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Sainte-Marie-du-Ménez Hom car park (D887, Châteaulin–Crozon road).
(S/E) From the car park, head right along the D887 (take care, especially in summer). At the sign for Lodge de Run Vraz, turn left and follow the access road to the lodge.
Yellow and red markings
(1) Leave the lodge on your right and take the signposted path opposite, following it through a wooded area. Continue until you reach a small road (D47).
VTT6 + Tro Breiz signposting
Turn right onto this gravel road with a grassy verge on the left. Pass an entrance marked with a sign reading “Strakell Off Road, off-road introduction” and continue to the next junction of paths.
(2) Turn left onto this wide, motorable track which descends towards a stream; its murmur will accompany you for a while. Then continue up a gentle slope to reach some fields and a cluster of houses, which you will go round to the left by following a small road to the right (sign for ‘Ateliers du Ménez Hom’, a centre for art therapy workshops in Brittany).
(3) At a metal shed on your right, turn left onto a track that climbs straight ahead (marker post VTT6 panoramic route). This relatively gentle and steady climb leads to a flat area with two barriers opposite the information sign “Ménez Hom, protected natural area”.
(4) Turn right (gate and ‘No motorised vehicles’ sign) and follow this wide track through a pine-wooded area. Stay on the same contour line and note the views of Dinéault and its countryside on your right. At the end of the track, veer slightly to the right as you descend.
(5) At the crossroads, turn left; a little further on, pass aPR®® sign on your right and continue straight ahead (barrier and ‘No Motorised Vehicles’ sign, plus the VTT6 signpost for the panoramic route). Continue along this wide track, which, for the time being, skirts round a hilltop that you will eventually have to climb; as you go, views of the River Aulne and the Térénez suspension bridge gradually open up on your right. You will reach a VTT6 panoramic route marker post.
Off the marked trail
(6) Leave the wide, signposted MTB path and take a small stony track to the left. At the first junction, turn left again and follow the small track through the vegetation, consisting of moorland and heather dotted with a few buckthorn bushes. Continue to the highest point at altitude 201.
(7) Look out for a path on the right – it’s not very visible – which starts with a small bank of stones. If your path begins to descend, you’ve missed the start of this path. Follow this single track through the vegetation, a steep climb over stony ground. Remember to look back from time to time to admire the view over the Aulne Valley and, on the horizon, Brest, the ‘white city’.
At the end of this steep climb, you’ll reach a summit marked by several cairns (offering sweeping views across the Châteaulin basin as far as the Monts d’Arrée range).
Continue straight on now along a wide, relatively flat path until you reach a crossroads.
Yellow and red markings + VTT6 (in the opposite direction to your progress and not very visible).
Leave the marked path that heads off to the left and begin the gentler ascent towards the main summit of Ménez Hom, known as Yed (329m). This wide path climbs steadily and, depending on the day, you can see paragliders and model aeroplanes soaring through the sky. Go round the summit to the right; there’s no need to climb up to the orientation table, which no longer exists, but do take the time to admire the view (a sweeping 360° panorama).
(N.B.: the summit is often crowded as it’s accessible by car).
Head down towards the road.
No further signposting is visible (theGR®®37marker shown on the map is not visible on the ground)
(8) Look out for a discreet path through the vegetation on the right; go round the car park on the right and follow this south-westerly path, keeping your eyes on the next summit, called Hielc’h (298m), dominated by a wooden post bearing an anemometer and a small solar panel. Head straight down to reach a flat area.
Now begin the ascent to this summit (watch out for sharp sandstone) and easily reach the summit, from where the view stretches across Douarnenez Bay and Cap de la Chèvre, one of the headlands of the Crozon Peninsula. Descend slightly.
(9) Turn left onto a wide path, leaving the steep path that descends opposite.
Go round the summit to the east and join a path which you take to the right towards the road leading up to Ménez Hom.
(10) Cross the road and continue along the narrow path opposite, heading north-east. In the distance, opposite, you can see the Cast wind farm. Carry on, maintaining the same altitude through this area dotted with a few pine trees; pass a stone marker and, at a small pile of stones, you’ll reach a fork in the path.
(11) Turn right downhill and continue straight on. Cross a slightly marshy area and arrive in a wooded area of pine trees. Do not look for the dolmen shown on the map, as it was blown up in 1951 in an act of vandalism and the slabs are no longer really visible. You will reach a track that descends straight down to a road.
(12) Turn right and follow this road. At the sign for Sainte-Marie-du-Ménez Hom, look out for a wooden sign on the left indicating the fountain. Enter the field on the left and walk down the wide grassy strip. The fountain is at the far end of the field on the left. It has long been neglected, although photographs from 1920 showed it with a beautiful stone arch, which has now disappeared.
(13) Retrace your steps (allow about 400 metres there and back) and continue up the road towards the chapel, built between 1570 and 1773.
Pass under the stone archway to enter the parish churchyard with its fine calvary. A very interesting visit (beautiful Baroque altarpieces and statues; open mainly in summer).
Leave the fenced area of land through the triumphal arch dating from 1739, which features a statue of Saint Hervé, and cross the road carefully to reach the car park opposite (S/E).
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