|
|
(Tour of Brittany) (600+kms)
The cult of the Seven Saints,
‘founders’ of Brittany, is at least as old as the
11th century. The seven were bishops of the early celtic
church, five of them arrivals from Wales in the 5-6th
centuries. The seven saints is a common theme of sculptural
decoration in churches and at fontaines – for example, at
Bulat Pestivien and in the cathedral at Rennes. (But not to be
confused with the seven saints, brothers martyred in the 3rd
century, commemorated by a chapel near Vieux-Marché.)
Each founding saint is honoured in their
cathedral towns: Corentin at Quimper, Paul Aurélien at
St-Pol-de-Léon, Tugdual at Tréguier, Brieuc at
St-Brieuc, Malo at St-Malo, Samson at Dol-de-Bretagne and
Patern at Vannes. A tour of these seven centres became a noted
pilgrimage in the middle ages, requiring a journey of over
600kms. An old Breton dictum says that it must be completed
once in a man’s lifetime to ensure entry to paradise.
Interest in the Tro Breiz was revived at the end of the 19th
century with the general resurgence of enthusiasm for Breton
legend and cultural practice: a hundred years later the route
again became the focus of attention of various groups, with
organisation and waymarking appearing to aid modern spiritual
pilgrims or those committed to long-distance walking (another
form of religion).
A book in French – Tro Breiz, les
chemins du Paradis – was published last year on this
theme. It tells the story of the long journey undertaken from
St-Pol-de-Léon by Gaele de la Brosse with her two
companions, two young children
and two donkeys wending their gentle way
along the quiet paths of rural Brittany.
 | ||
 |
|
|||
|
Treguier
|
|
|||
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
(365kms)
This 19th century waterway was originally
conceived to link the arsenals of Nantes and Brest and provide
a safe inland route for supplies to the Atlantic port at a time
when the English navy were blockading Breton coasts. The actual
towpath today stretches in a continuous line from Ecluse 2 at
Quiheix (20kms north of Nantes) to Guily Glas, near Chateaulin
in Finistere, a distance of over 350kms. The truly adventurous
can create a more complex journey by making their way up the
Edre from the centre of Nantes to start with, and following the
Aulne to the Rade de Brest and even to the Atlantic port itself
at the end.
As most of the canal route consists of
canalised rivers rather than artificial channels, there is an
enormous variety of landscape and environment to enjoy, from
the flat marshlands of Loire-Atlantique, to the stunning
falaises on the Oust west of Redon, the forests of Quenecan and
Branquily in central Brittany and the verdant hills of the
Montagnes Noirs in Finistere. Nature abounds, with wildlife
flourishing both in and out of the water – otters, coypu,
water rats, salmon, pike, kingfishers, etc. – and a
magnificent range of trees and flowers along the way.
The canal passes through many interesting
places, so a long-distance walk can also take in, for example,
the chateau at Blain, the medieval towns of Malestroit and
Josselin, and the Napoleonic grandeur of Pontivy, without the
need for transport. Abbeys, churches and chapels are also to be
found along the canal – abbeys at Redon and Bon Repos,
the lovely Chapelle de Bon-Encontre by the water at Rohan, the
church of St-Julien with paintings by Serusier at
Chateauneuf-du-Faou are just a few of those worth visiting.
What will be of most interest to the
walker, however, is probably the vast engineering feat of the
canal itself with all its attendant locks, lock-keepers’
houses, ladders of locks, bridges, feeder streams, lakes, etc.
Even the straight man-made sections have their own distinctive
atmosphere, especially that of the Grand Tranchée near
Glomel, where prisoners housed in a nearby camp laboured for
many years in terrible conditions to create a section of nearly
three kilometres in length.
 | ||
A new Red Dog Guide to the Nantes-Brest
Canal gives the entire route in detail, with things to see,
locations of accommodation, restaurants, shops, etc. See Books page.
