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Mont St Michel is beyond doubt one of the wonders of the medieval world and is often described as the "The Marvel" or the 9th Wonder of the World.

Mont St Michel is an island roughly conical in shape and this has been accentuated by the ecclesiastical architecture. The spire of the Cathedral forms the summit and this is crowned by the golden figure of St Michael. It is a stupendous site, I will never forget my first view of the island, it seemed to rise majestically out of the landscape as we approached. I would like to add my personal experience of the place.

The island has a strange otherworldly feel and is reached along a half mile causeway which takes you out across the sands and beyond the typical tourist ephemera of the coast nearby. It is encircled by a high wall around its base and essentially there is one entrance to the whole site (which these days is open to the English). This further adds to the feeling of separation from the real world. At the lower levels there are tourist shops, restaurants, hotels but all are contained within the ancient walls. If you arrive at the entrance gate at a peak period, you will be greeted by a largely static wall of humanity. Many visitors turn back at this stage, others never get beyond the shops or restaurants. The crammed main street gradually increases its gradient and this defeats many more.

Within a couple of hundred yards you will find the crowd has thinned dramatically. It then becomes possible to see that many people are praying and some are doing the climb on their knees. Then something strange happens the higher you climb the more space you appear to have. The middle levels are a maze of largely empty cool windowless chambers and corridors with vast pillars supporting the upper levels, this has the effect of completely disorientating the visitor. You really have little idea in which direction you are walking most of the time.

The last time we visited we arrived early, and during our climb up through the levels a sea mist had descended over the sands. The summit is crowned with a beautiful cloister and St Michaels Cathedral. The view suddenly opens up, as our eyes slowly became accustomed to the bright sunshine we realized the world below had disappeared into the mists with a crystal clear blue sky above. For a few seconds after emerging from the darkened chambers it was difficult to dispel the impression that we had climbed through the clouds and directly up into heaven.

According to legend St Michael engaged

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