Pont-l'Abbé towpath and Rosquerno Wood

Park at Quai Saint-Laurent on the banks of the Rivière de Pont-L'Abbé.

GR34 marked in white and red +^PR® yellow

(S/E) Head towards the end of the quay and join the towpath. Pass a flight of steps – which will be your return route – then a pretty fountain. On the opposite bank, note the Pors Moro shipyard and the old tide mill, now beautifully restored as a residence. Continue along the river and cross the first embankment where a stream flows. Carry on, cross a second embankment and reach the end of the towpath opposite an embankment (you can climb up for a short round trip).

^PR® Yellow

(1) Leave the^GR® which continues along the river, turn right near a ruined house (the former coastguard’s house which later became a café) and head into the woods. Continue straight on and emerge at a car park near the Rosquerno Equestrian Centre on your right. Follow this access road alongside meadows on your right until you reach a junction, just before the D2.

(2) Turn right, walk past the former farm of the eco-museum known as "La Maison du Pays Bigouden" (now private property), and take the right of way through the meadows where numerous horses graze. Continue straight on until you reach the crossroads at the entrance to the Bois de Rosquerno.

No signposting

(3) Turn left, leaving a path that heads right towards the towpath; cross a wooden footbridge over a seasonal stream, then turn left onto the path that goes round the grounds of the Manoir de Trévanec. You’ll come to a fork in the road (Bois de Trévanec).

^PR® Yellow

(4) Turn right, still following the same property line, and walk alongside the high wall from which you can see the top of the Manoir de Trévanec and its beautiful entrance gate. Note on the right-hand side, in a meadow, the old dovecote, now overgrown with vegetation, as well as, at the edge of the path, a fountain and a wash house, which were unfortunately rather neglected when I passed by. Reach a residential area and follow the road to the left, ignoring the first three streets on the right, to find a narrow lane (Chemin du Guerdy).

(5) Follow this alleyway, which skirts the residential areas, passes a school on the left and leads to a roundabout.

(6) Take the second street on the left, Avenue de Kerarthur, then, after the bend, go down the steps leading to the towpath. Turn left to return to the car park (S/E).

Stopover lodge near Trévanec Manor.

The landscape along the towpath changes with the tide (birdwatching).
Route through woodland and near the equestrian centre, which also serves as a horse boarding facility.
The 15th-century Trévanec Manor (currently being restored) and its outbuildings.