Glomel: Nature and Cultural Heritage

Glomel offers a range of reasons to plan a trip: nature trails and birdwatching sit alongside canal heritage and structures from different periods. For planning purposes, specific details about routes, landscapes and historic sites can help you choose the focus of your stay.

Bodies of water, wetlands and bird migration

Étang du Korong is a 75-hectare body of water. During bird migration, it serves as a resting place for waterbirds. The site therefore combines a permanent landscape feature with a seasonal opportunity for observation. The circular trail around the Étang is 6 kilometres long, easy and has no significant incline.

The Glomel Regional Nature Reserve covers 108 hectares of peaty heathland, wetlands and moors. Lan Bern is a plateau of more than 80 hectares comprising wet heathland, meadows and peatlands along the Nantes–Brest Canal near Glomel. The landscapes have different features: meadows are explicitly part of the description of Lan Bern, while moors and wetlands are mentioned for the nature reserve.

Choose trails by length and use

For a shorter route, Lan Bern has a level, sand-surfaced, accessible 2-kilometre trail intended for families and people with reduced mobility. Another trail is 11 kilometres long, passing through the entire Lan Bern nature reserve and on to the Grande Tranchée on the canal. Together with the 6-kilometre circular trail around Étang du Korong, these offer a choice of distances; only the Lan Bern trail is specified here as having a particular surface and level route.

The Grande Tranchée Circuit is suitable for trail running, mountain biking, running and hiking. It is therefore described as suitable for several types of activity. When planning your route, you can distinguish between the trails by length and, in the case of the Circuit, by the activities it is intended for.

Locks and canal structures

The Grande Tranchée des Bagnards is more than 3 kilometres long, 100 metres wide and 23 metres deep. At an elevation of 184 metres, it is the highest point of the Nantes–Brest Canal and marks the watershed between the Blavet and Aulne river basins. Its dimensions and geographical function give this section of the canal a distinctive character.

Between Paule and Glomel, the flight of locks on the Nantes–Brest Canal comprises 15 locks over a length of 4 kilometres. Another option is to descend the installed slides in a canoe raft. Check whether this activity is available before your trip.

Church and megalith

The Église Saint-Corentin in Trégornan dates from the 15th century. Its nave was built in the mid-16th century, and its south portal and transept in the second half of the 16th century. The sacristy was built in 1627; the bell tower dates from the late 17th or early 18th century. The building’s history thus encompasses several clearly distinct periods. The altarpiece also contains works by Simone Le Moigne.

The Menhir de Park Menhir offers a glimpse into a different period: this Neolithic megalith is 8.60 metres high and made of granite from Rostrenen. It has been classified as a historic monument since 1975. Its dating and material provide a distinct contrast with the church’s architectural history.

Discover more destinations: Plaintel, Bulat-Pestivien, Léhon, Lancieux, Loguivy-Lès-Lannion, Le Quillio, Plourhan, Ploézal.

For the regional travel overview: Côtes-d’Armor.