Guided Cycling Tours
We currently have several tours to choose from: a tour
based at Loudeac, Central Brittany; a tour based in and around
Josselin; a tour based in and around Carhaix-Plougher and
our new addition a tour based in and around Pontivy. Each
tour costs 400euros per person.
Josselin:
Departure Dates in 2008: 26th April; 17th May;
21st June
On this tour you will discover the wonderful, ancient lands
of the Josselin area. The town is dominated by the medieval
castle of Josselin and offers some interesting walks both
in the town and along the river. Some of the bike rides start
or finish using the well maintained tow path along the banks
of the River Oust, which is canalised to form part of the
Canal Nantes à Brest.
We have an interesting selection
of daily rides based in Josselin. We will visit the site of
a 14th century battle, ancient chapels and calvaries. On one
of the rides we will ride to a picturesque granite town, now
famous for its arts festival. We will also visit an ancient
encampment which has yielded evidence that it was originally
occupied in the Stone Age through to being an important roman
fort.
At the end of one afternoon we ride the wide open avenues
of the forest of Lanouee, which legend says was the home of
Merlin and his great love, the fairy Viviane. The area offers
some flat and some undulating rides, all the days are suitable
for those of average fitness.
You will need to find your own way to Josselin for the start
of this tour. See: Links. This tour
lasts for 5 nights and includes Bed and Breakfast accommodation
in a 2* star hotel and a tour leader, who will accompany the
group on all rides. You may wish to bring your own bicycle
but we also have available 21 gear hybrid bikes. Most of the
rides are about 40km per day and are on small country roads
or the tarmac covered tow-path along the Canal Nantes à
Brest.
Saturday The group meets in time for
an evening meal and a stroll around the beautiful old town
of Josselin.
Sunday After a safety briefing we shall stretch our
legs by cycling north along the Canal Nantes à Brest,
familiarise ourselves with the bikes (and each other) whilst
enjoying the idyllic peace of the canal towpath followed by
a pleasant ride into the countryside around Pleugriffet.
Monday An interesting day's ride to the south of Josselin,
in the valley of the River Sedon which was once renowned for
the number of windmills there. We visit Lizio, a 'petite cite
de charactere de Bretagne'. This is a small granite built
town, famous for it's granite houses, chapels, crosses and
an arts festival in August.
Tuesday Today's ride takes us south out of Josselin
to the site of the Battle of Thirty in 1351. Then on to explore
the area east of Josselin, small villages with ancient chapels,
many way-side crosses and interesting histories. We also visit
the 'Camps de Rouets' a Stone Age fort, our return to Josselin
is through the Forest of Lanouee.
Wednesday This day's ride starts with a very pleasant
ride along the River Oust to the hillside town of Le Roc Andree.
Our return to Josselin is by the back roads through small
hamlets, many presided over by large granite manors and churches.
Thursday After our final breakfast together the group
will go in their different directions to explore more of Brittany
or return to the daily grind.
Central Brittany:
Departuresates for 2008: Yet to be confirmed
On this tour you will discover the wonderful rolling countryside
of Central Brittany. On one of our rides we discover the linen
production area of the 17th and 18th century, with many of
the impressive mansions built by the linen merchants, dominating
the tiny villages which are now simple farming communities.
On another day we visit Querrien, a place of religious pilgrimage
and Vaublanc, a steel mill dating back to the 17th century!
Ancient paths and countryside crafts is the theme for a further
days ride. Our final day sees us cycling back to Loudeac from
the very small town of Gouarec, situated on the Nantes à
Brest Canal.
You will need to find your own way to Loudeac for the start
of this tour. . See: Links. This
tour lasts for 5 nights and includes Bed and Breakfast accommodation
in a 2* star hotel and a tour leader, who will accompany the
group on all rides. You may wish to bring your own bicycle
but we also have available 21 gear hybrid bikes. Most of the
rides are about 40km per day, in gently undulating countryside.
Saturday The group meets in time for
an evening meal together and a stroll around the small, busy
town of Loudeac
Sunday After a safety briefing we shall take the opportunity
to explore the area to the south east of Loudeac, which will
include a visit to the town of La Cheze, with it's ruined
castle and the museum of country crafts. We will return to
Loudeac via Rohan, the ancient strong-hold of the ruling Rohan
family and along a stretch of the Canal Nantes à Brest
which follows the route of the River Oust.
Monday This day's ride will take us into the heart
of the linen production area to the north west of Loudeac.
We shall see some of the amazingly grand houses built by the
linen merchants in this very rural landscape. We shall also
see the lovely and very well preserved 'Parish Close' at Le
Quillio, one of the best in Brittany.
Tuesday Today we ride north through the forest of Loudeac
, one of the few remaining vestiges of the Forest de Broceliane,
where the Merlin legends were told. We visit a place of important
pilgrimage, at Querrien, with it's 'Fountain of Miracles'
and an ancient steel mill first built in the 17th century.
Wednesday
We begin this day's ride with a transfer of us and the bicycles
to Gouarec, on the Canal Nantes à Brest. Our route
today takes us along the canal then around the edge of Lac
Guerledan, the largest man-made lake in Brittany, we visit
the town of Mur de Bretagne and end our day following the
'Chemin de Petit Train' back to Loudeac.
Thursday After our final breakfast together the group
will go in their different directions to explore more of Brittany
or return to the daily grind.
Carhaix-Plougher:
Departure Dates for 2008: 24th May; 7th June;
28th June
On this tour you will discover the lovely countryside of the
area around Carhaix-Plougher. This area is part of the ancient
Breton lands, with many historical monuments and ruins dating
to Neolithic times as well as to the Roman occupation. This
hidden area of Brittany is also home to many ancient legends
and 'mystical' stones abound.
You will need to find your own way to Carhaix-Plougher for
the start of this tour. See: Links. This tour lasts for 5
nights and includes Bed and Breakfast accommodation in a 2*
star hotel and a tour leader, who will accompany the group
on all rides. You may wish to bring your own bicycle but we
also have available 21 gear hybrid bikes. Most of the rides
are about 40km per day.
Saturday The group meets in time for an evening meal
together and a stroll around the interesting town of Carhaix
Plougher
Sunday After a safety briefing we shall stretch
our legs by cycling from the town centre down to the Canal
Nantes à Brest, familiarise ourselves with the bikes
(and each other) whilst enjoying the idyllic peace of the
canal towpath and visiting a small museum about the construction
of the canal. We return to Carhaix in the afternoon by cycling
through the lovely villages, of the Poher region.
Monday
A tougher day. Today we ride to Huelgoat, spectacularly pretty
town built on a lake and where we can walk into the subterranean
caves formed by the Silver River as it passes underground.
Huelgoat is in the heart of the Monts d'Aree national park,
which provides some undulating riding...but not too challenging,
we need our guides to work another day!
Tuesday A ride to Glomel, a small town with a lake,
placed on the Nantes à Brest Canal. A pleasant day
with several opportunities to see interesting local landmarks
and to ride some of the quietest lanes in this area.
Wednesday Our last day of cycling together, we will
ride to the famous Chaos du Corong; a lovely rock strewn waterfall
and encounter the remains of a roman aqueduct, in the heart
of this quiet Breton region.
Thursday After our final breakfast together the group
will go in their different directions to explore more of Brittany
or return to the daily grind.
Pontivy:
Departure Dates for 2008: to be confirmed
On this tour you will discover the lovely countryside of the
Pontivy area, the junction for three waterways. Pontivy is
an attractive, thriving town which offers an interesting history.
The medieval quarter is dominated by the castle of the Rohans,
the ruling family in this area. But in the 1790's of the revolution
Pontivy was a stronghold of the revolution and by the early1800's
Pontivy had become the focus of Napoleon Bonaparte's force
in Brittany.
The town was renamed Napoleonville and part of it rebuilt
to Napoleon's design. Some of the riding is along the banks
of the River Blavet or the canal Nantes à Brest. During
the 4 days riding in this area we will ride both in the hills
and on the flat, each day offering a combination of gradients.
The cyclist of average fitness would enjoy and be able to
cope with all the riding on this tour.
You will need to find your own way to Pontivy for the start
of this tour. See: Links. This tour
lasts for 5 nights and includes Bed and Breakfast accommodation
in a 2* star hotel and a tour leader, who will accompany the
group on all rides. You may wish to bring your own bicycle
but we also have available 21 gear hybrid bikes. Most of the
rides are about 40km per day.
Saturday The group meets in time for an evening meal
at our hotel and a stroll around the interesting town of Pontivy,
with it's medieval quarter, the castle of the Rohan Family
and the grid pattern avenue's of Napoleon's time in Pontivy.
Sunday After a safety briefing we shall stretch our
legs by cycling along the Canal Nantes à Brest, familiarise
ourselves with the bikes (and each other) whilst enjoying
the idyllic peace of the canal towpath followed by a pleasant
ride into the countryside around Rohan and Noyal- Pontivy.
Monday An easy start to the day with a ride along the
banks of the Blavet, which connects Pontivy with the sea at
Lorient. Our ride takes us to St Nicholas des Eaux. A beautifully
preserved village on the banks of the Blavet, dominated by
the Site du Castennec.A pleasant climb up to this promontory
on a bend in the river offers impressive views of the Blavet
Valley. We return to Pontivy in the afternoon on a more challenging
route which takes us to the Chapel of St Nicodieme and the
Chateau de Rimaison.
Tuesday Today's ride takes us north along the Canal
Nantes à Brest to Lac Guerledan and Mur de Bretagne.
Lac Guerledan is the largest man made lake in Brittany and
was built when the Valley of the Blavet was flooded in the
1930's. The return to Pontivy is through the lovely rolling
countryside of central Brittany using small lanes and seeing
some of the many wayside crosses in this area.
Wednesday Our final ride begins by us and our bikes
being transferred to Gouarec, on the western end of Lac Guerledan.
We ride towards the lake along the canal, then after seeing
the Abbey of Bon Repos we ride into the Forest of Quenecan,
the largest forest in the departement of Morbihan (56), which
is still privately owned. Our ride takes us through the commune
of Cleguerec, famous for it's horse breeding and 'home' to
the highest concentration of wind generators in the Morbihan,
producing 0.4% of the national grid!
Thursday After our final breakfast together the group
will go in their different directions to explore more of Brittany
or return to the daily grind.
Contact
us for more information
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