Nantes – Eurovelo 1

by Chris Riches - 4th August 2018

Guipry to Nantes

Decided to get up early before sunrise in order to pack the tent and then get on the bike whilst the air temperature was still cool. Was pleased to find that the 10mph wind was coming from the north and this helped with progress towards Nantes and it also had a cooling effect.

I stopped in a nice patisserie in the small town of Blain, after that the route was mostly along the early nineteenth century Nantes-Brest canal. Generally it was very quiet along the canal but as the first signage for Eurovelo 1 became visible I noticed an increasing amount of other cycle tourists. Tall trees provided quite a lot of shade on the canal path, and elsewhere there were some small sections of pine forest, open farmland and some nice long straight descents.

Upon reaching the outskirts of Nantes I found excellent cycleways alongside the road and these extended right in to the city centre. Thus far I have been fortunate to find that campsites had a place available without booking, however the Nantes campsite that I was hoping to stay in was full. Decided to stay in a hotel in the old town of Nantes which upon first impressions looks like a beautiful city.

Distance: 63 miles

Maximum temperature: 32 degrees C

Nantes-Brest canal

Signage for Eurovelo 1 started appearing on the canal path

by Chris Riches - 6th August 2018

Nantes to Les Moitiers-en-Retz

Nantes is the 6th largest city in France and was once it’s largest port. I spent the first part of the morning viewing the Chateau des ducs de Bretagne, Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul, and the Botanical garden in Nantes, and having a quick look at the quirky shops, bars and restaurants of the old town area, enjoyed the 18th century facades, and then departed towards the Atlantic coast.

Outside of Nantes, and now on the sunnier side of the Loire, there was a change in the architectural style of the housing compared to Brittany, most obviously in the roof style which was now terracotta coloured rather than the dark grey roofs I saw in Brittany.

Although now in the Pays de La Loire region there were still signs of Breton heritage around, with Nantes previously being Brittany’s old capital.

The cycling infrastructure getting out of Nantes was as good as the way in, but later on relying on the sat nav took me along a busy main road with what seemed to be traffic heading to the coast, ie campervans with bikes mounted on the back and cars piled with things. This queue later became fast moving and the segregated cycle lane had already disappeared. I diverted to much quieter roads, some of which were simply unpaved / gravel tracks, and there were many slowly rotating wind turbines dotted amongst the fields.

Seeing the coastline when I reached the Atlantic coast was exciting as it meant the route from now on would follow the Eurovelo 1 down the west coast.

During the evening I visited a restaurant in the main village, rehydrated and then watched the tide come in and the sun set over the Atlantic – to my surprise it was quite far out when I had arrived earlier in the day.

Distance: 30 miles

Maximum temperature: 33 degrees C