On a wet Sunday afternoon, following the disappointment of not getting to see the Pierre Dialan dolmen, my family encouraged me to go and find the nearby Menhir de Pierrelaye, which is marked on the IGN maps to the north of the village of Villers-Bocage.
My first attempt to get to see this 3 metre high stone was via the lane from the southeast, but upon reaching a farmyard there was no further way through. To much amusement getting out from here involved reversing all the way back up this lane to the road junction, a distance of about a mile !
Not to be beaten, I drove round the lanes to try and get a look from the northwest of where the stone is marked. The collection of farms and houses here is known as Pierrelaye, and indeed have signposts to Pierrelaye, but I could see no traces of a Menhir. While turning round in a farmyard, an old farmer came out to see what was going on, so we asked in bad French where the stone was. After a while, he obviously realised what we were looking for and pointed up the hillside and said “Non monsieur, Fermée” while making arm gestures which made it clear I wasn’t going to see the stone. I assume it is on private land, and he wasn’t going to give me permission to go have a look.
I have found information which tells that the stone is 3 metres high, with a base width of 2,5 metres, made of schist. It is situated in the middle of a field in a little valley.
By this time, stonehunting in Normandy was becoming a very frustrating experience. I had found none of the three sites I had been looking for, despite them all being clearly marked and highlighted on the IGN maps. I consoled myself with the reasoning that despite having not found or photographed them, I could at least make some sort of write up of my findings for the portal, which would help others in their visits !
Something is not right. This message is just to keep things from messing up down the road