Walking 2h or 3h Circuit 3

Departure place of the Church of Pénestin in southern Morbihan near Roche Bernard

Tour 3: From the Vilaine to the Atlantic

Duration of the trip: 3 hours & 2 hours

Number of kilometers: Grand circuit: 11 kms & Small circuit: 8 kms

This tour offers a stroll between fresh water and salt water, at the crossroads of two natural environments that mingle. And then, towards the interior of the commune, a variant invites to the discovery of the hamlets, essential for the amateurs of architectural heritage.

You leave little by little the town of Pénestin to enter the swamps of Branzais, classified in Natural Area Ecological Interest Fauna and Floristic. This protected ecosystem is home to many species of birds, including passerines, coots, little egrets, gray herons, shelduck ducks ... nesting among gorse, sea asters and samphire. And, local curiosity, swans have for some years elected home near the reed beds.

Already, the waters of the Vilaine join those of the Atlantic. Going up the rue du Lienne, you will pass in front of a manor house. Then you will walk along the Brambert mansion to enter the hollow path that opens onto a clearing: the Pondy.

If you opt for the small circuit, you will see a beautiful well and a wash house, where the women of the neighborhood came to make their Iessive.

Then you will cross the Haut-Pénestin, one of the oldest hamlets in the town which has beautiful houses, the oldest dating back at least to the sixteenth century.

The big circuit continues towards Men Ar Mor ("the stone of the sea" in Breton). This path leads to the heart of marshes that used to be salt marshes, later reused in clear to refine oysters; important local production.

The shaded path leads to the dunes of Men Ar then winds up to the Halguen Point, a sector that has always had a strategic value. It was the theater of the Epiogue of the Battle of the Cardinals, in the eighteenth century.

Later, during the Second World War, the Germans built an important defensive pole at Halguen, since there are 17 fortified structures on this point. Do not hesitate to linger to enjoy the unique panorama that is open to you, and you may see geese bemachia.

Once past the Pointe de Cofreneau, here is the Lomer, which also has some blockhouses.

Further, you can contemplate the classified site cliffs of the Gold Mine. About 15 meters high, they suffer from the phenomenon of erosion. Composed of ocher clay, this unique geological structure in Europe sparked in the nineteenth century attempts to exploit the precious metal. Pénestin thus knew its "rush to the gold"!

You then leave the coastal path to re-route a dirt road to the hamlet of Trégorvel, consisting of beautiful old houses magnificently restored. There is a well, as in every village.

Finally, you will go down towards the village of Pénestin, passing Saint Gildas church. The current building was blessed in 1880, following the demolition the year before of the old church, dating back at least the eighteenth century.