Bois de Caurel

The golden age and manufacturing epic of the "blue" in the Guerlédan valley began at the end of the 17th century and reached its peak in the 19th century.

Slate mining in Caurel is marked by the large number of excavation sites of all sizes. Indeed, anyone with a right to the wood could open a quarry, which wasted raw material and led to the decline of slate quarrying in the second half of the 19th century. At the same time, competition made possible by the development of means of transport, such as the canal in 1843 and the train in 1902, accentuated the phenomenon.

The impoundment of Lac de Guerlédan in 1930 with its hydroelectric dam, drowning the main extraction sites, sealed Guerlédan?s slate mining history once and for all.

Today, the footpaths winding through the woods of Kériven and Caurel are a guiding thread for discovering the cultural and manufacturing heritage of the former slate quarrying sites. Faced with the gaping holes of the blue gold pits, it's also an invitation to perceive the daily, back-breaking work endured by the "gueules bleues".