| Nantes–Brest Canal | |
| Canal Length: | 385km (239miles) |
| Max Boat Length: | 25.70 m |
| Max Boat Beam: | 4.65 m |
| Original Num Locks: | 238 |
| Current Num Locks: | 107 (+ 45 in Finistère section) |
| Total Rise: | 555m (1,821feet) |
| Status: | Open except for two breaks; Goariva to La Pitié, Guerlédan Dam to Pontivy |
| Original Owner: | State in 1811. Canal Company of Brittany in 1822 |
| Date Approved: | 1802 |
| Date Began: | 1811 start failed and began again in 1822 |
| Date Completed: | 1836 |
| Start Point: | Brest, France |
| End Point: | Nantes |
| Connects To: | Loire Maritime Vilaine Blavet |
The Nantes–Brest canal (French: Canal de Nantes à Brest, in French pronounced as /kanal də nɑ̃t a bʁɛst/; Breton: Kanol Naoned-Brest) is a French canal which links the two seaports of Nantes and Brest through inland Brittany. It was built in the early 19th century, and its total length as built was 385 km with 238 locks.
Brittany started developing its waterway network in 1538 when it decided to improve navigation on the River Vilaine. The project for a canal throughout the province was conceived by an 'inland navigation commission' convened in 1783. When Brest was blockaded by the English fleet, Napoleon decided to build the canal to provide a safe inland link between the two largest military ports of the French Atlantic front.[1] Building started in 1811, and Napoleon III presided over the canal's opening in 1858.[2]
This was the most ambitious canal project ever completed in France, 360km long with 238 locks. The canal was closed as a through route in 1920, when a section was submerged by Guerlédan dam (PK 227), a short distance west of the junction with the canalised river Blavet at Pontivy. The dam was supposed to be equipped with ladder of locks, receiving for this a significant subsidy from the state but this was never done. The entire length of waterway west of Guerlédan was officially closed in 1957, and the 21km length from Pontivy to Guerlédan also subsequently fell into disuse. At the same time, the disappearance of all commercial traffic (in 26m long barges carrying up to 140 tonnes) resulted in the gradual silting up of the canal section between Rohan and Pontivy.[3]
The canal has been revived and ownership has been transferred from the State to Brittany Region, except for the short length in Pays de la Loire region.
Navigation is no longer possible between Pontivy and Goariva. Guerlédan reservoir flooded the canal over a length of 10 km including 17 locks. However, a length of 15 km with 10 locks has been restored upstream of Guerlédan reservoir to the heritage site of La Pitié Chapel, creating a navigation 25 km long, and a public consultation was held in 2017 with a view to lifting the ban on thermal engines on this section.[4]
Three separate navigable sections are thus presented in the route below.
Though the break in the canal around Glomel has closed it for commercial navigation the canal towpath has seen a dramatic increase in its use by cyclists. The towpath/cyclepath has now been surfaced to a good standard – some tarmac but mostly crushed stone bed – so that all but racing bikes can use it with ease. This use is not simply day rides, but an ever increasing number of people on cycling holidays frequently taking in the whole Nantes-Brest section.
This has been fuelled by the creation of long-distance cycle routes throughout Europe and the canal forms the beginning of the EuroVelo (EV) EV1 Atlantic Coast route which runs to Spain and Portugal. The French section of which is known as the La Vélodyssée and which is now the most popular of all the French long-distance cyclepaths. It also links in with the EV6 Atlantic to Black Sea. The effect of this increase in tourism has been profound for central Brittany, and an area less known for tourism than the Brittany coast has had an influx of cyclists with the result that towns and villages on or near the canal have seen an welcome increase in income, number of shops, restaurants, hotels and campsites after many years of slow decline.[5]
Pontivy to Nantes 206 km via 107 locks (using successively the rivers Erdre, Isac, Vilaine and Oust)
Navigation interrupted from Pontivy to Guerlédan dam