Voie de Moguériec

At a glance

• Start / finish: Port de Moguériec, Sibiril (Finistère) / Morlaix
• Length: 35.3 km
• Duration: 2 stages, or 3 if you prefer
• Elevation: ↗ 322 m / ↘ 320 m
• Highest point: 79 m at km 27.1 between Kerozal and Locquénolé; lowest point 2 m by the sea
• Landscape: vegetable country of the Haut-Léon, Penzé valley, banks of the Rivière de Morlaix
• Waymarking: yellow shell on a blue background
• Connections: in Morlaix the Voie de Morlaix (131.5 km to Quimperlé); the Voie de Locquirec also ends there
• Best time: April to June, September to early October

Overview

It all begins with a lighthouse that isn't from here. The small metal tower on the jetty at Moguériec was designed in July 1876 in the Paris workshops of Gustave Eiffel, first set up in Honfleur and bought by the port's fishermen in 1960. This is where the Association bretonne des Amis de Saint-Jacques placed one of its eight "kilomètre zéro", and from here it is 35.3 kilometres to Morlaix: first through the flat vegetable country of the Léon to Saint-Pol-de-Léon with its cathedral and the 79-metre tower of the Kreisker, then across the Penzé valley and down to Locquénolé on the Rivière de Morlaix.

To be honest: no source we have found shows that Moguériec was a medieval pilgrim port. The starting point is the association's choice, and a good one: the founding saints of Brittany arrived across the sea on this coast, and just under ten kilometres to the east the ferries from Plymouth and Cork dock in Roscoff today. And if you don't stop in Morlaix, you reach Clisson after 497.2 kilometres.

Route & stages

From the port the way heads inland via Plougoulm to Saint-Pol-de-Léon, through the vegetable fields of the Léon. Beyond Saint-Pol you cross the Penzé valley between kilometres 18 and 19; the path then climbs onto the plateau between the Penzé and the Rivière de Morlaix and reaches its highest point, 79 metres, at kilometre 27.1. In Locquénolé you are on the left bank of the Rivière de Morlaix, and you follow the river all the way into town. Opposite, on the right bank, runs the Voie de Locquirec; over the last two kilometres the two routes draw close and meet in Morlaix. Field tracks, small roads, riverside paths: technically easy. Kilometres are taken from the Camino Ninja map; the association's distance list (17.38 km Saint-Pol – Locquénolé, 6.53 km to Morlaix) matches them. If you want three days, split at Locquénolé: 17.4 plus 6.8 kilometres.

1. Moguériec → Saint-Pol-de-Léon (11.1 km) — via Plougoulm to the bishop's town; a short day with time for the cathedral and the Kreisker.
2. Saint-Pol-de-Léon → Morlaix (24.2 km) — across the Penzé and over the highest point (79 m) to Locquénolé, then along the river to Morlaix.

An Eiffel lighthouse and a saint from Wales

In March 2015 the people of Moguériec read in the newspaper that their lighthouse was to be demolished. They founded an association that soon had more than 3,000 members and found out in the archives who had built it. On 18 July 2022 Ouest-France wrote: "le plan du petit phare finistérien né en juillet 1876 à Paris a été conçu par les ateliers de Gustave Eiffel". In September 2021 it went to Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande near Rennes for restoration, and that is as close as St. James gets to this starting point: "Le voilà à Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande depuis 2021." Since 2023 the tower has been back on its jetty.

A good ten kilometres further on, the older story awaits. According to the Life that the monk Wrmonoc of Landévennec completed in 884, Paul Aurélien came across the sea from Wales in the 6th century, landed on Ouessant, then on the mainland, and walked through the Léon to the place that bears his name today. In Locquénolé they tell the same of Guénolé, who according to tradition came ashore on the left bank of the Rivière de Morlaix. You set off from a coast of arrivals. St. James turns up in the cathedral of Saint-Paul-Aurélien too, just not as a statue: one of its bells is called "le Jacques" and dates from 1563.

How pilgrims reach this route – and walk on

The sister route, the Voie de Locquirec (30.2 km), comes from the east and also ends in Morlaix. From there the way leads south. The Voie de Morlaix runs 131.5 kilometres via the Monts d'Arrée, Gourin and Le Faouët to Quimperlé. There, at km 198.8, it joins the Voie de la Pointe Saint-Mathieu, which leads to Clisson. From Clisson the Chemin Vendéen continues to Saint-Jean-d'Angély and there onto the Via Turonensis. "Voie de Morlaix" is a Camino Ninja name; the association lists everything together as "Voie de Locquirec & Moguériec".

Preparation & practicalities

The association's guide is available as a free PDF on compostelle-bretagne.fr (current version dated 23 November 2023), and in print via Lulu. Its accommodation list names a hotel, chambres d'hôtes and a campsite in Sibiril, private accueils pèlerins in Saint-Pol-de-Léon and Locquénolé, and in Morlaix pilgrim beds at the Carmel, the Gîte Casa Ilaria (14 places) and the youth hostel (76 beds). Accueils jacquaires work on a voluntary-contribution basis; book at least 48 hours ahead, and the credencial is compulsory (free for association members). As a guide (as of October 2026), expect €13–20 for a gîte bed and €60–85 for a double room in a chambre d'hôtes. The easiest way to plan your two or three days, accommodation included, is in the Camino Ninja app.

Getting there

Morlaix is on the Paris – Brest TGV line. The railway to Saint-Pol-de-Léon and Roscoff has been out of service since the storms of June 2018; BreizhGo buses replace it. From Saint-Pol to the port of Moguériec it is about 11 kilometres; check the bus to Sibiril in advance, otherwise take a taxi. From the British Isles you can reach Roscoff with Brittany Ferries.

• Train: sncf-connect.com – TGV and TER to Morlaix
• Regional bus: breizhgo.bzh – Morlaix – Saint-Pol-de-Léon – Roscoff, connection to Sibiril
• Ferry: brittany-ferries.com – Plymouth – Roscoff and Cork – Roscoff
• Association and guide: compostelle-bretagne.fr – guide "Voie de Locquirec & Moguériec" (PDF), accommodation list, credencial