QUIMPER < > ELLIANT
27.5Km - 6H50
- Quimper – Chapel Saint-Guénolé (Ergué-Gabéric) 10 Km
- Chapel Saint-Guénolé – Chapel of Kerdévot : 9.5 Km
- Chapel of Kerdévot – Elliant : 8 Km
DIRECTIONS :
Km 0 : Leave the cathedral via Place Saint-Corentin : notice the statue of Laënnec (doctor from Quimper who invented the stethoscope) Pass by the townhall (mairie) and the museum of fine arts (Musée des Beaux-Arts).Go up Rue Elie Fréron (on the left of the café Le Finistère).
Keep going straight ahead, pass by the front of the tourist office and, further along on the left, continue past Rue du Sallé which leads to the renowned Place au Beurre and its many crêperies. A little further on the right, see the pleasant gardens called Jardin de la Retraite.
After 350m uphill, come out near the Place de la Tourbie: notice Tour Bihan , one of the defensive towers along the 1.5km of medieval ramparts of Quimper. Take Rue de Kerfeunteun still keeping straight ahead.
Km 1 : At the traffic lights near the pharmacy, turn right towards the church of Kerfeunteun : Eglise de la Trinité built between 1520 and 1595 in late-Gothic style with 1550 stained glass window depicting the Tree of Jesse.
To the left of the church you will find the GR38 and Rue de Missilien . Continue opposite via Rue de la République, which forks to the left before reaching the roundabout of Tréquéffélec.
Km 2 : Tréquéffélec roundabout. Cross here using the pedestrian passage on the left to take a small gravelled path opposite and slightly to the right which goes around a reservoir.
Km 2.5 : At the end of the gravel path, climb up to the right on a pretty woodland path to come out onto the road for Cuzon.
Km 3 : Take care crossing here to go left, keeping behind the safety barrier. Leave to your left the Chambre des Métiers et de l'Artisanat. Go on down Route de Cuzon, using the pedestrian pathways found here and there along the route.
Km 3.8 : Use the pedestrian crossing and follow a path which overlooks the commercial zone and descends towards the roundabout. At the bottom, use another pedestrian crossing to have the restaurant La Courtepaille on your right. A new paved path will bring you safely towards the GR.
Km 4.5 : On the right, before the shop Fly, take the GR which passes under the motorway, and at the roundabout take a right onto Chemin de Keridoret and go for 500m.
Km 5 : At the fork, head left onto Chemin de Kerlic to get to the carpark of Kerlic, one of the entry-points to Stangala. Caution, because of building works for the new Kerlic Clinic (opening 2020), carefully follow the temporary marked diversion to get to Stangala path.
Km 5.5 : Follow the path through the woods Bois du Stangala ( GR)
STANGALA , in Breton Stankalar (Alar pond), situated northeast of Quimper, is a narrow valley, leafy and wooded, along the bottom of which runs the River Odet the course of which is rough to varying degrees during the next 10km. Saint-Alar had a hermitage here where the fountain was renowned for changing to white wine for one hour every 100 years! Nearby, the paper-mills Papeteries Bolloré were built in the XIX.
Careful – slippery stones in wet weather, also exposed roots !
Follow the GR alongside the river for 2.4 km before taking the footbridge Meilh Poul on the right.
Km 7.9 : After the footbridge, follow the uphill path to the right (old ruined mill with bread-oven). As one goes up through the valley, notice the water-fountain, the wash-house, ruins, and drystone walls. Further along, the path winds around to the right, still heading uphill as far as a junction of tracks.
Off the track to the left (300m to go/return), go to Griffonès (129m altitude) a stunning viewpoint over the river Odet with Quimper in the distance.
Km 8.9 : Getting back to the junction of tracks, continue along the path which continues to go uphill a bit more (yellow PR trailmark). At the next junction, take the GR to the right between the big trees to get to the carpark and picnic area (200m). Leave the Stangala valley by the path opposite which goes alongside the farm of Kerbéran, still following the GR.
Km 10 : You get to a paved road with GR waymarking. At the junction, go left onto the road which passes in front of a water-tower, Rue de Ty Glaz, then on the right Rue de St-Guénolé which leads to the XVI chapel of St-Guénolé : sablières (?sandpits) and Renaissance statues (picnic tables).
Go down the road towards ODET (following GR). Go back up and take Rue du Menez on the left: Odet Lestonan. At the Kerliès roundabout, go right onto Impasse de Ménez Kerveady : go straight ahead along the small dirt track which gets wider among the fields. Pass under the high-tension powerline. Arrive at the village of Sulvintin.
Km 13 : Take the road to the left, then just before the major road, opposite a monumental entrance, turn left onto a small path parallel to the Coray road. At the fork, take the path to the left, still staying alongside the road. Further along, you get to some allotments, then to the roundabout at the Bolloré factory.
Km 15.6 : Go right along the cycleway which goes under the road and alongside the Bolloré factory (building electric trams); after the reservoir, turn left. Cross over, and continue straight ahead on the woodland path. At the branching of paths (borne incendie (firepost) n° 6), keep left and go alongside a large orchard, then some houses. At the junction, take the road to the left and pass in front of the cider brewery (tall white cisterns). At the end of the road, take the grassy path to the right which is bordered by rhododendrons.
Km 17 : Leave Kervian to the left, continue straight ahead on the road for 1.5 km .
Km 19 : Take the path to the right and, before the road, follow the path to the left which leads to Kerdévot : a chapel dating from the XVcentury dedicated to the Blessed Virgin who, according to legend, put an end to the plague at Elliant; beautiful Flemish altarpiece and stained glass windows dating from 1492, also a XVI statue of Notre-Dame de Kerdévot.
Km 19.5 : From here, you have 8 km to go to get to Elliant, following the minor road C9 and the ‘Route du Cidre’ (cider road) which passes throughKerlavian, Beg Avel, Toul al Laer, Stang Louarn, Ty Poul, Beg Jet and enters Elliant heading up towards the Rue de l'église on the left.
Km 27.5 : The town of Elliant : with its big square and many shops.
