Erdeven - Mountain bike trail - Between sea and forest
Rue du grand Large
56410 Erdeven
56410 Erdeven
Features of the route
Difficulty
Medium
Length
02:30:00
Distance
38km
Rue du grand Large
56410 Erdeven
56410 Erdeven
Level of difficulty: Medium (average height difference: 200m)
Route n°4 rouge From the Atlantic coast to the Erdeven forest, from the dunes to the Varquez megalithic site, or from the Sac'h mill to the Saint-Laurent chapel, this route has been designed to allow you to appreciate the variety of landscapes and rich heritage of Erdeven, Etel, Locoal-Mendon, Belz, Plouharnel and Ploemel.
Departure: This tour departs from the parking lot at the complexe sportif du grand large, rue du Grand Large in Erdeven.
Step by step:
1) Follow the signs for the first few kilometers to reach the coast at the Roche Sèche site. The route then follows the dunes to the Barre d'Etel.
2) Head for Etel and the Sac'h mill, built in the 17th century. Only the dike and its old winnowing gates bear witness to the mill's hydraulic workings, while the buildings have been altered in the 1950s and more recently.
3) Drive through the wooded areas of Belz and Locoal-Mendon, then along the Ploemel golf course and the Chapelle Saint-Laurent. Built in the early 16th century in the flamboyant Gothic style, this chapel was commissioned by the noble de Talhouët de Keravéon family, owners of the neighboring château in Erdeven. It is dedicated to Saint Laurent, a young deacon martyred on the gridiron on August 10, 258, who is invoked to heal burns. The chapel features beautifully carved doors, sculptures on the exterior cornices, statues and an ex-voto inside.
4) Take the time to visit the Dolmens de Mané Braz ("the big hill" in Breton), a site featuring 4 different corridor tombs (single chamber, chamber with side cell and compartmentalized chamber) and certainly erected at different periods of the Neolithic, the most recent being the one with the compartmentalized chamber (-3,500 BC), the Dolmen de Mané Croh, or observe the Alignments de Coët er Blei (or "Caesar's Chair"). Please note that these megalithic sites are only accessible to pedestrians.
5) Reach the village of Crucuno, with its Dolmen, stripped of its tumulus and access corridor once described by W. Lukis (1864) as 27 m long and still visible on engravings from the early 19th century. Today, only the burial chamber remains under an imposing cover slab weighing over 30 tons. See also the Quadrilatère de Crucuno, a megalithic enclosure now comprising 22 menhirs, two of them recumbent, measuring 34 m by 26 m. Head back towards Plouharnel and pass the Chapelle Saint-Antoine (18th century). The side statues are those of Saint Antoine and Saint Eloi, invoked to protect cattle and horses.
6) Return via the V5 and Erdeven paths.
Route n°4 rouge From the Atlantic coast to the Erdeven forest, from the dunes to the Varquez megalithic site, or from the Sac'h mill to the Saint-Laurent chapel, this route has been designed to allow you to appreciate the variety of landscapes and rich heritage of Erdeven, Etel, Locoal-Mendon, Belz, Plouharnel and Ploemel.
Departure: This tour departs from the parking lot at the complexe sportif du grand large, rue du Grand Large in Erdeven.
Step by step:
1) Follow the signs for the first few kilometers to reach the coast at the Roche Sèche site. The route then follows the dunes to the Barre d'Etel.
2) Head for Etel and the Sac'h mill, built in the 17th century. Only the dike and its old winnowing gates bear witness to the mill's hydraulic workings, while the buildings have been altered in the 1950s and more recently.
3) Drive through the wooded areas of Belz and Locoal-Mendon, then along the Ploemel golf course and the Chapelle Saint-Laurent. Built in the early 16th century in the flamboyant Gothic style, this chapel was commissioned by the noble de Talhouët de Keravéon family, owners of the neighboring château in Erdeven. It is dedicated to Saint Laurent, a young deacon martyred on the gridiron on August 10, 258, who is invoked to heal burns. The chapel features beautifully carved doors, sculptures on the exterior cornices, statues and an ex-voto inside.
4) Take the time to visit the Dolmens de Mané Braz ("the big hill" in Breton), a site featuring 4 different corridor tombs (single chamber, chamber with side cell and compartmentalized chamber) and certainly erected at different periods of the Neolithic, the most recent being the one with the compartmentalized chamber (-3,500 BC), the Dolmen de Mané Croh, or observe the Alignments de Coët er Blei (or "Caesar's Chair"). Please note that these megalithic sites are only accessible to pedestrians.
5) Reach the village of Crucuno, with its Dolmen, stripped of its tumulus and access corridor once described by W. Lukis (1864) as 27 m long and still visible on engravings from the early 19th century. Today, only the burial chamber remains under an imposing cover slab weighing over 30 tons. See also the Quadrilatère de Crucuno, a megalithic enclosure now comprising 22 menhirs, two of them recumbent, measuring 34 m by 26 m. Head back towards Plouharnel and pass the Chapelle Saint-Antoine (18th century). The side statues are those of Saint Antoine and Saint Eloi, invoked to protect cattle and horses.
6) Return via the V5 and Erdeven paths.