PHOTOS: French couple convert a Brittany windmill into a holiday let

Moulin de Kernot was built in 1850 and has been renovated as a cosy holiday rental welcoming visitors from around the world

Thérèse Gloaguen and her husband Henri enjoy telling visitors about the history of the mill where her grandfather once worked
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The Moulin de Kernot

In the far west of Brittany, you will find the Grand Site of La Pointe du Raz, a dramatic coastal point of granite cliffs and crashing waves. Here, the weather can change with the tides, and the wind brings a whole new meaning to the idea of getting a bit of fresh air.

The nearby village of Cléden-Cap-Sizun can testify to this: no fewer than 13 windmills were built in this one commune between 1837 and 1950. While most of them have long since disappeared, one of them has become an unusual rental.

The Moulin de Kernot was built in 1850, at a time when very few buildings lined the old Roman road parallel to the coast. The local miller had to walk from the village until 1870, when a house was built nearby to accommodate him and his family.

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From working mill to holiday let

The last meunier (miller) at Kernot was Jean-Guillaume Gloaguen and he kept the mill working until the occupation in World War Two, when the mill’s sails finally came to a halt.

The windmill in ruins

Jean-Guillaume’s granddaughter, Thérèse Gloaguen, is now 73, but she can remember the windmill falling into disrepair and losing its roof.

“It was never a working mill in my lifetime,” she says, “but some of my older neighbours can remember coming here to grind their own grain or to buy flour from my grandfather.

The windmill's cosy interior today

“My first clear memory dates from when I was about 10 years old. The mill was exposed to the elements by then and the family had decided to sell it.”

The structure was bought by a couple from the city of Quimper, 50 km to the east. They added a new roof to make it weatherproof before renovating the interior and adding a small, single-storey extension on the back to house a kitchen and bathroom.

It became a weekend hideaway and was used only occasionally until it was purchased by Emmanuel Voillemin who, for the past three years, has offered it as a holiday rental.

Mr Voillemin took down the old extension, replacing it with a more spacious structure, with a modern kitchen, cloakroom and shower room. He also added a detached cabin in the garden for a second bedroom and ensuite facilities.

Original features and quirky details

Ms Gloaguen said: “My husband Henri and I now act as key-holders and caretakers for the mill. For us, it’s a social thing, we meet visitors from the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and a few from Britain. It’s wonderful to be able to show people around and explain a bit of the history.

“In the sitting room, for example, you can see the original stone spiral staircase leading up to the first floor, and under that is a cupboard.

“The wooden doors on the cupboard actually came from an old lit clos (box bed) found locally, so that dates from the same period as the mill.

“We don’t use those enclosed beds any more, but they used to be handy to keep warm in the winter. The stone walls are about half a metre thick and, of course, the main structure is circular, which is a bit different to live in.

“Most of the visitors who come love the quirky details, especially the tiny window to the side of the front door and the one above the bed upstairs. 

“And there’s the thatched roof and exposed stonework, but then you have the deck area off the bedroom upstairs, and all the comforts of heating and a proper kitchen and bathroom. Not like in my grandfather’s day!”

From the 1850s to the 1950s, when most of the mills at Cléden-Cap-Sizun were still operational, the space under the stairs was often used as a makeshift bedroom, allowing millers to sleep on site rather than having to walk back to their villages. 

‘I couldn’t go back to city life now’

The house that was built 20 years after Moulin de Kernot stayed in the miller’s family until recently, and the house in which the couple now live sits between the original miller’s house and the mill.

“We both grew up in the area,” says Ms Gloaguen, “and I met Henri at a bal des noces in the hotel at the Baie des Trépassées – you could go along to anyone’s wedding dance in those days, it was our weekend entertainment.

Ms Gloaguen at the door of her windmill

“We married more than 50 years ago. He went into the military and I worked in other cities, but I often came back to Cléden.

“We finally moved here about 14 years ago, started gardening, painting, and even learned Breton dancing. I am living where I grew up, next door to where my grandfather used to work the mill, and I can walk to the coast from my back garden. I couldn’t go back to city life now.

“I’m very happy hearing about the world from everyone who visits and I enjoy sharing this beautiful place with them.”

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Mills of Trouguer in Brittany

Sailing back in time

Most of Cléden’s other windmills fell into ruins in the late 1900s, but one pair of standing mills – Moulins de Trouguer – can be found between Kernot and the Pointe du Van. 

They have been renovated and maintained and still have the wooden skeletons of the sails that once turned daily. 

The smaller of the pair is known as a chandelier mill, which was built on a pedestal so the whole cabin can turn to face and capture the wind.

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