Walk of the Month
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March 2007
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(between Pont
l’Abbé and Bénodet)
12kms 3½Hrs
Start at the Pigeonnier de Kerscuntec
Carpark just south of the D44, 1.5kms west
of the Pont de Cornouaille
This varied walk crosses the polder (land
below sea-level reclaimed by drainage techniques) which is now
a protected natural site with interesting flora and fauna. The
route also includes a long stretch of glorious beach and the
charming small port of Ste-Marine, before returning to the
start by wooded lanes. It is a pretty level walk and should
present little problem even in poor weather.
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Before setting out it is worth taking the
steps in the centre of the car-park up to an observation post
with views to the sea.
A Leave
the car-park from the far end and visit the pigeonnier of
Kerscuntec just ahead.
This restored pigeonnier once belonged to
the castle of Cosquer, a 16th century building just north of
here, demolished in 1975. According to a local legend, a horse
brought back from China in the 19th century was buried in the
pigeonnier and its ghost appears each night of the full moon.
In 1989 workmen actually discovered the remains of small horse
here.
Bear left from the pigeonnier to join a
narrow tarmac lane on a bend, and go right. Follow this lane
all the way to the hamlet of Roscanvel. Go behind the houses
and, at a crossroads of paths, turn right.
To the right of this tree-lined path soon
after is a large stone lavoir where women used to wash clothes
in the open air.
Follow the narrow path along a raised bank
above the marshes. At the end, go through a wooden barrier and
bear left, then continue ahead straight across an open field to
a small road.
Turn left here and continue ahead for
about 150m round a bend to the next junction. Turn left again
onto a straight road (which goes all the way down to the beach,
if a short-cut is needed). After about 300m, turn right on a
path alongside the tennis courts. Then turn left and continue
ahead over the polder, crossing a small bridge and ignoring
other paths.
B When
the path finishes, bear left for a few steps and then turn left
again on a wide, flat track. The coastal path here is separated
from the sea by high dunes (because of the nature of the
polder), so for the next 2kms, either follow this or walk along
the fine beach running parallel.
At the end of the beach (or from the
track, bear right through the car-park) continue on the sandy
coastal path out to the Pointe de Combrit and an old stone
customs house.
C From
there follow the road out of the car-park for about 100m. Turn
right along a footpath.
Before turning, notice on the left an old
fort of Napoleon III (from 1862), now transformed into an arts
centre.
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After about 200m, turn right past a metal
barrier and right again at the next one, and then left soon
after at a T-junction. Then turn right at the next T-junction.
Continue ahead for about 400m to the
Chapelle de Ste-Marine. Go down the steps beside the chapel and
continue left along by the harbour, past a crêperie and
restaurant. The path then bears right along the harbour wall to
the Café de la Cale.
Go up the narrow stone steps to the left
immediately beyond the café building and then ahead to
the road. Turn right and continue for about 200m to where the
path forks.
D To
continue the walk, go left at the fork and follow a tree-lined
path between houses. Where it opens out, continue ahead on the
same path. At the road continue straight ahead for about 150m
to a T-junction and turn right. Turn left into the route de
Béréven soon after.
Follow this road to the end and then round
to the left. Just before a house a few metres ahead, turn right
down a straight track.
At the bottom of the slope, turn right
before the plank bridge. Follow the track, which eventually
becomes a road and bears left.
E At the
next junction go straight over (signed allée
cavalière), a most attractive woodland route. Past the
wooden barrier, continue ahead.
Ignore a long straight crosspath (the
allée cavalière) and at a fork in the path soon
after, bear right through a wooden barrier and follow a path
lined by tall pine trees.
At a junction of paths, go straight on and
at the next, bear right before the wooden post. Follow the path
round and then straight ahead. A white slash on the tree to the
right of the path denotes the ‘sentier
éducatif’, which has numbered information posts.
At the next junction bear right and then
straight ahead through trees. Continue ahead right up to the
hamlet of Kerscuntec. At the road turn left back to the
pigeonnier about 200m ahead.