Description
Come and stroll through the eras that have passed in this landscaped park.
The park is open on weekends and bank holidays in May, and during the summer from July 16th to August 16th, Thursday to Sunday. Walks are permitted between 1:30 pm and 3:00 pm. In summer, guided tours depart from the Iron Gate at 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm. The tour lasts approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes. The park is closed during guided tour times. No entry is permitted during guided tours. For group bookings and information, please call +33 6 10 07 01 40. The tour departs from the Iron Gate, 56220 Malansac. Please wear comfortable walking shoes; the walk is approximately 1.5 km, along paths and meadows. Wheelchair accessible, but the route is limited to the path along the edge of the pond. Come and experience this timeless journey! Dogs on leashes are welcome. The park is enclosed by a wall built in the mid-15th century by the Lords of Rieux-Rochefort, owners of the Rochefort-en-Terre military castle. Your guide will tell you the story of this 11km wall. A few centuries later, in 1842, the Paris-Orléans Railway Company acquired the concession for this site to produce the railway sleepers they needed. After the oak trees were felled, its director, Mr. Delaitre, a graduate of the École Polytechnique, discovered numerous vistas and an abundant water supply. His classmate, Alphand, helped him in 1835 to transform the site into an English-style landscaped park. They created a 2km-long hydraulic system to feed waterfalls and ponds, leading to a lake, a place for romantic strolls. In 1891, François Forest, the great-grandfather of the current owners, bought the property and decided to develop it. He expanded its agro-industrial potential by creating a dairy and a butter churn, whose butter production inspired Mr. Bridel, who sold it under his own brand. The dairy was the center of an entire ecosystem. The bandstand stands at the edge of the pond, the central point of several vistas that characterize this park. In 1999, the park received the Lyonnaise des Eaux Prize, in 2001 the DH Historial Garden Foundation Prize, and in 2022 the DH & VMF French Heritage Society Prize. Restoration work is ongoing.