Pont-Scorff Saint Urchaut Circuit From the Scorff to the Scave

Located on the former parish of the village of Lesbin, Pont-Scorff owes its name to the river Scorff. In the Middle Ages, a bridge on the road connecting Vannes to Quimper, promoted the development of the town. From the 13th century, the religious orders of Hospitaliers de Saint-Jean and the seigneur de la Roche-Moysan set up here. The current town hall is a former justice hall built around 1577. In the 19th century, the town was laid out around a triangular square. Character houses, a town hall school and a church that replaced Saint-Aubin’s church in the village of Lesbin, were built near Pont-Scorff.

Abritant artisans d’art, espaces d’exposition et de nombreux créateurs, la Cour des métiers d’art occupe une maison construite en 1564. Avant de repartir, ne manquez pas de flâner dans la typique rue Terrien. L’Atelier d’Estienne, espace d’art contemporain, est installé dans une maison de marchand du 17e siècle qui conserve son escalier en vis dans une tourelle et, côté rue, son étal de marchand saillant en pierre.

This ancient street, called casse-cou (breakneck) due to difficulty of access for teams of horses, was by-passed in the 19th century to facilitate traffic. At the time and until after the war, millers, professional salmon fishermen, poachers, washerwomen and brewers all worked in Bas Pont-Scorff. Each door leads into a shop: cafés, butchers’ and grocers abound... but also hotels and inns to welcome travellers. After 1990, tourism and environmental activities developed on the site. At the Moulin des Princes, the mission of the counting station of the National Institute for Agronomic Research and the Morbihan Fishing Federation, is to count migrating fish. The observation targets salmon especially, that leave the river Scorff to feed in the North Sea, coming back to spawn in the spring.

Comprised of four arches and three piers, the Pont Saint-Jean has been strengthened with buttress spurs to resist the currents. It was built from the 16th and 18th centuries and owes its name to the religious order of the Hospitaliers de Saint-Jean, who built a chaplaincy and a chapel here, some ruins of which remain. The bridge was built on the route of the old Roman road from Hennebont to Quimperlé, and is also known as the Pont Romain. It is also called the Vieux Pont (old bridge) in comparison to the Pont Neuf (new bridge), built further upstream in 1851.

At the end of the 19th century, economic activity stretched further downstream. Stopovers by barges from Lorient increased, transporting mainly wood and food. Quays and a slipway were built. After 1945, military activities on the river Scorff put an end to this transport, already competing with road and rail. Various industrial activities, including a dairy, appeared on the site. On the Cléguer side, an old industrial site was turned into a nature site.

With its source in the Côtes-d’Armor department, the river Scorff is 75 km long. Its estuary stretches over 12 km, from Bas Pont-Scorff to Lorient. The landscape is typical of the meeting between river and sea, freshwater and salt water. The wooded banks are interspersed with marshes and reed beds, flooded at high tides. This bay offers a shelter and a wonderful food store for river and seabirds, such as cormorants and gulls. The little egret can be seen here, fishing for fish, worms and crab. This small white heron nests in the trees.

Saint-Urchaut manor was built around 1650 and in the 18th and 19th centuries a storey was added and a store and pavilion extension. A man called Jean Grasset built it and used the ground floor as a storehouse. At the same time, this master carpenter built a ship for the royal navy near the port of Saint-Urchaut, a little upstream. With one quay, it was used to transit goods between Lorient and Pont-Scorff before the slipway was built in Bas Pont-Scorff. Today the site hosts many events, including the Salmon Festival in July and contemporary art exhibitions.

In this area, reeds have gradually taken over the marshes, previously cut prairies that have been abandoned. Moving up the Saint-Urchaut stream, you will discover its flora and fauna along the nature pathway laid out by the town of Pont-Scorff. On the hillside, Saint-Urchaut farm grows organic vegetables and sells seasonal baskets to visitors. 

This lookout area under the Rocher du Corbeau offers a plunging panorama of the meanders of the Scorff, its reed beds that change colour with the season and its mud flats laid bare at low tide. The Rocher du Corbeau is well known to fishermen as it marks the end of the maritime domain and the start of regulated river fishing. On the headland, you can still see the visible remains of a Middle Age fort.

Many fish and crustacean live in these brackish waters; you can see trout, mullet, plaice, sea bass, shrimp, oysters... Other species are only passing, such as salmon, and eel that head for the Sargasso Sea to reproduce in the autumn. These species are an important source of food for the local population. Up to the 20th century, fishing for salmon using boats with square nets suspended on long rods, was authorised. The scarcity of fish has now put a stop to this practice. Migrating salmon can travel thousands of kilometres, braving dangers and overcoming obstacles to feed, and return to their native river to breed without losing their way.

Freshwater from the river Scave on this mudflat has led to the rapid development of phragmites, otherwise known as reeds. In this Natura 2000 listed habitat, fish find refuge during flooding and feed on the micro-fauna present: plankton, molluscs, crustaceans, insects, etc. Many small mammals and birds feed and nest here. You may see the waterhen, the sedge warbler, the bluethroat, the common sandpiper or the common snipe. The common sandpiper, with its dark grey back and white belly, winters in this area. It is easily recognisable by its rapid flight just above the water. It is easier to see this little wader when it is feeding on the mudflats.

Located on the banks of the Scave River, Pont-Scorff Zoo was created by Pierre Thomas in 1973.  Over the years, the zoo has doubled in size to welcome new species and develop popular shows. The project started by Pierre Thomas continues today through Terres de Nataé, a symbol of protection and renewal, working to preserve threatened species and animal welfare. For more information, please visit the website www.lesterresdenatae.fr

This path, and further on, the bridge over the river Scave, are the remains of the railway network built in the Morbihan department at the end of the 19th century. The train was called the “potato train” and linked Lorient with Plouay. It has many functions, carrying passengers, bags, post, animals, cereal, etc. With competition from roads, it declined around 1930 and dismantling was begun. It started up again during the war only to be removed in 1947. Since 1960, the pipe carrying water from the Scorff to supply drinking water to the town of Lorient, passes under the bridge and path. On the other side of the road, the commemorative stone Kerruisseau was erected in memory of the French and American soldiers lost on 7th August 1944 on the Lorient pocket front line in the place called Bivière en Pont-Scorff. Be careful crossing !

Moulin Neuf, partially destroyed and rebuilt after 1945, is installed on the river Scave. A pool was built creating a lake to feed the wheel. In the 19th century, there were two lakes separated by a bridge and a second, older mill near the manor Le Verger. At that time, you could still see the manor house and recreational chateau from the departmental road. 

The Moulin Neuf, partly destroyed and then rebuilt after 1945, is on the banks of the river Scave. A weir was built to create a pond that feeds the wheel. In the 19th century, there were two ponds separated by a bridge and a second, older mill near the Le Verger manor house. From this period, you can still see the manor house and the castle from the departmental road.

The calm waters of the Étang du Verger are good for a daydream. You may see a kingfisher or a mallard duck. Like many lakes, it has lost its functional use as the mill is no longer in operation. It has silted up and its shallow waters are rich in nutrients. The threshold also serves as a barrier to the free circulation of fish.

This strange ruin is not a well, but a manhole providing access to a water pipe. In 1886, Lorient needed freshwater and took it from the streams in the surrounding rural villages. This network brought the water by gravity along aqueducts to the north of the town. It was stored, untreated in a reservoir called “Petit Paradis” (little paradise). The system which included water from the Scorff from 1911, was in operation until 1960.

Since its construction in the first half of the 16th century, the chapel of Saint-Gildas has seen many changes. Except for the statue of Saint Gildas itself, most of the statues date from the end of the 19th century. Until just after the Second World War, the pardon, a combination of a religious and lay festival, was held on Whit Monday. The villagers used to parade the statue as far as the fountain in the lower part of the village.