Brittany to Occitane, April 2026

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Here are some pics and a brief account of my journey from Roscoff, starting on the 8th of April. I was blessed with sunshine for most of the journey. The route roughly followed Eurovelo1 South to Royan (just north of Bordeaux), then headed inland on the Canal des Deux-Mers route

The stops

 

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8th April

I cycled down the Estuary from Roscoff to Morlaix then took the Voie Vert (route number 7) to Carhaix-Plouguer.

Lunch stop on the Voie Vert

I picked up the Brest to Nantes Canal

and camped out at Lac de Guerlédan. It was quiet when I arrived in the evening and finding a discrete spot to pitch the tent was easy

 

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9th April

A relaxed day cycling the canal route. Lots of wildlife spotted along the way, including red squirrels, stalks and coypu

I pitched my tent up in the corner of a field a few kilometers on from Redon

 

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10th April

The first few hours were cold and misty. The temperature rose from 5° in the morning to 27° by the afternoon

A sunny ferry crossing at Cuëron

That evening I found a little campsite on the coast just South of Pornic

 

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11th April

The cycleways and roads along the coast are still relatively quiet at this time of year

I bimbled down the coast and
found a quiet spot in the woods by Jard-Sur-Mer

 

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12th April

A gravel track in the Vendee. It was windy, though after a couple of hours I rounded the headland and the wind worked in my favour

The landscape is reclaimed marshland, full of waterways and lakes.

My route through La Rochelle wasn't particularly scenic but didnt cause much delay either.

Back into the flat, marshy landscape, I put my tent up on a small green lane between two lakes and went to sleep with the sounds of a thousand frogs, accompanied by the very flamboyant songbird

 

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13th April

Waterways everywhere, and a network of quiet roads

I got back on to the coast at Royan. A local cyclist got me onto the Canal des Deux-Mers route and joined me for a couple of hours cycling along the estuary

I had a short day, stopping at the campsite in Braud-et Saint-Louis

 

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14th April

Cycling in The Dordogne is amazing

A long day cycling I crossed the Garrone at La Réole and put one of the last hilly sections behind me. I camped in the corner of a field near the canal path

 

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15th April

I spent most of the day on the canal path and had to stop myself from pausing every 5 minutes to take photos

An avenue of plane trees, alongside the canal

There was a good campsite at Moisac, with large grassy pitches

 

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16th April

I wasn't quite ready for the chaos of Toulouse, sharing cyclepaths with e-bikes, pedestrians and scooters. It took quite some time to get back put to the suburbs

Leaving Toulouse along the Canal du Midi

I found myself cycling late into the evening, sometimes going hours without passing anyone.

It's flat from here on and I could have pushed on through the last 30 miles to arrive at midnight. Instead I decide to camp on an embankment above the canal

As the sun went down I could just make out the snowy mountain peaks of the Pyrenees in the distance

 

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17th April

Approaching Carcassonne, this Coypu was not shy!

The plane trees were slowly replaced with pines and conifers. This last stretch was perhaps my favourite section of canal path

Midday, arrival at my funny little house in the village of La Redorte

I don't know how long I'll be here. I have to make plans for the place and maybe put it on the market. I have a vague plan to head West through the foothills of the Pyrenees to Bayonne and cycle more of the Atlantic coast North on my way back

 

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18th April

A short day trip to the lake at Homps, and my first swim of the year