Sabine Baring-Gould

Brittany Sabine Baring-Gould

The back-bone of Upper Brittany is the chain of the Menez that runs from East to West, and thenbranches, forming on the North the Montagnes d'Arrée, and on the South, the Montagnes Noires. The system may be likened to a hay-fork or a pair of tongs, where the prongs of the fork form theabove-named ranges. The whole rests on an elevated plateau that slopes to the sea North and West, and on the South dies down into the plain of the Vilaine and the Loire. On the North this plateau is seamed by the rivers that have cut narrow valleys and ravines throughwhich they make their way to the sea. Such are the Rance, the Gouet, the rivière de Morlaix, with theresult that there is no coast-road, and the traveller passes along the main arteries of traffic at somedistance from the sea, catching a glimpse of it only once at the Anse d'Iffinac, and has to branch offfrom it to the coast so as to make acquaintance with the bold and picturesque coast. The mountain range is nowhere high, and rarely reaches a thousand feet. The highest point is theMont Saint Michel which attains to slightly over 1200 ft. The freshman arriving at Cambridge askedwhere was the Gogmagog range, and was told that he might see it when an intervening cart got outof the way. Owing to the ridges rising out of an elevated plateau, they are almost as insignificant asthe Gogmagogs. However, the Menez-hom most nearly attains to the dignity of a mountain, as itstands above the Bay of Douarnenez, reaches however only to 990 ft.