The Île-aux-Pies: Granite Cliffs, Canoes and the Nantes–Brest Canal
Brittany, France
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Île-aux-Pies Paddler
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300
XP
+100 France
= 400 total
2 days
The Île-aux-Pies: Granite Cliffs, Canoes and the Nantes–Brest Canal
300 + 100 XP
The Oust and the Nantes–Brest canal run through the cluse of the Île-aux-Pies, where cliffs rise more than 50 m above the river bed and carry over sixty climbing routes. The 26-hectare island sits at the confluence of the Aff and the Oust, with the abandoned Houssac granite quarries on the bank and a canoe base on the water.
Required Activities
1
of 3
Hire a canoe at the Île-aux-Pies base and paddle round the 26-hectare island to the confluence of the Aff and the Oust, passing the abandoned Houssac granite quarry on the west bank that was worked until 1930
2
of 3
Climb on the steep Bains-sur-Oust bank of the Oust, where more than sixty routes of different grades are bolted on the cliffs of the Île-aux-Pies cluse, with a guide or a local club
3
of 3
Cycle the Nantes–Brest canal towpath from the Île-aux-Pies through the locks of the lower Oust valley, a 25 km Grand Site classified in 1981 and the only one in Brittany that is not on the coast
Hire a canoe at the Île-aux-Pies base and paddle round the 26-hectare island to the confluence of the Aff and the Oust, passing the abandoned Houssac granite quarry on the west bank that was worked until 1930
Climb on the steep Bains-sur-Oust bank of the Oust, where more than sixty routes of different grades are bolted on the cliffs of the Île-aux-Pies cluse, with a guide or a local club
Cycle the Nantes–Brest canal towpath from the Île-aux-Pies through the locks of the lower Oust valley, a 25 km Grand Site classified in 1981 and the only one in Brittany that is not on the coast
Before you go
Canoe, kayak and paddle hire at the Île-aux-Pies base runs from early April to late September, daily 10:00-18:00 in July and August and on shorter days either side of that.
Rochefort-en-Terre, 16 km west, is a Plus Beau Village de France and was voted the country's favourite village in 2016; the castle the American painter Alfred Klots rebuilt as a neo-Gothic manor from 1907 is there. It is a separate day out, not part of this one.
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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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