Aulne towpath and Notre-Dame de Kerluan Chapel

Let's take a leisurely stroll along the canalised Aulne for about 6 km, passing three locks. Then let's head back up small roads towards the Notre-Dame de Kerluan Chapel. Let's climb a little further to finally descend back down to the banks of the Aulne.

Details

106722
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.34 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 25 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 74 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 74 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 91 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 11 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ District: Châteaulin (29150)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 48.215627° / W 4.03297°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 0517OT, 0518OT, 0618OT
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Start: banks of the Aulne, at a place called Toul ar C'heffeleg (access via thesecond roundabout at the Pouillot interchange.

Yellow markings

(S/E) From the car park, turn right (south-west) onto the towpath downstream. Pass the first lock (Guillec).

(1) Continue southwards until you reach the second lock, the Aulne lock. On your right, you will see the canal wildlife interpretation centre and a memorial to the Pennarpont-Beuzit-Keraliou resistance fighters, and on your left, the old boathouse.

(2) Continue along the path beside the river, which forms a large circular curve to the right. The towpath takes you under the bridge carrying the N165 Brest-Quimper road.

(3) Continue to the third lock on the route, Prat-Hir.

(4). Here, leave the banks of the Aulne and follow the road that climbs to the right. When you reach the expressway, turn right and follow it to the bridge.

(5). Cross the bridge and continue left along the small road that climbs up to the Notre-Dame de Kerluan Chapel (a pleasant place to take a break).

(6). Continue along the road to the Pont du Lec bridge, which crosses the expressway.

(7) Do not take this bridge, but continue straight ahead, leaving the access road to Le Lec on your right. Pass Mezambellec, leaving the access road to the hamlet of Quélennec on your right, to arrive near the road interchange.

(8) Turn right, then after about 200 metres, turn left at a farm and follow the road down to the river, which is the road you took when you arrived by car. This will take you back to the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 17 m - Car park by the canal - Aulne (fleuve)
  2. 1 : km 1.21 - alt. 15 m - Guillec lock - Canal de Nantes à Brest
  3. 2 : km 3.2 - alt. 14 m - Aulne lock
  4. 3 : km 4.39 - alt. 12 m - Passage under the expressway
  5. 4 : km 6.07 - alt. 12 m - End of the towpath
  6. 5 : km 6.98 - alt. 43 m - Bridge over the expressway
  7. 6 : km 7.98 - alt. 68 m - Notre-Dame de Kerluan Chapel
  8. 7 : km 8.81 - alt. 79 m - Lec Bridge
  9. 8 : km 10.13 - alt. 81 m - Right then left
  10. S/E : km 11.34 - alt. 17 m - Car park by the canal - Aulne (fleuve)

Notes

Please note: during periods of high water, the towpath may be flooded at the following point (3)

After points (4) and (8), the small road runs more or less alongside the Quimper-Brest expressway: you can hear the noise of cars, but it is difficult to do this circular in this section.

Picnic tables are available at the starting point car park and at the Aulne lock.

(7) You can visit the Kerluan fountain (1300 m round trip).
Cross the Lec bridge and descend to the hamlet of Stanguivin.
This fountain was moved during the construction of the expressway.

For geocaching enthusiasts: Notre-Dame de Kerluan
Placed on 05/01/2015 by pomfresh2
Wpt: GC5JV5E Active cache
N 48°.? - W 04°.?
Type: Traditional cache
Container: Micro

Worth a visit

On the route:
- The final section of the Nantes-Brest Canal.
- Guillec, Aulne and Prat-Hir locks.
- Canal wildlife interpretation centre.
- Notre-Dame de Kerluan Chapel.

Optional:
Kerluan Fountain: It dates from the 20th century and replaces an older fountain.
In the niche, there is a statue of the Virgin Mary breastfeeding. In the past, women would rub their breasts with water from the fountain to increase their milk supply.

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 5 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
5 / 5
Route interest
4 / 5
FLOCH
FLOCH ★

Thank you for this review
The only slight restriction is the level of the Aulne river before the bridge.
I had to cancel this route with my walking group in early February because the towpath was flooded at that point.

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bihen29
bihen29
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 07, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello! We discovered this hike on Visorando. It was our first time doing it, and we were not disappointed.
We were alone on this route despite it being a beautiful day for the time of year. The hike is very pleasant and relaxing along the River Aulne. This section must be very busy on sunny days. The rest of the route is on country roads, but as they are not very busy, we were not disturbed by traffic.
Three of us recorded the ride on different sites and, to within a few hundred metres, the distance corresponds to the description. It can be done in any weather except on very hot days (yes, that happens in Brittany too) as there is no shelter.
Thank you to the route organisers.

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crisg29
crisg29

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 21, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We did this hike in beautiful weather. The first part along the River Aulne was MAGNIFICENT...
the second part was a little less enjoyable because it was noisy, as we were very close to the four-lane road.
But it was still a beautiful hike. However, my pedometer only showed 9.6 km instead of the advertised 11 km.

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GUEGUEN Annick
GUEGUEN Annick

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 01, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant day for hiking along the banks of the Aulne. Return via country roads, which fortunately are not very busy and lead us to the chapel of Kerluan.

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FLOCH
FLOCH ★

Thank you for this review and your encouragement to all contributors to the site.
It is indeed difficult to organise a circular route that passes by this chapel, which is well worth a visit, without taking small roads.

All the best for the future on Visoarndo.

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lanalou29
lanalou29

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 14, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

The walk along the Aulne river is very pleasant (about 3/5ths of the walk)
However, the second part is only on tarmac roads. It's quite tedious but undoubtedly essential if you want to see Kerluan Church!
This was our first hike with Visorando: we will definitely do it again. THANK YOU to the people who give their time to plan all these hikes.

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fredrachel
fredrachel

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 30, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A pleasant and easy walk for families with young children. ...5 years old for the youngest. ...Approximately 2½ hours

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