La Bouhourdais in Saint-Domineuc

Start from the church car park.

(S/E) Leave the car park via Rue Nationale. Before the post office, turn left onto Chemin des Dames.
Turn left into the^third street (there’s a small car park on the corner opposite). Carry straight on when the street bends to the left, then turn right in front of the leisure park.

(1) Turn right onto the towpath. First turn left then right as you cross the bridge and continue along the opposite bank, which is designated a ‘Voie Verte’ (greenway).

(2) Cross the canal again via the footbridge at Couëdan lock and continue left along the towpath.
Before a fairly sharp bend to the left, you can see the private manor house of La Ramée on the opposite bank: a 17th-century residence.
Continue along the towpath heading north.

(3) From the Calaudry lock, the canal makes a wide bend and turns south-east.
Cross the D13 county road (see note) and carry on opposite, keeping to the left to stay on the canal bank. After another bend, it heads due south.

(4) At the Pont Houitte lock, leave the canal by first turning left then right to take the path behind the lock keeper’s house. The path leads to the road heading towards Trémagouët. Follow it to the left, ignoring a road and a track on the left, until you reach a crossroads. Turn left onto a stony track.

(5) At the crossroads, carry on straight ahead until you reach the road that crosses the Basse Bouhourdais. Turn left and continue along the path. At the T-junction where the paths meet, turn left and then keep left, walking alongside two bodies of water on your left-hand side. The path widens and you’ll come back to the crossroads you passed on the way out.

(5) Carry on straight ahead and continue along the same path. Pass the Haute Menetais on your left and reach the Menetais crossroads. First turn left then right to cross the road and continue straight ahead. After a few bends, ignore the houses of La Provôtais on your right and carry on to the left. You’ll reach the first houses of Saint-Domineuc.

(6) Take the^second street on the left just before Rue du Stade. At the end of this street, turn left onto Rue du Stade and continue left to reach the church square (S/E).

Note: after (3): after the D13 road bridge, at a place called ‘le Village’, there is a picnic area on the right and public toilets on the opposite bank.

The Ille and Rance Canal: construction of the canal began in Saint-Domineuc in 1812. At the time, digging the canal was a Herculean task, carried out with spades and pickaxes by prisoners and beggars from the villages along its route.
In 1880, some 2,000 boats passed through the locks, each barge carrying 40 tonnes of goods. Today, only pleasure boats use the canal.
Around thirty lock-keeper’s houses are still in use on the Ille and Rance Canal. The lock-keeper’s job is to ensure that boats pass through the locks in the safest possible conditions. He lives in the house situated near the lock: this is his official accommodation.