Brest to Nantes canal

Trippy

Looking for a first cycling holiday and thinking this looks like a nice relaxed week away, has anyone done it?
Would probably cycle from Roscoff down through the National Park and join the canal somewhere south east of Brest.

Mikey23

Yes, did this a couple of years ago with some friends who are not very experienced cyclists and we had a good time. Ferry to roscoff and did hotel stops in morlaix, carhaix, pontivy, redon and nantes. Took the train back to roscoff

Quite a nice ride with about 30 miles a day. If you are an experienced cyclist you might find that a bit limiting. The surface is generally ok with some iffy patches. Quite a lot of loose gravel which slows you down. I took a hybrid but doable on a roadie but not ideal. Basically you are alongside a canal for a very long time with not very much else to do. A nice canal but the novelty soon wears off!

A good choice for a first tour though. Feel free to ask me anything else and pm if you wish

Trippy

Thanks you and yes I do wonder about it getting a bit samey but this would be the first cycle holiday for a novice and I thought I could always detour off its route every now and then if that got the case. Other option and maybe slightly more interesting would be the Loire valley finishing at Nantes.

Mikey23

There are some nice places on the way, josselin comes to mind. And yes, some detours would be possible although it is very isolated out there. I much prefer now to be riding on quiet country lanes now but thats a matter of confidence. My problem was that the unfittest and slowest member of the group was unfitter and slower than we thought and it took most of the day grinding out those 30 milers!

As a matter of fact, last year i cycled from roscoff to morlaix, got the train to nantes and cycled up the the loire valley to tours getting the train back to morlaix and cycling back to the ferry. Was more interesting and satisfying and pretty much a pan flat ride. Did my first hundred miler. There is a lot to do and see just bimbling around brittany as well which i have done three long weekends this year. Are you planning to carry your gear and camp or book hotels or bed and breakfast as you go?

Trippy

Oh that does sound better, not sure about whether to camp or B&B yet. I'm 51 and only really started cycling again last year and then it's really only gentle 20 mile rides along easy trails and roads. I have recently treated myself to a new bike and bought a Specialized cross trail expert which should do all I want to do for the coming years. I am used to travelling light though as I rode motorbikes for 30 years.

Mikey23

If you are going plymouth roscoff you are probably from around my way that is east cornwall. nantes brest is a bit like the camel trail to ride on. whether you camp or glamp depends on your budget. i would prefer to travel without the camping gear but that is just me. try something pretty simple to start with which will give you loads of ideas. france is a brilliant country to cycle in, hotel and b&b are pretty cheap at the moment and if you choose carefully, you have the train as a backup. their railways are very bike friendly and the bicycle is queen. i usually wait till the weather forecast looks good and book ferry at the last minute. avoid friday night crossing as you wont get a cabin at this time of year but there are dozens of cyclists going over.

the trails are good but i dont bother with them now as the roads are quiet and safe. roscoff town is a nice place to visit, morlaix via the corniche road is stunning and from there you can head out to huelgoat or carhaix plouger