24 – Down below…

From up above

From the courtyard in front of the abbey one gets a good idea of just how far one has climbed.  The rock on which the abbey is constructed rises some eighty four metres above sea level, while the Fremiet statue of St Michel atop the abbey spire is said to be some one hundred and seventy metres high.

Looking west down to the Gabriel Tower, one sees acres of the silt now settled in the salt marshes of the bay. Distinctive in colour, this is known to the French as the “tangue”. The Gabriel Tower was added to the fortifications on the mont following the end of a period under siege in 1524. It is suggested by some that the tower had been named after Gabriel, one of three archangels of mention in the Bible. That would be fitting (romantic even) but it was in fact named after Gabriel de Puy a French military strategist. Designed to allow artillery defence from all approaches, in the seventeenth century when its defensive purpose was no longer required a windmill was mounted on the tower. It was repurposed as a lighthouse station for boats on the Couesnon river. Operational at the time for three and a half hours around the high tide, the light has been inactive since 1904. It was originally (in 1870) a static red light mounted in a wood cabin, then moved to the tower in 1881. For a height perspective – this three storied tower stands some eight metres to its peak.

Although the tower is now closed, one couple with our tour party did get to the doorway of the structure.

They returned engaged. Such is the magic of the mont!!!