The Pennélé Valley and the River Morlaix

After crossing a residential area via shaded paths, don’t be put off by a short stretch of tarmac running parallel to the main road. After Bot-Balan, the route consists solely of forest paths along the river. After the Chapel of La Salette, a magnificent covered walkway will take you back to the start.

Details

243910
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 7.08 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 50 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 686 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 715 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 302 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 13 ft

Description of the walk

Park in the car park of the “Ty Nevez” residential complex

(S/E) Head south to the roundabout and follow Rue Guy Ropartz for 50 metres.
Turn right towards the community hall and continue to the left.

(1) Take the path on the right at the end of the street and continue to the left. Cross Rue François Jaffrenou and continue straight ahead to the end of the path.
Continue left onto Allée de Keréozer and, at the end, turn right.

(2) Turn left and walk past the houses
Before a left-hand bend, take the stairs on the right to reach the footbridge spanning the four-lane road.
Turn left to enter the industrial estate via Route de la Garenne. At the end of the road, turn right and continue along this road.

(3) Turn right towards Pénalan then Bot-Balan, and finally left towards Lilien.

(4) Turn right onto the path, heading north. After a left-hand bend, keep to the right and continue to cross the road leading to Bigodou.

(5) From here, some sections may be very wet; small detours have been created to avoid the puddles.
Continue straight ahead; the path descends towards the river. Cross it.

. Red and white markings forthe GR®34

(6) Turn right and follow the river as you head north.

(7) Cross the bridge and turn right to head back up the hill. You’ll come to a large pig farm on your left.

(8) At the crossroads, turn left. At the fork, continue to the right, then, after 200m, turn left to head north-east.

(9) At the Fork in the road, take the left-hand track and you will reach the forecourt of the Chapel of Notre-Dame de la Salette.
Walk down the path towards the Rivière de Morlaix.
Note the niches on the wall to the right, which once housed the Stations of the Cross

Cross the Route de Carantec and turn right to walk alongside the buildings of the Franciscan convent and then the retirement home.

(10) Cross the road again to take the path that starts behind a gate and which, as it climbs, runs alongside the river and the road heading south-east.
Continue at the junction on the left, cross the bridge over the path leading to Château du Bonnou. Pass under the viaduct of the A12 and continue along this lane.

(11) At the end of a large bend to the left, take the steps leading down to the right.Please note: they are difficult to see due to the vegetation.
Off the route At the bottom of the steps, a large pond where frogs reign supreme
Continue along this path, which joins the road leading to the housing estate. Take Rue César Franck to return to the starting car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 220 ft - Ty Nevez Residence car park
  2. 1 : mi 0.21 - alt. 269 ft - Path on the right
  3. 2 : mi 0.55 - alt. 292 ft - On the left: Rue Jean Coatanlem
  4. 3 : mi 1.6 - alt. 151 ft - On the right, 100m before the roundabout
  5. 4 : mi 2.12 - alt. 295 ft - Path on the right
  6. 5 : mi 2.67 - alt. 184 ft - At the crossroads, take the path opposite.
  7. 6 : mi 2.99 - alt. 66 ft - On the right after the footbridge
  8. 7 : mi 3.56 - alt. 23 ft - Bridge over the Pénnélé
  9. 8 : mi 4.32 - alt. 276 ft - At the crossroads, turn left
  10. 9 : mi 4.91 - alt. 213 ft - At the fork in the road, take the left-hand road
  11. 10 : mi 5.45 - alt. 16 ft - After the retirement home, take the parallel path - Rivière de Morlaix (fleuve)
  12. 11 : mi 6.61 - alt. 154 ft - Crossroads, steps on the right
  13. S/E : mi 7.08 - alt. 220 ft - Ty Nevez Residence car park

Worth a visit

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

3.5 / 5
Based on 7 reviews

Reliability of the description
3.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.6 / 5
Route interest
3.1 / 5
kartavan
kartavan

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 14, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

a beautiful hike, although there was a bit too much tarmac at the start when crossing the industrial estate.

Machine-translated

Riboula
Riboula

Overall rating : 1.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 13, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Very busy route : No

It’s impossible to walk along the Pénnélé; the ground is extremely soft and muddy.

Machine-translated

Posto
Posto

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 25, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Some of the paths are muddy and slippery, so suitable footwear and rain gear are essential.
A lovely route that my friends really enjoyed.
Many thanks

Machine-translated

Alian
Alian

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 02, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing

A walk undertaken in January. The following comments reflect my impressions. A very muddy walk, bordering on impassable. Very poorly signposted, particularly at point no. 10 (it says to go left! Follow the GR signs). To be really critical, I’d say this walk is the worst I’ve ever done in terms of interest and route description. The directions at the start are already very vague. Thanks anyway to the person who created this route.

Machine-translated

jacquesle
jacquesle

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 11, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A very pleasant route that alternates between woodland and countryside

Machine-translated

kermimi
kermimi

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 02, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

Check out the comment that’s already been posted!!!! And just because I download a hike doesn’t mean I’ll actually go on it in the next few days...

Machine-translated

kermimi
kermimi

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 02, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

A nice little walk between Pennélé and the Morlaix River; the only downside is having to cross the industrial estate and walk along the four-lane road... but you soon forget about it

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.