Inland Brittany: The Nantes-brest Canal
The Nantes-Brest canal is a meandering chain of waterways from Finistere to the Loire, interweaving rivers with stretches of canal built at Napoleon's instigation to bypass the belligerent English fleets off the coast. Finally completed in 1836, it came into its own at the end of the century as a coal, slate and fertilizer route. The building of the dam at Lac Guerledan in the 1920s chopped the canal in two, leaving a whole section unnavigable by barge. Road transport had already superseded water haulage; now tourism is breathing life back into the canal. En route the canal passes through riverside towns, such as Josselin and Malestroit , that long predate its construction; commercial ports and junctions - Pontivy , most notably - that developed in the nineteenth century because of it; the old port of Redon , a patchwork of water, where the canal crosses the River Vilaine; and a sequence of scenic splendours, including the string of lakes around the Barrage de Guerledan , near Mur-de-Bretagne. As a focus for exploring inland Brittany , whether by barge, bike, foot or all three, the canal is ideal. Not every stretch is accessible, but there are detours to be made away from it, such as into the wild and desolate Monts d'Arree to the north of the canal in Finistere. For general information on renting barges for use on the inland waterways, contact the Comite de Promotion Touristique des Canaux Bretons, Office du Tourisme, place du Parlement, 35600 Redon (tel 02.99.71.06.04).
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