Parc de Bodélio "RDV aux jardins"

Walk in Bodelio Park. Visit by reservation on Fridays. Saturdays and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Historical lecture on the garden from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays. Admission: €3. English-style park with water features and waterfalls attributed to Alphand, currently being restored. Lyonnaise des Eaux DH Prize 1999; Historic Garden Foundation DH Prize 2001; French Heritage Society DH VMF Prize 2002. In the 15th century, the park was an area of woods and marshes, a hunting reserve for the Lords of Rieux Rochefort. It was surrounded by a schist wall 11 km long and about 3 m high. Around 1684, the park was called Bodélio Park. A house was used to house the magistrates serving the Lords of Rochefort. From 1750 to 1842, the park's trees were used by clog makers, charcoal burners, and pit sawyers. From 1842 to 1850, the Paris-Orléans Railway Company exploited the 367 hectares of woodland. The park was later purchased by wealthy landowners. In 1850, Mr. Simon called on the chief engineer for beautification of the city of Paris, Mr. Alphand, to develop the area around the house and the pond. He cultivated a large portion of the land and created the Val Simon and Kerdrio farms. Mr. François Forest, the future mayor of Malansac, acquired it in 1890 and undertook major drainage works. The park still belongs to his descendants. The Vau Billy cross was erected at the highest point of the estate by Madame Forest after the First World War to thank the heavens for the return of her sons, François and René, who would succeed his father as mayor of Malansac. There are three entrance gates: the Iron Gate to the west, the St. Jacut Gate to the east, and the Rouaud Gate to the south. At each gate, one building served as a dwelling and the other housed a hemp loom. The road leading to the Iron Gate forms a majestic avenue lined with tall trees.

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