The old railway line from Lannion to Perros-Guirec

The walk follows part of the first railway network in the Côtes-du-Nord (as it was known at the time), linking Lannion to Perros-Guirec via Petit Camp.

Details

2936258
Creation:
Last update:
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 7.64 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 45 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: No
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 312 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 374 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 341 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 7 ft
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ City: Lannion (22300)
  • ⚑
    Start: N 48.736951° / W 3.444694°
  • ⚑
    End: N 48.807394° / W 3.441607°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 0714OT
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Head to the car park on the left on the old ring road, Boulevard La Fayette, about 300 m downstream from the Saint-Marc roundabout.

(S) Leave the car park and cross at the pedestrian crossing. The start of the route is opposite, between the railings of the Boulevard de la Fayette bridge. After about 500 m, the path goes through a tunnel under the new ring road and then reaches a junction.

(1) Turn right towards Pont Ar Stang, then turn left to follow the Pen ar brez stream through the woodland. Cross the stream, join another path and continue to the right.

(2) Ignore the path on the left leading to Pourquéo and carry straight on until you reach the junction with Rue de Mesmeur. Go straight ahead to join Chemin de Launay.

(3) Continue straight on. Cross the Chemin de Pradic Glaz to go straight ahead and, after about 150 m, take the path on the left towards Lan ar Moudet. Reach the hamlet.

(4) Cross Chemin de Pradic Glaz again. Take the small road opposite which goes round the hamlet to the left before returning to the path you have just crossed. Make a quick first turn left then right to join Chemin de Lan ar Moudet as far as the last houses.

(5) Do not take the dirt tracks but continue left on the Chemin de Lan ar Moudet towards Petit Camp. Go straight on at every junction until you reach the D38.

(6) Cross the D38 with care and follow it to the right for about 200 m. Turn left onto the next dirt track. Ignore a path on the left further on.

(7) Take the path on the left which joins a tarmac road. Turn right towards Ty Braz and go straight on. Pass the junction with the Malfos road.

(8) Leave the tarmac road and continue left along the path. Just below the power line, turn right and head towards Kerlégant.

(9) Turn right and come out onto the Milin ar stang road.

(10) Turn left and walk for about 500 m.

(11) Turn left again, rejoining the route of the old railway line. Cross a housing estate then take a wide left-hand bend.

(12) Continue straight on along a path through the woods that descends towards the roundabout at the entrance to Perros-Guirec.

(13) Go round this roundabout on the right, taking care to use the pedestrian crossing further along on the right on the road to Perros. Then follow the seafront, passing the harbour and the harbour master’s office. Once at the end of the harbour, turn left to reach the esplanade of the old station, which has now disappeared and been converted into a car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S : mi 0 - alt. 69 ft - Car park on Boulevard La Fayette
  2. 1 : mi 0.44 - alt. 118 ft - Crossroads
  3. 2 : mi 1.04 - alt. 194 ft - Junction with the Pourquéo path
  4. 3 : mi 1.65 - alt. 279 ft - Launay Path
  5. 4 : mi 2.44 - alt. 341 ft - Pradic Glaz Path
  6. 5 : mi 2.69 - alt. 328 ft - Lan ar Moudet path
  7. 6 : mi 3.26 - alt. 285 ft - D38
  8. 7 : mi 3.73 - alt. 249 ft - Path on the left
  9. 8 : mi 4.29 - alt. 207 ft - Path on the left
  10. 9 : mi 4.63 - alt. 167 ft - Kerlégant
  11. 10 : mi 4.87 - alt. 236 ft - Route de Milin ar Stang
  12. 11 : mi 5.2 - alt. 236 ft - Former railway line
  13. 12 : mi 6.11 - alt. 128 ft - Path through the woodland
  14. 13 : mi 6.83 - alt. 20 ft - Perros Guirec - roundabout
  15. E : mi 7.64 - alt. 16 ft - Rue Ananatole Le Braz - Car park

Notes

The path, named "Emile Orain" since late 2018, is marked in yellow. Emile Orain was the pioneer of hiking trails in Brittany.

N.B. This hike is online. There are several ways to organise the return journey:
- Take the bus back.
- Park one car in Lannion (S) and one in Perros (E).
- Walk the route in the opposite direction (a total of 24.6 km).

Reviews and comments

4.4 / 5
Based on 4 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5
Ease of following the route
5 / 5
Route interest
3.8 / 5
Bessonneau
Bessonneau

Hello, this PR marked in yellow (there and back) has also been marked in GRP (red and yellow) since this year. It is part of the Pays long-distance hiking trail, coming from Paimpol. It will soon be approved by the French Hiking Federation.
i am currently the official marker for this section. Please feel free to use Suricate or Ma Rando to report any problems.
Kind regards.

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User 15657918

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 15, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Good signposting to guide you from land to sea

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mauricejeannine
mauricejeannine

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 04, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

We set off on foot from Trestraou beach in Perros-Guirec on 4 September, heading for Lannion, where we stayed at the Ibis hotel near the SNCF station. On 5 September, we visited the Pointe du Yaudet, and on 6 September we returned to Perros-Guirec via the same route.
With the exception of a few sections through woodland, the route along the old railway line, known as the Emile Orain route, is rather uninteresting, especially if, like us, you walk it twice (there and back). On the return journey, we actually cut out certain circular loops that are only there to avoid the cycle path. After the port, we returned via the GR 34, passing through Pointe du Château and Trestignel beach: here again we were disappointed, as the Sentier des Douaniers is only a proper path for a small – though very pretty – section of the route. I should point out that we have been hiking for about thirty years in the Alps and for the last two years in the Vosges and the Jura, so perhaps we have become a bit more demanding!

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Bessonneau
Bessonneau

This trail was officially opened, running from the Stanco car park in Lannion to the GR3
to Perros-Guirec, in collaboration with the FFRP and the mayors of Lannion-Louannec and Perros-Guirec, to mark the 50th anniversary of the GR34 in September 2018. It is named the “Emile ORAIN Route”. Emile is the founder of the GR34, created in 1968. Stretching 2,000 km, this GR trail runs along the Breton coast from Mont Saint Michel to St Nazaire.

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philbalcou
philbalcou

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 27, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

I didn’t have time to do the whole route, but only successive sections – starting from Lannion first, then a bit of the route by joining the route via the B-road that starts at Le Rusquet.
The path is very wide and well-maintained, with a few sections on quiet roads. It starts by the stream below the Saint-Marc roundabout in Lannion, and it’s true that the feeling of finding yourself straight away in the heart of nature is quite impressive. As a result, the path is very popular for family outings with the dog, or bike rides – I found there were a lot of cyclists, but it was right in the middle of the holiday season.
About 3 or 4 km from the start, I stopped in my tracks at the sight of a deer farm in a large field behind a high fence. Through a gap in the embankment 40 metres further on, you can get a good view of the herd; it’s very pleasant, whatever your age...
Shortly after crossing the D38, you can see rocks forming the remains of megaliths, probably a dismantled dolmen, with a sign linking this spot to part of the legend of Saint Yves. In Brittany, thousands of years of history surround us, if we pay attention...

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Olive22140
Olive22140

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 09, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A really lovely walk; the path is often wide and very easy to follow, even by bike, and if you follow the route on your phone, you won’t have any trouble finding your way. It takes you through woodland and across fields, with plenty of flowers, the river, a real sense of being out in the countryside, far from it all, even though that’s not really the case – at least not at the start of the route. There are a few sections on small tarmac roads with little traffic, just one spot where you have to cross a main road, and the route finishes at the Perros-Guirec roundabout. Well worth doing again!

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