Cléguer - Coët Letune Circuit

Rebuilt in 1888, the parish church of Saint-Gérand dominates the square with its neo-classical porch bell tower. Inside, an 800-year-old Roman nave and rich furniture have been conserved. Don’t miss the baptismal fonts sculpted with human busts and the Art Déco murals painted in 1946.

This washhouse, called “doued” in Breton, is one of many washhouses built in the villages in the second half of the 19th century to develop hygiene practices. Comprised of a rectangular pool and granite floor, it was covered with a roof in 1945 to protect the women who gathered here to do their laundry in all seasons.

Brambles are shrubs in the rose family, widespread in temperate climates. They produce an edible fruit, the blackberry, loved by all, but not easy to gather due to the thorns. They form thickets that serve as shelter and a food store for many species of animal.

The Pont Person, also known as the “rector’s bridge” in Breton, was built at the end of the 19th century, on the plans of the architect Ponceau. Comprised of a single arch, it replaced an older bridge connecting the Bas Pont-Scorff to the village of Cléguer, via sunken paths and crossed the water course, previously known as the “stream of the rector’s bridge”.   The site, developed in the 1960s with a pond ideal for relaxation and fishing, has recently been transformed. The decision to restore the waterway to its natural state promotes the free movement of species while resolving the problems of siltation and cyanobacteria pollution during heat waves.  

Widespread in Brittany, holly, like elderberry and wild pear, is a shrub that grows under beech, oak and chestnut in the natural Breton forest, and on embankments. A symbol of Christmas with its evergreen foliage and red berries, it grows slowly, and its hard wood was once used to make tool handles.

Located on the ridge of the Scorff valley, Kerganaouen provides a panoramic view over the countryside around Cléguer. The bottom of the valley which used to be cleared and edged with fields, is now wooded. This abandoned agricultural land contrasts with the upland plateau where crops or bocage, embankments and apple trees were cleared in the 1960s during a land reform to enlarge the fields and facilitate modern farming. 

Until the 19th century, lower Pont-Scorff was a strategic place as it was the first place from the sea where the river Scorff could be crossed. The town built up around its roads and bridges. At that time and until after the Second World War, millers, professional salmon fishermen, poachers, washerwomen and brewers all worked there together. Many had a garden where they grew vegetables and raised poultry, which roamed the streets freely.  Each house was a shop: cafés, creperies, butcher’s, grocer’s... but also hotels and inns that welcomed travellers and tourists.

This chapel, built in the 13th century was considerably transformed up until 1878. It contains a variety of furniture including the “Dame de Tronchâteau”, a funerary sculpture from the 13th century. An ex-voto boat dating from the 19th century called the Saint-Pierre, donated by a fisherman from Bas-Pont-Scorff, is exhibited.

In the undergrowth and on the slopes of granite valleys, moss and lichen colonise the soil, trees and rocks. Considered pioneers, they are particularly fond of uncultivated, humid areas. Here, they can be seen above all in winter, where their colour, from light green to dark grey, contrasts with the surrounding browns. 

Built in 1669 for milling cereals, the Saint-Yves mill is one of 25 mills along the river Scorff. Using hydraulic power, the two wheels are fed by a pool in which water collects. Towards the end of the 19th century, a brewery was set up here, and then a fish farm in 1956. When this business declined, the mill was converted to a restaurant.

The natural site of Coët Létune, or elves’ wood in Breton, is listed as a Natura 2000 site. These humid prairies called “megaphorbia”, are flooded in the winter providing silt and enriching the soil, creating a land where water-loving plants thrive. Exposed to sunshine and uncultivated, these prairies are colonised by tall plants including angelica, reed canary grasses, purple loosestrife, comfrey, hogweed and water dropwort.

On the other side of the Scorff is the Kereven pumping station which supplies drinking water to part of the population in the greater Lorient area. From 1911, Lorient pumped water from the Scorff here, brought by pipes to the north of the town for treatment. From 1957, the water also supplied six other towns in the region.