Cycling Brittany: Tregor and the Pink Granite Coast

Click to view map

Day 1: Saint Brieuc – Saint-Quay-Portrieux | 35km

The tour begins on day 1 at 1 pm at Saint Brieuc SNCF railway station. Departure directly from the train station, please arrive in your cycle clothing. Upon request, we can book the previous night’s accommodation for you in Saint Brieuc.

Welcome to Brittany and Saint Brieuc, with its half-timbered houses, private residences and baroque mansions, as well as its 12th-century cathedral. The Emerald Coast, which stretches to Paimpol, offers a picture-postcard view of Brittany that you will discover by bike over the next 7 days. The climb out of the bay of St Brieuc will quickly warm you up, but you will be rewarded with great views from the Viaduc du Parfond du Gouêt, 124m long and 34m high redeveloped into a green lane perfect for cyclists. The hilly route then reaches the pretty seaside resorts of Pordic, Binic, Saint-Quay-Portrieux and Plouha, your first overnight stop. We strongly recommend you take the time to sample some scallops along the route or at dinner.

• Cycling for the day: approx. 35km; altitude gain: approx. 400m
  +Optional loop to visit the bay of Saint Brieuc, the largest nature reserve in Brittany with 112 bird species: + 25km
• Accommodation: Small family hotel or guesthouse

Day 2: Saint-Quay-Portrieux – Paimpol | 25km

In the morning, you take the scenic route along the “Route des Falaises”, overlooking the cove of Brehec and offering superb views. Before entering Paimpol, you can stop and discover the Abbaye de Beauport, listed as a historical monument in 1862. Probably the busiest port on the Armor coast, Paimpol is distinctly orientated towards the sea. Its cobbled streets and its sea museum take you back to the days of privateers and Icelandic fishers. For those keen to spend the afternoon on the bikes, the route heads towards Pontrieux to visit the Château de la Roche Jagu. For a more relaxing afternoon, there’s a steam train that offers the opportunity to discover the valley of Trieux (between late May and early September). It is also possible to visit the Ile de Bréhat.

• Cycling for the day: approx. 25km; altitude gain: approx. 200m
  +Ile de Bréhat option: 6km to the tip of the Arcouest (return along the same route), ferry crossing: 10min (every 30min).
• Accommodation: Small family hotel or guesthouse
  

Day 3: Paimpol – Ile de Bréhat – Treguier | 30km

This morning you begin with a trip to the island of Bréhat, accessible via a short ferry crossing from the Pointe de l’Arcouest. This superb Breton island can be visited on foot or by bike. A gentle ride along some pretty country lanes then takes you back to Lezardieux and the Trieux estuary, as well as the Jaudy valley around Treguier. Following a route that heads back up to the coast, you have the option to cycle along the Sillon de Talbert, a 3 km long geological curiosity, or (if you didn’t go there the previous day) to make a round trip to the Château de la Roche Jagu. The day’s overnight stop is in Treguier, capital of the Trégor and home to some beautiful half-timbered houses.

• Cycling option 1: approx. 30km; altitude gain: approx. 300m
  Cycling option 2 (via the Sillon de Talbert): approx. 45km; altitude gain: approx. 550m
• Accommodation: Small family hotel or guesthouse
  

Day 4: Treguier – Perros Guirec | 25 – 45km

Today’s riding is partly through the deep countryside, with plenty of farmsteads and cabbage fields, partly along the scenic coastline. Today, you will transit from the sea to the ocean, with a notable shift between the English Channel’s relatively protected coastline and the windswept coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Plougrescant, the Saint Gonery chapel and its leaning bell tower, the Gouffre and Notre-Dame de Port Blanc are well worth the detour. Tonight you stopover in Perros-Guirrec, a small town with a rich natural and cultural heritage and a gateway to a remarkable protected natural site, the famous pink granite coast and its chaotic rock formations.

• Cycling option 1: approx. 25km; altitude gain: approx. 200m
  Cycling option 2: approx. 45km; altitude gain: approx. 500m
• Accommodation: Hermitage 2* or similar

Day 5: Perros Guirec – Lannion | 40km

A superb stage today along this fantastic stretch of coastline. The detour to Ploumanac’h and the exceptional customs officers trail with its emblematic pink granite rocks are not to be missed. A few pedal strokes further on, you will discover the Breton megaliths of Kergunituil, a remarkable megalithic monument dating back to 2000 B.C. and then come across menhirs, dolmens, cairns and burial mounds, stone structures that still leave scientists puzzled to this day. The route then takes you through several Breton villages, from the coast to the flower-filled banks of the Leguer, before reaching Lannion, your overnight stop.

• Cycling option 1: approx. 40km; altitude gain: approx. 400m
  Option to shorten this stage in the event of fatigue or bad weather
• Accommodation: Hotel cérise lannion 3* or similar

Day 6: Lannion – Plougasnou | 35 – 45km

Today, the route leaves the Côtes d’Armor at Plestin-les-Grèves to pass into the Finistère department. From Ploumilliau, a pleasant cycle track leads us to Saint-Michel-en-Grève, where you join the coastline once again. On the vast shingle beach of Saint-Michel, the “Croix de Mi-Lieue”, a large cross-shaped monolith, was used as a landmark by travellers venturing onto the beach at low tide. Partly destroyed during the Allied landings of June 1944, restored in the early nineties, it stands in the centre of what was the only possible route to reach Saint Efflam (named after a Breton saint). Depending on how tired you are, from here, the route either follows the coastline or winds its way back into the Breton countryside before arriving at Plougasnou, a charming village overlooking the bays of Trebeurden and Morlaix.

• Cycling option 1: approx. 35km; altitude gain: approx. 400m
  Cycling option 2: approx. 45km; altitude gain: approx. 550m
• Accommodation: Guest house Relais de la Plume or similar

Day 7: Plougasnou – Morlaix | 25km

A fairly short last day of riding along the coast, through the bay of Morlaix, dotted with small islands, and a paradise for bird watchers. You then take a 7,000-year leap back in time, to when bicycles still had square wheels. The Cairn de Barnenez, the largest Neolithic mausoleum in Europe, is incredibly well preserved considering its age and offers an intriguing insight into the past. The bay extends inland along the Morlaix River, the natural border between the Leon and the Trégor, with a gentle finish to the riding that leads us directly to Morlaix, and the end of our week discovering the gems of the Breton coastline and countryside.

• Cycling distance for the day: approx. 25km; altitude gain: approx. 250m

Click to view default hotels

• Ibis Styles Saint Brieuc
• Hermitage 2*
• Hotel cérise lannion 3*
• Guest house Relais de la Plume

Hotels and guesthouses are subject to availability. In case a particular hotel is fully booked for your desired dates, it will be replaced with a hotel of equal value and quality level.

Click to view travel options

Train connection from the UK
Take the Eurostar from London St-Pancras International to Paris (Gard du Nord). Please check the SNCF website for more details on schedules and prices. The total journey time to Brest is about 7.5 hours.