FRANCE   -   BRETAGNE

 2016    SEPTEMBER

It is well known Brittany has attractive scenery and cuisine. It also has a network of dedicated cycle paths called "Voies Vertes" (Green Routes).         Additionally there is a convenient Ferry service between Portsmouth and St Malo so this was an attractive region in which to start a continental tour this Autumn.

Cycle Path V3 follows a disused railway line from St Malo more or less due south. It is intended ultimately to reach the south coast and presently goes about three quarters of the way. Just south of Ploermel, in the middle of the peninsula, it crosses V1 that uses the old towpath beside the canal linking Nantes with Brest.

The prospect of dedicated cycle tracks with modest gradients in attractive country took me to the small village of Roc St Andre where these Paths meet and there is a campsite right beside the canal. I stayed there for two weeks of mixed weather from sweltering heat to heavy rain through autumnal chill.

Here is a photo of the bridge over the canal at Le Roc taken from the campsite entrance - the cycle path here crosses from one side of the river to the other so when going north its necessary to ascend the ramp on the left, ride across the bridge, and descend a similar ramp on the far side.

Bridge at St Andre

The Nantes Brest Canal was conceived in the late 18th Century and construction started in the very early 1800's upon Napoleon's command. His problem was the difficulty of supplying the port at Brest in which the British Navy blockaded a large proportion of their French counterpart.

Nappleon didn't live to see the benefit of his strategy because he was long dead before the canal was completed some 40 years later. Nevertheless it proved a huge economic asset with barges carrying bulk cargo in both directions - mainly sand for construction work from Brest and products of the hinterland from Nantes. It continued in commercial use until 1977 by which date road transport had become much faster and cheaper.

Nevertheless maintenance of the canal and its development for leisure use included conversion of the towpath to a cycle route, tarmac surfaced in large part with some gravel sections.

Meanwhile development of the road system resulted in closure of the St Malo - Vannes Railway and that too was converted into a cycle path.

I tried the Railway route on a couple of occasions. In truth I found it a little tedious because it comprised mostly of long straight sections through a tunnel of trees with little variety and few views of the countryside. It may have been more attractive farther north where it passes through a forest region used long ago by the Dukes of Brittany as a hunting ground. But that region was a few hundred feet higher and I didn't fancy long hill climbs by bike.

So most of my expeditions were alongside the canal. Being alone, all were of the "Allez-y -Retour" variety and I didn't attempt more than about 10 miles on each occasion. It wasn't a bit boring retracing the same path in the opposite direction though because the views were always different and there was always something new to see.

Here are a couple of photos looking in both directions from the same spot near the campsite:

Along the Towpath

There were plenty of leisure craft using the canal from converted barges through sports boats of various sizes to young people in canoes.

Here are some moored alonside near Malestroit -

Although the waterway is still referred to as a canal in this region it is actually a section of the River Oust.

Consequently there is a natural direction of flow (from north to South and East to West) but the change in altitude is quite small. To provide sufficient depth for the barges a series of locks were built. But the change of depth at each lock is only about 12 feet and they are typically a couple of miles apart - so they present nothing like the same obstacle as the series that follow one another so closely on the Avon-Kennet canal in the UK. When the air is still the slope presents no difficulty at all but there was often a strongish wind blowing and then it was super-easy if one was going downhill with a following wind but more of a struggle if it was in the face when going uphill.

The locks have beautifully tended flower displays like this one at Montertlot:

Going through the locks isn't quite as exciting as passage through the Panama Canal but there is some turbulence when the gates are cracked open to adjust the water level:

During such times craft going upriver have to wait a prudent distance downstream before approaching:

A Diffent Type of Expedition

I didn't cycle every day because the weather was unsuitable or because I wanted to visit other places such as the small village of St Marcel where there is a museum dedicated to the "Resistance Breton".       Naturally this had a very Gallic emphasis with General de Gaulle's role as creator and leader of the Free French being prominently displayed.

In fact it helped explain something from my youth that I'd never properly understood before - why do so many Frenchmen think that France won the war. The answer was here in its revelation that French memorials and no doubt teaching in schools all have the same emphasis.

For example - it was portrayed that the Free French were the first to develop an SAS Force (Special Air Services) that was later copied when the British did the same (I must look up British records on this - 2017 Note - I did and it was the British in North Africa who first conceived the idea).           The Americans were hardly mentioned in the display, Churchill was chiefly remembered as being responsible for the death of about 1,000 French sailors when he ordered the British Navy to destroy the French fleet at anchor to prevent it from falling into German hands.

In contrast to these aspects there was an obvious admiration for allied airmen shot down over continental territory because huge numbers were returned to UK to fly again only through the efforts of the networks and escape routes set up by the resistance movements.

I hadn't realised before how the resistance developed from many different small groups coalescing into a single movement over two or three years. Of course some didn't survive at all and others lost at least half their members as they were betrayed by collaborators or discovered in other ways by the Germans. Letters to families written by condemned captives were heart-wrenching - "Dear Mother - I shall be shot tomorrow but don't be sad......"

St Marcel was also the site of an Allied parachute drop and fierce fighting in the later stages of the war and that helped make the whole visit very evocative - these events actually happened, here where I'm now standing, during my lifetime.

I Nearly Became a Champion Cyclist

After completing the sections of the towpath I could access direct from the campsite I made two or three expeditions by putting my bike in the car and driving to a farther point from which to start my five miles in each direction.      In this way I was able in total to cover in both directions the 25-30 mile stretch of path between Saint Congard to the south-east and Josselin in the north-west.

One day I decided to drive to Josselin and cycle back towards Le Roc until reaching the farthest point attained on an expedition in the other direction.

The river valley is very steep-sided near Josselin and like other local villages and towns Josselin itself has medieval and narrow streets. Descending in the car from the plain above I could see the street ahead steepened even further - like the roads descending into Cornish seaside villages - but across the road there was a portable barrier with a man standing beside it instructing me to stop by holding up his hand.

"Est Barree" he said to which I replied in my fragmented french that I was looking for a parking place near the canal where I could get out my bike and ride along the towpath. "OK" he said "Le Parking est la", pointing up a side road to an open space occupied by one or two other cars. "Vous este permette descend a velo".

That's peculiar I thought and its going to be hard coming back up the steep hill when I return.

Nevertheless I did as he said but upon turning a corner blocking my further view from above I found myself in a melee of lycra clad young men and racing bikes with thin treadless tyres, solid wheels to reduce air resistance from the spokes and slight frames no doubt made of carbon-fibre.

I tried to make my way past them to the towpath but was stopped by another gendarme who directed me to a path that was itself blocked off from the towpath itself with another barrier.

I later discovered I had nearly become an 80 year old entrant on a heavy expedition bike to the European International Time-Trial Championship that was being organised along the towpath itself!

That explained why I saw, in addition to the British Cycling Team, and others from France, Germany, Holland, Italy and so on there were also teams from as far away as Serbia and Turkey! Of course, if I had been allowed and tried to compete I've no doubt I would have died from a heart attack - but what a glorious way to go.

It was hard fighting through the crowd to get back to the car and I did have to walk and push my bike up the hill through the village.

Last Photo and Reflections

There is an imposing Chateau at Jossilen - here's a photo of it with a foreground showing the promenade along which the Time Trialists started their efforts.

Josselin Chateau

I'm sure I could have continued to enjoy and cover a much greater length of the canal - either by riding further each day as I began to recover a little of my lost fitness or by driving farther in the car before strarting my excursions.

But, as I write these notes I am developing a familiarity with the area and the site managers that I know from my sailing days is a sign I need to move on if I am not to become stuck in the same place for a long time. The weather is also becoming more autumnal so I feel the need to make progress southwards to follow the sun as it moves towards the equator.

I think its quite likely I'll return another year to explore other sections of the canal. It would be easier to do so by adopting a method used by several cyclists I met - riding in one direction only and stasying overnight in Bed and Breakfast accommodation or an hotel. One could go downhill all the way by doing that, in this area anyway, though I daresay there are other sections where the slope is in the opposite direction. But I have also enjoyed the comfort and privacy of having my own mobile home in the form of the caravan I bought last year so I guess I'll stick with that - at least for the time being.