Mont Saint-Michel

Just when I was beginning to think the west coast of France was mind-numbingly dull (which it is, to be honest) it serves up Mont Saint-Michel, a tiny medieval island off the coast of Normandy.

From the outside, it’s like something out of Game of Thrones. On the inside, it’s like something out of Harry Potter. It was founded by an Irish hermit in the 8th century, and over the following thousand years was added-onto and extended to what we see today.

It was pretty much impregnable, seeing off a full-on English invasion in 1433 with only a minimal guard. It was so robust in fact, that Louis XI used it as a high security prison, which it remained until Napoleonic times.

It reminds me a lot of Dubrovnik in a way, with steep winding alleys and perfectly preserved sense of medieval life, despite all the tat shops.

These photographs were taken with my Canon EOS 5D Mark IV and the extraordinary Canon 35 mm f/1.4 L II USM .