Why Brittany Rewards the Slow Driver

Brittany is about the size of Wales, but it feels far larger once you leave the main roads behind. The motorways and dual carriageways will whisk you from the ferry ports to the coast in an hour or two, and they have their place. The real pleasure, though, is inland: a rolling patchwork of hedgerows, wheat and maize, granite church spires, apple orchards and small rivers that seem to change direction for the fun of it.

Distances here are modest, but you should budget generously. A forty-mile drive on the smaller D-roads and C-roads can easily take an hour and a half once you allow for a picnic, a leg-stretch and a wrong turn or two. This is not a region to rush. Outside July and August the lanes are almost empty, the tarmac is generally good, and the signposting is reliable once you know that a lieu-dit is simply a hamlet name and that brown signs mean something worth stopping for.

Drive on the right, of course, and remember that most single carriageways are limited to 80 km/h, dropping to 50 km/h the moment you enter a village. Speed cameras are common and unmarked. Keep a warning triangle, hi-vis vest and spare bulbs in the boot — French rules, and the gendarmes do check.

The Nantes–Brest Canal and the Blavet Valley

Start with the most forgiving route in Brittany: the old Nantes–Brest canal, which threads across the region from east to west and is shadowed for long stretches by quiet, well-maintained lanes. The towpath itself is traffic-free, which makes it perfect for a short walk while someone else moves the car along.

Begin at Malestroit, a handsome little town of grey stone and half-timbering with a Saturday market and easy parking by the water. Follow the canal west through Rochefort-en-Terre, officially one of the most beautiful villages in France, though you will want to arrive before ten in the morning to have it to yourself. Continue to Josselin, where the château rises straight out of the canal and the riverside picnic tables are shaded by lime trees.

Beyond Pontivy the landscape tightens up as the canal climbs towards the Lac de Guerlédan, the largest reservoir in Brittany and the site of the old Abbaye de Bon-Repos. The valley here is wooded and steep-sided, and the D-roads on either bank make a fine afternoon's drive. Pull in at the lake's eastern end, walk fifteen minutes along the water, and eat your sandwiches on the jetty.

The Monts d'Arrée: Moorland, Granite and Wide Skies

Nothing else in Brittany prepares you for the Monts d'Arrée. These are not mountains so much as a bare, heather-covered spine of granite running through the heart of Finistère, and on a clear day you can see the sea in both directions.

Take the D36 from Brasparts and climb towards Mont Saint-Michel de Brasparts, a tiny chapel on a shoulder of rock with a view across the whole range. Continue to Roc'h Trévézel, the highest point, then drop down through Commana and its remarkable parish enclosure — a walled churchyard with a triumphal arch, a charnel house and a calvary worth twenty minutes of anyone's time.

From there, head for Huelgoat, where a river disappears into a jumble of boulders in a wooded ravine. The Chaos du Diable walk takes about an hour and is genuinely worth the detour; there is a car park, a café and a small municipal lake with a beach for warm afternoons.

Forest Roads and River Valleys: Brocéliande to the Rance

Inland from the north coast lies the forest of Paimpont, better known as Brocéliande, the legendary woodland of Merlin and the Lady of the Lake. The roads through it are narrow and dappled, and the village of Tréhorenteuc makes a good stopping point, with its curious church and its Val sans Retour walk just up the lane.

Push east towards Bécherel, a hilltop town of bookshops, then south into the Rance valley. The river here is wide and green, and the lanes above it lead to Dinan and its riverside hamlet of Léhon, where the abbey sits beside a small stone bridge. Further west, Jugon-les-Lacs and Quintin offer gentler versions of the same thing: lakeside walks, a boulangerie, a bench.

The Trégor Back Roads

The far north-west, between Guingamp and the coast, is the quietest corner of Brittany and arguably the prettiest. Follow the Trieux valley from Pontrieux — a town of wash-houses and flower boxes along the water — up to Belle-Isle-en-Terre, then west along the Léguer towards the sea.

Villages here come with names like Plougonven, Plouaret and Loguivy-Plougras, and each has a church worth a look, usually with an elaborate parish close and a calvary carved from local granite. Roads are single-track in places, so take them slowly and be ready to reverse into a gateway.

Practical Notes for the Road

• Fuel: fill up in towns. Supermarket petrol stations are cheapest and often closed on Sundays.
• Lunch: many village bakeries shut between 12.30pm and 3pm — buy bread, cheese and tomatoes in the morning.
• Markets: the best days are Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, depending on the town. Ask at your campsite or gîte.
• Saturdays in August: changeover day, when the roads around the coast can be slow. Head inland instead.
• Parking: village squares are usually free; look for the parking de l'église sign.
• Weather: Atlantic showers arrive fast. A waterproof and a pair of walking shoes in the boot will earn their place.

Take your time, stop more often than you planned, and let the hedgerows do the work. Brittany is at its best at 60 km/h with the windows down.