With its dramatic coastline and brilliant light, Brittany has long been a haven for artists. However, in its past it has been an empire post for the Romans, a sanctuary for refugees from Britain and central Europe, an endless source of contention for those who wanted it to be part of France and a thorn in the side of invading armies who were constantly repelled by the Breton spirit.  It’s a land of myth with stories so vivid that many would have you believe they were true and also a land where people lived whose stories can never be known, but whose works we can see today in the great standing stones and passage graves they left behind.

As in any country, some great characters leap forward to weave its story: national heroes such as Bertrand du Guesclin and the plain, lame but intellectual and charming Anne of Brittany.

Medieval Brittany was a distinct country in its own right and, although that may have ended in the C16th, it retains its own language and customs from those days.