# Walking / hiking in Brittany



## Greenfoot

Hello everyone

It's been a while since my last post, but I'm thrilled to say that we're in France now and busy looking for a permanent home 🍾🥂

When we're not viewing houses, my husband and I enjoy getting out and about in the countryside walking / hiking. In the UK we would mostly rely on OS maps and books with details of local circular routes (4-8 miles in length, easy to moderate). Can anyone recommend any books, websites, or other resources that are particularly good for finding similar info in France, specifically Brittany?

Many thanks


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## DrChips

Hi Greenfoot

You could start here:








Trouver sa prochaine randonnée - Carte - Mon GR®


Avec GR @ccess, profitez de plus de 70 000 kilomètres de randonnées décrites et proposées par la FFRandonnée




www.mongr.fr





Also a few English book and Brittany Walks on Amazon.

Best foot forward.👫


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## ToulouseRob

We use Visorando and VisuGPX to find walks proposed by others. Visorando gives detailed instructions and other info, VisuGPX just seems to be a place to share GPX tracks. As for maps the equivalent to OS maps are the IGN series but in prcatice I use OpenStreetMap and OpenTopoMap with an app on the smartphone - I like Locus Maps.


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## Greenfoot

Brilliant, thank you DrChips and ToulouseRob. Much appreciated.


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## EuroTrash

Brittany Tourism has a lot of suggestions on their website https://www.brittanytourism.com/matching-what-i-want/hikes-in-brittany/
(oh dear though, it hurts me to read the English translations now...)


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## Greenfoot

Lovely. Thank you, Eurotrash. We're going to have fun looking through all of these resources and planning some great walks.


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## Crabtree

The french equivalent of UKOrdnance Survey is IGN (Institut Geographique National) They produce very good maps with footpaths etc They can easily be purchased in book shops etc


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## Greenfoot

Crabtree said:


> The french equivalent of UKOrdnance Survey is IGN (Institut Geographique National) They produce very good maps with footpaths etc They can easily be purchased in book shops etc


Thank you


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## Befuddled

And don't forget, it is hunting season and anything that moves is a target.


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## Bevdeforges

Befuddled said:


> And don't forget, it is hunting season and anything that moves is a target.


Actually, it would be a good idea to find out which days of the week are designated for hunting in your area and avoid doing your hikes during those days. Usually there are only two or maybe three days a week that are authorized for hunting.


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## ToulouseRob

Two afterthoughts: 
- there's little to beat a huge paper map for browsing and planning walks but these days I make use of a smartphone when I'm actually out walking (or driving). So I want to put in a shout for the Android app "Organic Maps" (I have no connection with it, I'm just a satisfied user). It has the huge advantage that a map for each département can be downloaded from OpenStreetMaps and used offline. This is a big advantage - there is no shortage of places around here (especially in the Pyrénées) where there is no mobile coverage, or very patchy coverage. It's ad-free, offers route finding and turn-by-turn directions and the detail is superb and it can be used anywhere OSM has maps. I've used it in France, Spain, UK, Mexico and Central America. There are downsides: it can't (yet) read GPX traces so it's no good for following an existing trace; it can't record traces. That's why I like Locus Maps for a specific hike.

- a lot of footpaths are marked with standard signs to show the way. It's called "le balisage" (Le balisage des itinéraires de randonnée). Yellow marks are local walks, red and white are for the GRs but it's not impossible for a bit of local improvisation with blue and green if several paths cross. Walks described in leaflets from the tourist office will often state which balisages to follow (they might not be the same for the whole of a walk) likewise walks described online. The actual marks are painted, usually about eye-level, on lamp-posts, road signs, trees, rocks, anywhere really. They are fairly discrete so you need to keep an eye out for them. If at some point you're in doubt about which way to go, there's often one nearby.


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## Greenfoot

Bevdeforges said:


> Actually, it would be a good idea to find out which days of the week are designated for hunting in your area and avoid doing your hikes during those days. Usually there are only two or maybe three days a week that are authorized for hunting.


Absolutely. We know the dates the hunts are on locally and I have avoided walking on those days...my husband is convinced I'm exaggerating about the issues.I think I'll show him this thread!


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## Greenfoot

Thank you for the extra info, Rob. We've seen some of those signs. This helps to understand & find them 👀


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## Bevdeforges

Greenfoot said:


> my husband is convinced I'm exaggerating about the issues.I think I'll show him this thread!


Yeah, everyone thinks it's an "exaggeration" until someone in your area gets shot. (And it seems to be happening more and more often these days.) Leave the woods and open fields to the hunters on "their" days and enjoy them all the more when they are available to unarmed hikers. Hunting season will be over in a couple of months - and generally that's when the countryside is getting really nice to wander in.


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## Befuddled

I have lost track of the link I once had that led to an official website that kept track of the yearly hunting accidents and annual death toll. People and their pets have been shot while walking the dog, cycling, driving their car, even in their own gardens. Sure, more people come to their end in road accidents but it still illustrates the poor safety standards within the hunting community. Be careful out there guys.


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