Country:
City:
Access: from the D44 roundabout at the entrance to Bénodet, head towards Pont-l’Abbé via the Pont de Cornouaille. At the entrance to the bridge, take a track on the right that goes under the bridge and park at the end near the Odet (sign for the Beg ar Vir nature reserve).
If coming from the other direction, turn round at the roundabout to reach the car park.
When leaving, take the right-hand branch to rejoin the D44.
GR® ®34 (Red and White Markings) + Blue Markings
(S/E) Pass under the bridge (beautiful view of the Odet estuary), enter the Beg ar Vir Nature Reserve and follow the lovely rhododendron-lined path. Ignore a path leading uphill to the left and arrive at a crossroads of trails.
(1) Leave the marked path and turn right towards a headland where the old ferryman’s house, now converted into a lodge, is located. Go round the property to the right along the edge of the cove and reach the headland (view of Bénodet marina)
Retrace your steps and turn right to continue along this shaded path which runs alongside Anse de Penfoul. The path occasionally runs close to the D44, where traffic is quite heavy, especially in summer (on your left, a view of Château des Garennes). Continue along the same path, which seems to play hide-and-seek with the road, until you reach a barrier opposite a large roundabout.
No signposting
(2) Carry on, ignoring the path on the right, and follow the footpath to a second roundabout. Go round it on the left at the pedestrian crossing and take the D34 Route de Quimper until the first street on the right (sign for the Bénodet exit).
(3) Turn right into the tree-lined Impasse de Keranguyon Vihan, go round the back of a shopping centre and continue straight on to the roundabout on Avenue des Roseaux. Turn right onto it.
(4) Turn right onto a lane marked ‘private’ to reach Avenue de Fouesnant. Use the pedestrian crossings to go round the roundabout, cross this busy road with care and walk on for about ten metres.
(5) Turn left onto the street called Chemin de Kersalé. Walk past a clinic on your right and continue due south. Pass the hamlet of Kersalé with its beautifully restored buildings, walk past a campsite on your left and arrive at Rue de Kersalé, where the residential area begins. At the roundabout, continue straight ahead then turn right into Rue du Trez (against the one-way flow) and reach the seafront promenade.
GR® ®34 (Red and white markings)
(6) Turn right and look out over the large Plage du Trez. Continue westwards, passing through the small garden with a children’s play area where the Coq lighthouse stands, marking the entrance to the Odet. On the hill to your right stands the 48-metre-high Pyramide lighthouse.
Continue along the coastal road and pass the P’tit Bac jetty, which operates a shuttle service between Bénodet and Sainte-Marien from early July to late September.
A little further on, on the right, is Saint-Thomas Church, dedicated to Thomas Becket. Walk along the quays where the boats moored organise sea trips or journeys up the Odet to Quimper. Continue along the footbridge, normally closed to cyclists, and arrive at the marina harbour master’s office.
(7) Continue along the banks of the Anse de Penfoul, where the path is now shared with cyclists. Pass the wreck of an old wooden boat, which is ending its days as was often the case in the past, and emerge opposite the roundabout you bypassed on the way out.
GR® ®34 (Red and White Markings) + Blue Markings
(2) Retrace your steps along the route you took on the way there.
(1) Ignore the return trip to the headland and continue straight on. Turn right onto the path that climbs under the bridge and, at the top, turn left to descend towards the car park (S/E).
Visorando Member
Moderate 
