The yard has a total area of 5490m2, but unlike how you might imagine a normal railway yard, the Pont-Melvez yard descends into a typically Breton cutting in the land that resembles a small valley, with a stream (Risseau de la Commanderie), which, splitting into three branches, creates a small and very boggy island. This lower section of land borders a farm that was originally a Commanderie of the local Knights Templar chapter.
After 1967, when the house and yard were sold to the family of the last station master, they fenced off a small area for a garden and allowed the rest to run wild. 50 years later, it resembles a long and rather unkempt garden
There are wooded areas of mature and beautiful trees of mostly European species with the odd exotic interloper: Ash, Beech, Hazel, Hawthorn, Oak, Sycamore and Willow, with the exotica provided by a few False Acacia trees at the end of the yard. At the last count, including saplings, there were approximately 500 trees on my land, of which approximately 150 are Oaks. Around the perimeter of the land are Aspen, Poplar and Sweet Chestnut. In May, the flowers produced by three free-standing Hawthorns by the track are so dense that they resemble a fall of snow, and the scent pervades the whole yard.
Since 2023, two major storms have swept the yard, snapping and overturning large trees, with the result that, while there has been more firewood available, there’s also been a lot of damage to clean up to return the yard to its previous beautiful condition.
January 2026 has seen the deepest snowfall I can remember in many years, and the yard became a real winter wonderland.
The Risseau (creek) that runs through the valley is charming and a beautiful feature could be made around for sitting out in summer. Here’s a video of it running full-tilt in winter.