Roches du Diable de l'Ellé

Locunolé (aussi Querrien et Guilligomarc'h)

Between Le Faouët and Quimperlé, the Ellé flows at the bottom of a wooded gorge strewn with large granite blocks: these are the Roches du Diable, in the communes of Locunolé, Querrien and Guilligomarc'h. According to the legend, the place belonged to Satan. Saint Guénolé wanted to found a hermitage there; after a struggle, he drove the Devil to the other side of the river. With no bridge, the saint offered him a bargain: the Devil would have the first soul to cross a bridge built with his permission. Guénolé sent a squirrel across (or a cat according to the tales) and the Devil, tricked, broke the bridge in rage: a large block in the middle of the bed is said to keep the trace of it. He then threw himself into the water and dug the ‘devil's hole’, whose bottom no one would touch. The landscape has kept other memories: a ‘devil's hand’ bearing the imprint of his fingers, his stone seat on a platform, his chamber and his bed below. He is also said to have hidden a treasure, guarded by a black sow and her piglets who make anyone who approaches pay. The sources read describe no rite: it is a tale handed down by tradition, reported here by the Bretagne Tourisme website and by the review War raok, via Breizh-info.

Getting there: Natural site on the river bank, network of paths overlooking it. Dangerous when the flow of the Ellé increases: the rapids become violent (the site hosts kayak competitions). No parking instructions or opening hours given by the sources. Coordinates: Wikidata (site ‘Roches du Diable’), not verified on the ground.

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

Ambient sound