Péaule: Hiking, the Vilaine and Heritage

Péaule combines bocage countryside with its proximity to the Vilaine; traditional villages and well-preserved sites complete the picture. There are also walking and mountain biking trails, as well as buildings from different centuries. For planning your trip, hiking and culture offer different points of interest: the routes include signposted circular trails and routes with a specifically stated length, while the historic sites differ in architectural style and period.

Hiking on circular trails and along the Vilaine

Péaule has five signposted circular trails maintained by the Association Péaulaise Nature et Patrimoine (APNP). If you prefer a route with named endpoints, you can consider the GR 39: it runs from La Baule to Saint-Malo through Péaule and follows the banks of the Vilaine. The Circuit des Deux Vallées offers a different option. This 22-kilometre walking trail is part of the departmental hiking trail plan. This gives you a long-distance route with named endpoints and a walking trail with a specific stated length as two different ways to plan.

Detailed maps of the walking routes are available as brochures at the town hall. Part of the Transmorbihannaise can also be used for walks. Together with the five signposted circular trails, these offer several ways to plan a stay on foot, without treating them as one continuous route. If you want to compare individual trails, the brochures can be a practical starting point for choosing.

Mountain biking routes and countryside

Péaule has several circular mountain biking routes across hilly terrain, with varying levels of difficulty. These include routes 4, 5, 6 and 7 in the La Roche-Bernard mountain biking area. The official Circuit 6 in the VTT-FFC area starts at the chapel in the hamlet of Saint-André. It is 23 kilometres long, with an uphill elevation gain of 540 metres. These figures describe different aspects of the route: its distance and the elevation to be climbed.

Along the banks of the Vilaine on Circuit 6, the landscape includes stretches of river, hills, meadows, forests and rocks. If you have a particular route in mind for your trip, you can consider these landscape features alongside the route details. As trail conditions can change, it is worth checking the current conditions before setting out.

Churches and historic buildings

The present-day Saint-Gaudence Church has a choir ending from the 16th century and was rebuilt in the 19th century. The Ancien doyenné has a longer history: it was apparently built around the middle of the 15th century and altered in the 16th century. The complex is partly protected as a historic monument.

The protected features of the Ancien doyenné include the fireplace bearing the inscription dated 1534, which was protected by a decree of 25 September 1928, as well as the façades and roofs of all the buildings. These include the north gate of the enclosure and the dovecote; these features were protected by a decree of 27 September 1965. These specific protection details make the Ancien doyenné a particularly complex historic site in Péaule.

The Chapelle du Temple de Fescal is a rectangular Gothic building. Its window features tracery with radiating patterns, trefoils and quatrefoils. The Cour de Couëguël adds Gothic buildings dating from the late 15th century to the historic sites. A description dated 17 June 2020 notes that the buildings could be viewed from the outside during a walk, but were not open to the public at the time. This means you can include the exterior view as part of a walk without assuming that an interior visit is possible.

Discover more destinations: La Croix-Helléan, Bieuzy, Mauron, Lantillac, Plougoumelen, Ile D'arz, Cléguer, Cruguel

For the broader travel overview: Morbihan.