Photos from our beautiful cycling trip along the canal from Chateaulin to Pontivy and then down the Blavet to Lorient. Roughly 260 km covered over four days.
We were fortunate to have a period of very comfortable slightly overcast skies that made the ride very pleasant. The previous week had been quite hot, the beauty of the Canal de Nantes a Brest is that much of the tow paths are lined with large mature trees that provide shade and keep the path cooler.
If cycling is your thing, the countryside in the Finisterre is a feast of beautiful rolling hills and stunning coastal viewpoints connected by quiet country roads.
One excellent bonus is the old rail line from Quimper to Douarnenez that was decomissioned in the 80’s has been converted to a trail for pedestrians and cyclists. Called a voie verte it is not easy to find the trailhead just outside of Quimer.
I found some good maps that have the directions from the Quimper train station. To the voie verte.
Map Leaving the station: http://www.voiesvertes.com/images_web/cartes/zooms/ZQuimper.pdf
Map Finding the route verte Start at Ty Planche; http://www.voiesvertes.com/htm_partenaire/detaille29QuiDo1.htm
Arriving in Douarnenez: http://www.voiesvertes.com/htm_partenaire/detaille29QuiDo2.htm
And the map of the last section to our house: http://www.voiesvertes.com/images_web/cartes/zooms/ZDouarnenez.pdf
This is about 25 km of well graded gravel path which is a pleasure to ride. We’ve used it to do a nice day trip to Quimper.
If bringing a bicycle or renting one for your stay is not your thing, it is also possible to catch a bus at the train station to Douarnenez.
This is a beautiful canal ride called the Kreiz Breizh that connects the Loire Atlantic, through the Morbihan to the Finistère. The route design begins in Nantes and ends in Brest, it appears fairly easy to connect to other cycling routes that would end in Douarnenez.
320km of the total 360km journey are along the canal towpath through the countryside, far from the busy roads and beach-side destinations.
http://www.af3v.org/-Canal-de-Nantes-a-Brest-.html
Tourism Brittany, has published a full colour map book of the canal routes with all the information you might need to plan your trip.
http://fr.calameo.com/read/000001315a4af9c366225
The SMATAH has developped a guide for the Finistère portion of the canal with lots of maps and additional information http://www.smatah.fr/
Plomarc'h Bleunioù: the flower of the Plomarc'h 