Discover Pludual

Pludual brings together churches and chapels with walking routes through the rural landscape. For planning, two easy routes offer different time frames: one takes about an hour, the other around two. The architecture and local history also provide concrete points of interest if you want to plan your stay around walks, architecture or heritage.

Walking Routes and Planning Your Time

The Circuit de la Danse Macabre starts at the church in Pludual. It is a 9.8-kilometre circular route, rated easy. Allow about two hours for the walk. It passes through the rural landscape and bocage of Pludual, and near orchards. The route therefore combines a longer walk with views of the local landscape.

The Circuit des deux Chapelles starts at Place de l’Église in Pludual. This circular route is also rated easy; it is 8 kilometres long and takes about an hour. It is considered accessible to all age groups, though surface conditions may vary. The estimated walking times for the two routes differ by about an hour. This lets you compare how much time they take without rating their difficulty differently.

The starting points are clearly specified: the church for the Circuit de la Danse Macabre and Place de l’Église for the Circuit des deux Chapelles. Before setting out, check local conditions and the accessibility of each starting point.

Church Architecture and Local History

The foundation stone of the Église Saint-Mayeux de Pludual was laid on 7 June 1871. The church is Neo-Gothic. Its tower displays a clear sequence of geometric forms: an octagonal spire rises from a square tower shaft, with four large pinnacles at its base. Pinnacles are pointed architectural ornaments; here, they mark the transition between the tower shaft and the spire. The coat of arms of Pope Pius X appears on the tympanum above the side entrance. The construction date, tower design and entrance provide different points of interest in the building’s architecture.

The 16th-century Manoir de Périmorvan, which overlooks the centre of Pludual, offers a different historical perspective. Together, the manor house and the Neo-Gothic church represent different periods and styles of construction. The manor’s 16th-century date is considerably earlier than the church’s foundation stone, laid in 1871.

The Poul Ar Ranet Chapel

The Poul Ar Ranet Chapel is also known as Notre-Dame du calvaire de Poull ar Raned. It was built between 1868 and 1895. Fishermen from Newfoundland and Iceland venerated it before setting out on deep-sea fishing voyages. Its furnishings include a sculpture of the Virgin Mary with the Child and a two-masted sailing ship offered as an ex-voto. An ex-voto is a votive offering; here, it takes the form of a sailing ship. The chapel thus brings together a depiction of the Virgin Mary and a distinct maritime motif, while its historical significance is also linked to the fishermen’s devotion.

Rural Bocage and Cycling

Pludual’s rural landscape includes ragosses—pollarded oaks that shape the local bocage. Bocage also features in the landscape described along the Circuit de la Danse Macabre, which also passes near orchards.

A description in a municipal publication from June 2021 lists Pludual as a point on the signposted Tour du Leff cycling circuit. It describes the route as covering 110 kilometres through 27 municipalities; it can be completed in full or ridden in individual stages. This makes it considerably longer than the two walking routes in Pludual. Check current route conditions before setting out.

Discover more destinations: Uzel, Erquy, La Prénessaye, Kerpert, Gouarec, Saint-Brandan, Plouguernével, Le Leslay

For the regional travel overview: Côtes-D’armor.