Voie de Locquirec

At a glance

• Start / finish: Locquirec (Finistère) / Morlaix
• Length: 30.2 km
• Duration: 1 long or 2 relaxed days
• Elevation: ↗ 293 m / ↘ 289 m
• Highest point: 124 m at km 12.3 beyond Lanmeur; lowest point 3 m at the estuary
• Landscape: coastal village on the Baie de Lannion, Trégor plateau with hedgerows and hamlets, Dourduff estuary, Morlaix in its valley
• Waymarking: yellow shell on a blue background (Association bretonne des Amis de Saint-Jacques de Compostelle)
• Traces of St. James: Église Saint-Jacques Locquirec (tower 1634, statue of St. James on the stair turret), figure of St. James in the church of Ploujean, Chapelle Saint-Jacques in Morlaix, mentioned in 1556
• Connecting routes: in Morlaix the Voie de Morlaix (131.5 km to Quimperlé); sister route Voie de Moguériec

About this route

Locquirec is one of the eight “kilomètre zéro” points the Association bretonne has set in Brittany, and probably the only one where the apostle himself is said to have come ashore – by boat, without sail, without oars, without crew. From the church of Saint-Jacques by the harbour you walk 30.2 kilometres inland: up onto the Trégor plateau via Guimaëc to Lanmeur, where an 11th-century crypt lies beneath the church, then down to the estuary of Le Dourduff and via Ploujean to Morlaix. A route for one long day or two short ones.

To be honest, the Voie de Locquirec is not a pilgrimage route in its own right but a run-up. The association lists it together with Moguériec and the Morlaix–Quimperlé section as the “Voie de Locquirec & Moguériec”; Camino Ninja separates the three pieces. In Morlaix the real work begins – 131.5 kilometres through the Monts d'Arrée to Quimperlé. Locquirec is where you collect your blessing for it.

Route & stages

The first nine kilometres climb: out of the harbour up to Guimaëc (km 6.7) and Lanmeur (km 9.3), around 160 metres of ascent in total. After that the land lies open – hedgerows, hamlets, and at km 12.3 the highest point at 124 metres. From Bel Air (km 19.5) the route drops to the Le Dourduff estuary and then follows the valley via Ploujean (km 26.9) to Morlaix. For the last kilometre or so in town you walk on the same line as the Voie de Moguériec. The distances come from the Camino Ninja map, calibrated exactly to 30.2 km; the stage division follows the Camino Ninja system, because no accommodation is listed in Lanmeur itself.

1. Locquirec → Le Dourduff (23.3 km) — Guimaëc, Lanmeur with its crypt, plateau up to 124 m, descent to the estuary; pilgrim bed in Plouezoc'h, the hosts will also pick you up in Le Dourduff.
2. Le Dourduff → Morlaix (6.9 km) — Ploujean with its Romanesque nave, through the valley into the centre beneath the viaduct.

An apostle in a kneading trough

The writer Anatole Le Braz recorded the legend in 1895 from the sacristan of Locquirec: fishermen saw a boat “en forme de huche à pétrir qu'enveloppait une nuée lumineuse”, carrying the body of a pilgrim whom they recognised as St. James – and since then, as the narrator put it, “saint Jacques habite parmi nous et il est honoré comme patron de la paroisse”. The old local saint had to make way for him: Locquirec is named after Saint Guirec, Lokireg in Breton. The historian Jean Roudier soberly suspects the story was invented to explain the change of patron saint – probably under the Knights Hospitaller of the commandery of Le Palacret, who were lords, patrons and founders in Locquirec.

What remains of it you can see by the harbour: the Église Saint-Jacques, a Monument historique, with its bell tower of 1634 and a statue of St. James on the stair turret. The church treasury holds a rare relic, “une goutte de Sang de Saint Jacques”, and on 25 July the pardon moves through the village with a procession and blessing of the boats – already mentioned as a customary event in 1704. A saint who came across the sea is celebrated with boats every year. And you leave from there on foot.

How pilgrims reach this route – and where it leads

Locquirec has no feeder route; you travel there. In Morlaix your route meets the Voie de Moguériec, which comes from the west via Saint-Pol-de-Léon, and both continue as the Voie de Morlaix: 131.5 kilometres via Le Cloître-Saint-Thégonnec, the Monts d'Arrée, Gourin and Le Faouët to Quimperlé. There, at km 198.8, you join the Voie de la Pointe Saint-Mathieu, which leads to Clisson – 492.1 kilometres from Locquirec. From Clisson the Chemin Vendéen takes over as far as Saint-Jean-d'Angély, followed by the Via Turonensis towards the Pyrenees.

Preparation & practicalities

The Association bretonne publishes its guide for Locquirec and Moguériec as a free PDF, updated every November, along with an accommodation list “Locquirec/Moguériec – Quimperlé”. Listed in Locquirec are hotels, a campsite open all year, a religious guesthouse and a private pilgrim bed; in Plouezoc'h an accueil pèlerin; in Morlaix private hosts, the Carmel, the youth hostel with 76 beds and the Gîte Casa Ilaria with 14 places. The association's rule: book at least 48 hours ahead, credencial required; members receive it free of charge at the delegations' office hours. There are shops in Guimaëc and Lanmeur. The easiest way to plan stages and beds is in the Camino Ninja app.

Getting there

Morlaix is on the Paris–Brest TGV line; Brest Bretagne airport is around 60 kilometres away. From the Gare SNCF Morlaix, bus line 30 (Morlaix–Lannion) runs via Lanmeur and Guimaëc to Locquirec, about seven times on weekdays, journey time around 40 minutes, single ticket €1.50 (as of October 2026). At the finish you are back at the same station – or you keep walking.

• Rail in France: sncf-connect.com — TGV Paris – Morlaix
• Bus Morlaix – Locquirec: locquirec.bzh — line 30 timetable