best settled: 5.2 m in girth, 14 m high, a crown 13 m across that covers part of the enclosure, beside an old churchyard cross of the 17^th century. The inventory of the Conseil général des Côtes-d'Armor, published in 2011, gives it 600 years and suggests that it was planted in the 14^th or 15^th century, when the church was established; the sign placed in front of the tree by the department widens the range to 600–800 years, which the department's list of remarkable trees repeats. The church, for its part, has not withstood time: rebuilt between 1877 and 1885, it has kept from the old building only a 14^th-century window reused in the chevet, a font and a stoup of the 17^th century. The yew is therefore the oldest witness of the parish, made a commune in 1790 and attached to Lanvallay in 1973. The same departmental inventory recalls what these Breton yews are: in the heart of the villages, near a church, a chapel or a cemetery, they symbolise eternity, surrounded by beliefs connected with the cult of the dead. Nothing more precise has been handed down about this one, and it is perhaps this silence that suits it best. It is alive, remarkable according to the brochure for its age and its dimensions.

Wikipédia — Saint-Solen ↗

Getting there : From Dinan, one reaches Lanvallay and then the village of Saint-Solen, to the east, by the Dol road; the yew is in the Rue du Bas-Bourg, against the church, freely accessible. The visit takes a few minutes; it can be extended by the paths of the Rance valley, in the regional nature park.

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

Ambient sound