Lac de Guerlédan: The Drowned Valley and the Nantes–Brest Canal
Brittany, France
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Guerlédan Lake Circler
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300
XP
+100 France
= 400 total
2 days
Lac de Guerlédan: The Drowned Valley and the Nantes–Brest Canal
300 + 100 XP
The Guerlédan dam, built from 1923 to 1930, flooded more than 8 km of the Blavet valley, drowning nine slate quarries, sixteen lock-keepers' houses and 17 locks of the Nantes–Brest canal to make Brittany's largest artificial lake — 12 km long and 45 m deep at the dam. When it was drained from May to November 2015, between one and a half and two million people came to walk the lost valley; today you can cycle round it from the Cistercian abbey of Bon-Repos.
Required Activities
1
of 4
Cycle the waymarked 40 km circuit of Lac de Guerlédan from the abbey of Bon-Repos, by way of the Mûr-de-Bretagne dam, the Quénécan forest and the Forges des Salles, and stop at the anse de Tregnanton on the wild side of the lake for the best view down the drowned valley
2
of 4
Walk the ruins of Bon-Repos, founded on 23 June 1184 by Alain III de Rohan and settled by an abbot and twelve monks from Savigny, and find the crypt where thirteen viscounts of Rohan were buried between 1196 and 1516; legend has it Alain founded the abbey where he slept after a day chasing a stag in the Quénécan forest, which is where its name comes from
3
of 4
Swim or paddle at the Anse de Sordan, the only place on the whole south shore where the land slopes gently enough to walk into the lake, sheltered between two blocks of the Quénécan forest
4
of 4
Walk or cycle the towpath of the Nantes–Brest canal west from Bon-Repos
Cycle the waymarked 40 km circuit of Lac de Guerlédan from the abbey of Bon-Repos, by way of the Mûr-de-Bretagne dam, the Quénécan forest and the Forges des Salles, and stop at the anse de Tregnanton on the wild side of the lake for the best view down the drowned valley
Walk the ruins of Bon-Repos, founded on 23 June 1184 by Alain III de Rohan and settled by an abbot and twelve monks from Savigny, and find the crypt where thirteen viscounts of Rohan were buried between 1196 and 1516; legend has it Alain founded the abbey where he slept after a day chasing a stag in the Quénécan forest, which is where its name comes from
Swim or paddle at the Anse de Sordan, the only place on the whole south shore where the land slopes gently enough to walk into the lake, sheltered between two blocks of the Quénécan forest
Walk or cycle the towpath of the Nantes–Brest canal west from Bon-Repos
Before you go
Swimming at the Anse de Sordan is not supervised, and is in principle forbidden anywhere near the dam. The lake is tested for cyanobacteria through the summer, so read the notices at the beach before getting in. This is a working EDF hydro reservoir and its level moves: the shoreline you walked in spring may be under water in autumn.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
300 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
400 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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