Brunec Water Reservoir and the right bank of the Étang du Moros

Start from the car park behind the church near the basketball court.

(S/E) From the car park, turn right onto Rue de Stang Coulz, using the right-hand pavement until you reach the end of the road.
At the sign marking the exit from the village, cross the road and walk to the left.

Signposted by sign No. 2 ‘La Haie – le Moros’ (yellow line)

Continue down this road, taking care as it is narrow; cross a stream and arrive at a three-way junction (this section is the least pleasant but cannot be avoided).

(1) Turn right at the sign for “Toul Bleis (Bleiz), La Haie” onto a small road closed to lorries. On the left, amongst the bamboo, look out for an old wash house.
Carry on along this small, tree-lined road – where the trees sometimes form a canopy – until you reach a crossroad marked by a ‘Stop’ sign. Take a short detour to the left to admire a lovely, beautifully restored bread oven, then continue to the right.

Yellow and red signposting.

(2) Turn left towards the Moulin de la Haie, signposted as a dead end. Begin a lovely descent towards this old mill. The narrow road with its hairpin bends is very steep (10 per cent) and has moss in the middle. You’ll arrive at the entrance to the private grounds of the former Moulin de la Haie, which has now become a Gîte de France.

(3) Turn right as signposted, go down a series of rather slippery steps and cross a footbridge over the Ruisseau du Val. Turn right and continue between an overhanging copse and the stream on your right, which gradually moves away from the path.
Carry on straight ahead and look out for a spring on your left, flanked by a small drinking trough.
You’ll reach the entrance to the old Moulin Neuf, which you go round to the left to come out onto a road.
Turn right, walk along the grassy verge on the right towards the Brunec water reservoir and cross the Moros coastal river as it flows into it.

(4) Follow the footpath on the right which runs alongside this reservoir, which supplies water to the Concarneau area. A few signs, unfortunately rather faded, provide information about the mills in the area and the role of the reservoir.
Note the fish pass.

At the end of the dam (signposted ‘coastal path’), turn right to go round the drinking water treatment plant buildings and continue along the small road until you reach the houses in the hamlet marked ‘Le Brunec’ on the map.

At the signpost, turn left onto a shaded path that runs alongside the floodplain of the Étang du Moros. You’ll soon reach the most challenging part of the route (see ‘Practical Information’). You’ll emerge onto a stretch of road where the Ruisseau le Garlodic flows into it, then turn off again onto the coastal path overlooking the lake.
This section includes some even trickier sections: the wooden handrails are rather worn. You’ll reach a flight of steps leading down to a stream, where there are benches.

(5) Turn right onto a gentle climb alongside a stream, accompanied by the murmur of small waterfalls.
Pass close to the Fontaine Saint-Budoc (washhouse on the map) and, just afterwards, under a large oak tree, notice a spring flowing from the rock (fountain on the map).
Continue this steady climb past a housing estate until you reach a road.

No signposting

(6) Turn right, leaving the signposted route which continues to the left, and cross the road to reach the pavement by the state primary school. Walk past the school and, at the playground, cross the road at the pedestrian crossing. Climb the steps leading to the basketball court and, keeping to the left, head towards the car park (S/E).

This route is inspired by an article in the newspaper “Ouest-France” suggesting a walk in the Concarneau area.
I have classified this walk as “Moderate” because the path overlooking the Étang du Moros is a proper coastal path with steps, sections over rocky outcrops and a succession of ascents and descents. It requires a certain amount of confidence.

Alternative route: At the dam, you can continue straight on to walk round the Étang du Moros in a clockwise direction. This full route is approximately 8.5 km.

Please note: the path along the lake is not the easiest. Do not rely solely on the distance.

The Haie bread oven, which comes to life every year during the neighbourhood festival.
The rivers Moros and Styval converge here at the lowest point of the Brunec catchment area, where a reservoir was built in the 1950s with a capacity of 45,000 m³.

Moros Pond (left and right banks).

Saint-Budoc Fountain.

Kériolet Castle: Built in the Neo-Gothic style, this 19th-century gem was home to the extraordinary lives of the Russian Imperial Princess, aunt of Tsar Nicholas II, Zenaïde Narischkine Youssoupoff, and her husband, Count Charles de Chauveau.

Old lighthouse: Dating from 1848, the Beuzec lighthouse was decommissioned in December 1964 when buildings were erected along the same line of sight, obscuring the rear light.
In December 1964, the white flashing directional light was installed in the bell tower of Beuzec Church.

The Stang-ar-lin Manor (the ‘valley of flax’), nicknamed ‘the pink castle’ because of the colour of its walls, is a manor house dating from 1903. It is now painted pale yellow but has retained its nickname in people’s minds.
Gustave Bonduelle, a member of the General Council for the canton of Concarneau, purchased land in 1902 that had once belonged to the Kériolet estate in the commune of Beuzec-Conq and had the Stang-ar-lin Manor built there the following year (source: Wikipedia).