The Menhir of Saint-Uzec and the Chapel of Saint-Samson

Starts from the car park at the Saint-Uzec menhir, in Penvern.

Yellow markings
Signposts at major junctions and, from time to time, signs reading ‘Menhirs and chapels in Pleumeur-Bodou’.

(S/E) From the car park, head uphill, keeping the menhir on your right. Immediately turn left onto the^PR®® path, a wide gravel track. Stay on the main track and, at a three-way junction (elevation 41), turn right. Ignore a path branching off to the right and continue straight ahead. Carry on along a small road and pass through a hamlet. Carry on along the road, ignoring any side paths. At a fork in the road, turn left.

(1) At a place called Keryvon, cross a road and carry on straight ahead towards Hent Kerewan. At the next junction, turn sharply right towards Kerviziou. Stay on the road as it climbs and curves to the left.

(2) At Kerviziou, turn left at the corner by an EDF substation (ignore the yellow signpost indicating a right turn; two^{PR®® routes} cross here). After a house on the left, the tarmac gives way to a sunken path leading downhill. Cross a stream near a house. Pass a wash house on the left and continue alongside the houses.

(3) At the junction, first turn left then right to follow the Route du Bouster.

Yellow + Red and White signposting

At the next junction, carry on straight ahead along Hent Toul Truez on the^GR®®34. Soon, the tarmac gives way to a footpath. At a crossroads, first turn right then left to take Hent al Lann towards the Saint-Samson golf course.

(4) At the next junction, turn right, still heading towards the golf course. At the roundabout (marker 49), turn right onto Route du Guiderm and follow the golf course on your right. Take the^first left, onto Crec’h Moustero, towards a riding school. At the next junction, go straight on (ignore the turn-off to the riding school on the left).

(5) At the crossroads, turn right. A good fifty metres further on, take a path on the right. Walk alongside meadows and woodland. At the end, follow a road to the right. At the junction immediately ahead, cross the road and continue straight on along a shaded path. Then cross the golf course (take care) and head towards a sign marked ‘No. 8’, keeping small rocks on your right.

(6) Just before the sign, follow a path on the left. Walk alongside the golf course on your left (damp patches). At the end of the golf course, continue straight on downhill until you reach a road.

Unmarked

(7) Cross the road and walk past the small car park at the Chapelle Saint-Samson on your left. Just before a gate, turn right and head for an old fountain in the woodland. Retrace your steps and turn right to go through the gate. Walk to the chapel and go round it to reach its porch, in front of which an old, small menhir has been placed. Retrace your steps back to the road.

Yellow + Red and White markings

(7) On your return from the chapel, follow the road to the right. Ignore a path branching off to the left and, at the next junction, turn right onto Hent a Groaz. At a wayside cross, turn left. Pass a green shed (at a place called Porz ar Lan) then ignore a path branching off to the left. Leave a dead-end on your right and continue straight ahead along a path.

(8) At the junction, turn right onto a wide track and follow a wire fence on your left. Pass a recycling centre and, at the entrance to an adventure course, veer left onto the tarmac. At the T-junction (with an aerial on the left), turn right. At the crossroads immediately ahead, turn left.

(9) At the Stop sign (radome opposite), cross the road and follow it to the right behind a guardrail. After about forty metres, turn left onto a path and walk beneath the pine trees alongside a wire fence on your left. At the junction at the corner of the fence, go straight on. At the Fork in the road that appears shortly afterwards, take the path on the right.

(10) Further on, turn right and climb a slope. Continue straight on along the crest of the slope (the area below is very damp). After about 150 metres, turn left, leave the slope and continue along a path. At the end (marker 41), follow a small road to the left. After passing a house, turn left onto a grassy path.

(11) At the junction, cross the Chemin du Clos-Moulong and carry on straight ahead. Pass through a housing estate, then continue along a grassy path. At the next junction, turn left. Then cross a roundabout and carry on straight ahead along a small road. After house number 19, the tarmac gives way to a path. Carry straight on; further on, the track gives way to a footpath, which then gives way to a track again. Follow this track back to the starting car park (S/E).

Good trainers or walking boots are recommended.

No water points marked on the route.

This walk follows a^PR®® trail designed and signposted by the FFRP committee of the Côtes d'Armor. A detailed map is required (at the very least the one accompanying this description).

Hike completed twice by the author, the first on 27 August 2005, the second on 29 June 2019.

- Saint-Uzec menhir (S/E), dating from the Neolithic period and Christianised in the 17th century by the addition of a cross at the top and bas-relief carvings with religious motifs.
- Saint-Samson Chapel (7). The chapel was built between 1575 and 1631. A fountain was constructed nearby in 1632. A small menhir located in the vicinity was moved to stand in front of the chapel’s porch.
- Pleumeur-Bodou Telecoms Complex, comprising the radome (9) built in 1961.