Route of the moors and peat bogs from Botmeur

Parking available near Botmeur Town Hall.

(S/E) With your back to Botmeur town hall, head west along the GR®380 and^GR®37, which run alongside the D42 to the Penn ar Valy crossroads.

(1) Take the road on the left. Turn at the^first right and pass through the hamlets of Balanec Ber and then Botcador.

(2) After the last house, take a cart track on the right which soon turns into a path between two embankments, leading to the Croix Cassée, on the edge of the D786.

(3) Follow the D786 to the right (north) for about 100 m, then turn left onto a wide stony track. After about 50 metres, take a path on the left. Walk south-south-west to the summit of Tuchenn Kador.

(4) Continue along the ridge, still heading south-south-west, and descend.

(5) Turn right and continue descending along the^GR®37(red and white markings). Descend towards the antennas and reach the D42.

(6) Cross the D42 (take care), then first turn right then left to take a wide path heading south-east, which continues as a track through the heather. Climb up, ignoring a turn-off to the right, and reach Menez Mikel, at the summit of which stands the Chapel of Saint-Michel de Brasparts.

(7) Head back down the other side, turn left and continue downhill to the D84.

(8) Cross the road and continue south-east. At a junction (elevation 316), continue straight ahead (let the^GR® trail veer off to the right, towards the south). Keep heading south-east until you reach the D785.

(9) Cross it (take care) and continue along the wide path for 700 m to the "Chasse Nature" training centre at Ty Blaise (for access to a megalithic alignment, see the "During the hike" section).

(10) Follow a dirt track to the left (north) for about 400 m. At the end, turn left. Shortly afterwards, turn right onto the wooden footbridges (these allow you to walk through the Yeun Elez peat bogs).

(11) Cross the River Ellez, just before it flows into Lake Saint-Michel. Further on, cross the Stêr Red stream and you will come to a T-junction.

(12) Turn left onto a stony path and head towards Kernévez.

(13) After the first house, turn right onto a dirt track. Continue straight on until you reach a junction where you rejoin the^{GR® route.}

(14) Follow the^GR® to the left (red and white markings). Cross a stream and head due north to the^first houses of the village of Botmeur.

(15) Then turn left. Join the D42 (cross) and follow it to the left as far as the Church of Saint-Eutrope and Saint-Isidor.

(16) Continue straight ahead and, at the next junction, keep left to reach the town hall car park (S/E).

This route is part of the Monts d’Arrée Communauté walking trails.

County roads: take care when crossing and walking along them!

Please note: this route includes sections reserved exclusively for pedestrians (footbridges over peat bogs)

Yeun Elez is a peat bog area in the heart of the Monts d’Arrée, a spongy marsh covering 1,500 hectares. It is also the setting for numerous tales and legends, bearing witness to the anxieties and questions of the people in these parts. One of these tales speaks of a bottomless pit (the Youdig) said to be one of the gates of hell.

Between (9) and (10), off the route, 270 m from the D785 via a path on the left into the moorland: the megalithic alignment "La Noce de Pierres – An Eured Vein". After the centre, take a dirt track for about 400 m northwards.

Noce de Pierres (An Eured Vein):
An alignment of Neolithic menhirs situated below Mont Saint-Michel. There are 77 of them, ranging in height from 0.50 m to 1.50 m. The best-known legend associated with these megaliths tells that a wedding procession, having failed to kneel and show reverence as a priest carrying the Blessed Sacrament passed by on his way to a dying man, was punished by divine power. The wedding party was petrified on the spot and turned to stone.

Montagne Saint-Michel (Menez Mikel) and its chapel:
It was at the summit of Montagne Saint-Michel, known at the time as La motte Cronon, at an altitude of 381 m, that the chapel dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel was built in 1672. Left in ruins after the Revolution, it was rebuilt in the 19th century. Beyond the chapel located in the commune of Saint-Rivoal, what makes the climb worthwhile is above all the view that takes in the whole of the Monts d’Arrée, and in fine weather, the far end of Brest harbour.

Lake Saint-Michel spans four municipalities: Botmeur, Brasparts, Brennilis and Loqueffret. Nestled amongst moors, peat bogs and rocky hills, this 450-hectare artificial lake was created between 1929 and 1936 to regulate the River Ellez, which is used by the EDF hydroelectric power station at Saint-Herbot. Then, from the 1960s until 1985, the water was used to cool the EDF nuclear power station, which is now being decommissioned. The lake also helps to control the flow of water in the Aulne catchment area and is a renowned fishing spot, particularly for pike.