Krénénan Chapel and Scorff Valley in Guémené-sur-Scorff

Departure from Place Joseph Loth in Guémené-sur-Sorff.

(S/E) Leave Place Joseph Loth via the main street and turn left towards the town hall. Go around the town hall on the right, passing in front of one of the only remains of the imposing castle that once stood here, the Queen's Baths. Continue towards La Porterie, the old gate to the castle, which you cross to find the street leading to the church on the right.

(1) When you reach the church, turn left onto the main street leading downhill and follow it to the next crossroads. Turn left and take the small street that branches off to the left. Before passing a succession of small, low houses, you will come to a strange red house, made of wood and stone, which is quite unusual in this granite environment. The street curves to the right before crossing Rue Raymond Voisin. Cross and continue straight ahead to the Pont Bihen mill.

(2) This old mill was once fed by a channel from the Scorff, which was clearly wider than it is today. To cross it, go past the mill and take the footbridge that has replaced the old ford. Once on the other side, continue to a place called Kervair and when the road turns right, leave it and take the cul-de-sac that branches off to the left. Once you have passed the houses, you enter a veritable covered trench. The size of the path, the embankments that frame it and the vegetation that overhangs it raise questions about the traffic that this passage must have seen. Today, only pedestrians use it, and they sometimes have to perform a balancing act to cross the wettest parts.

(3) After about 500 metres, you will find yourself in the open air when you reach an intersection with another path. Turn right twice before reaching a small road with a steep downhill slope. Turn left twice to head towards Kerlouis.

(4) Leave the road as it turns towards the hamlet of Kerlouis and continue straight ahead for about 100 metres. Turn left onto the path that follows the edge of the woods until you reach the Kerémile road. Cross and continue straight ahead through countryside that alternates between woods and farmland. When you reach the bottom of a valley, the path makes a sharp turn to the left and follows the foot of the wooded hillside overlooking the Krénénan chapel, which the trail will pass later on.
After winding down the slope, the path reaches a deforested and newly planted area where it has suffered somewhat from the intervention of forestry machinery. Cross this area and climb back up the slope.

(5) After encountering another track on the right, follow the stony farm track on the left, whose only interest is that it offers a beautiful view of the Scorff valley.
You will soon arrive at a livestock farm, which you will bypass on the right. Botcoët is not far away, although you will have to pass through the last curtain of vegetation to find yourself in the middle of the houses.

(6) At the crossroads serving the two parts of the hamlet, take a breather before tackling the steep climb ahead. The road climbs steeply for about 300 metres, but the view from the crossroads at the top is a great reward for your efforts.
Continue straight on towards the house in Spernen and take the path that continues along the road. On the plateau, it runs alongside a field before turning at a right angle about 300 m further on.
The route then follows a hedge before entering a path bordered by two embankments. As you approach the chapel of Krénénan, the path widens to form a veritable avenue as it reaches the chapel grounds. Such a large space was undoubtedly necessary to accommodate the hundreds of pilgrims who visited the site in its heyday.

(7) After walking around the building, take the path that starts between the farmhouse and one of the stone shelters located to the north of the chapel. This path descends through wooded surroundings to the fountain linked to the chapel, just on the other side of the D1.
Leave the fountain behind you and join the Kerhamonic road by taking the small path that descends from the road embankment on the left. Turn left at the road towards the hamlet, pass the imposing houses of Kerdoric and continue until you leave the road to Kerhamonic on your right. Take the somewhat muddy path opposite and follow it for about 700 metres. When you come to a wider path, turn left and go downhill until you reach the meadows bordering the Scorff. As you approach them, you will no doubt be alerted by the barking of the pack of dogs that live there. It's understandable that their owner chose such an isolated spot to keep them!

(8) Pass the kennels and continue along the path until you reach the bend before joining the D3. The path branches off to the right and enters the woods. It winds its way more or less along the road, a few dozen metres inside the woodland. After about 700 m, it reaches the fork towards Tronscorff.

(9) The path splits in two a few dozen metres above the bridge under Tronscorff. Ignore the branch that leads to the road and the bridge, and turn right to go back into the woods. A little further on, the path comes to an end at the embankment surrounding a large half-moon-shaped meadow. Turn right and go around it to continue on the other side after going around the plot following the embankment.
Shortly afterwards, you will pass the hamlet of Poulhibet below and reach another crossroads.

(10) Ignore the path that descends to the left towards the road and take the one that climbs the slope, slightly to the right. Continue straight ahead at the next crossroads and follow the path that runs along the edge of the plateau. On the other side of the path, the slope becomes steeper and steeper until the path makes a very pronounced "S" bend. Once you have passed these bends, ignore the path that branches off to the right and continue straight ahead towards Kermaria, which you will reach a few dozen metres further on.
Cross the hamlet to reach the D1.

(11) Turn left and follow the road until you cross the Scorff and reach the roundabout that marks the entrance to Guémené. Turn right and follow the pavement until you reach the alleyway that leads to the old wash house.

(12) Cross the street and take the alleyway that goes up to the left. It leads to the church, just like the main street, but without having to share the road with traffic.

(1) Walk past the church and continue along Rue Joseph Hémonet. Walk past the old presbytery and continue straight on towards the Notre-Dame de la Fosse fountain.

(13) Once you reach the fountain, continue towards the centre along Rue de la Fontaine. When you reach Rue des Frères Trébuil, Rue Joseph Loth and the starting point will be in sight, about 50 metres upstream (S/E).

This route follows sections of one or more marked trails, but deviates from them several times. Unless the description recommends it, it is best to ignore any markings you encounter.

Provisions can be purchased in Guémené-sur-Scorff.

If the chapel is not open, the only shelters available on the route are the stone huts surrounding the sanctuary. They are rudimentary but provide shelter from the rain if necessary.

When you reach the chapel of Krénénan and its tall bell tower, notice the stone shelters surrounding the monument, which are rather incongruous in our region. What could they have been used for? Certainly not by the shepherds who roam the causses and other limestone expanses where we are used to seeing this type of building.

The main street of Guémené still has a few beautiful half-timbered or cut stone buildings, which you can see on a round trip.