Ok so even in an artsy old world town like La Gacilly ,you can still do some modern things along the Aff river, kayak or just walk the banks! Great for the whole family!!! WE love it
The Aff river passes thru city center La Gacilly and over a nice stone bridge you have it all. In fact , going just by the Maison Yves Rocher (more later) and its all beauty for your eyes. This is in land countryside, the way to come here is by car either along the N24 to exit La Gacilly and the D8 road or by the N166 dir Rennes take the D775 dir Questembert and follow signs for La Gacilly.
The Aff or Avon(Eng) river has its source in the forest of Paimpont, in Ille-et-Vilaine dept 35, which it borders to the south. It passes between Quelneuc and Bruc-sur-Aff, then La Gacilly and Sixt-sur-Aff, naturally delimiting the departments of Morbihan(56) and Ille-et-Vilaine (35). The Aff river flows into the Oust river at Glénac after 66 km. Its main tributaries are the Oyon and the Rahun. The Aff is navigable from the Oust river to the La Gacilly bridge or about 9 km.
The Aff river takes its source in the forest of Paimpont as said, with two main branches: one of these branches is formed by the union of three streams: the first comes from the forest of Rauco, on the southern slope of the Val Sans Retour, the second is supplied by the waters of the En-Haut and Châtenay ponds, at an altitude of 210 meters, the third has its source at the foot of the Saint-Jean Templar Chapel (on the road from Campénéac to Paimpont). A trickle of water comes out of the rock on which this chapel is built, goes into a quagmire which gives birth to a small ru: this is how Aff is born!! the other branch comes from the Pas du Houx pond at an altitude of 152 meters and then passes through the Forges pond. With its tributaries, the Aff river covers a hydrographic area of approximately 1,000 km ². This basin encompasses the territories of 39 towns of departments Ille-et-Vilaine and Morbihan. This river serves as a territorial limit between the two departments for almost all of its course.
At the end of the 18C, the boats used on the Aff river were generally the chalands of Nantes barges 22, 24 and even 26 meters long, made of wood and sometimes of iron. To move them, three traction modes was used; first the hauling by man using the bricole, then hauling by an animal and finally the propulsion by motor. The barge was sometimes replaced by the Penette barge also called “double boat” or “loop boat” while in the registration registers it responds to the name of barge, a term that will be used later and not necessarily by the mariners themselves. same to designate the self-propelled channel. These 24 to 26 meters boats are made up of two half-boats tied to each other by “harts”, simple rings of rope that are stiffened by engaging a stick and turning them.
The fun at La Gacilly is to go kayaking (us!!), others stroll along its banks (yes!!): the Aff river is a must in the countryside of Redon. The river which crosses the tourist town of La Gacilly is well known to the curious who come every summer to discover the photo festival (see post). On its way, the Aff crosses the path of 17 dams, 15 of which were built between 2010 and 2015. Rental of boat rides for relaxation and discovery cruises through the magnificent rivers of the classified site of the lower valley of the Oust river ,the Glénac marshes and its myriads of birds, cliffs of Ile aux Pies island, landscape from the Nantes to Brest Canal, etc are breathtaking indeed! We used the Echapée fluviale and they are great folks ang nice boats. More info here: https://echappee-fluviale.com/
Good spot to tell you about the city of La Gacilly on its history and heritage here: https://www.la-gacilly.fr/decouvrir-la-gacilly/histoire
You have in French the fluvial chart for the Aff river: http://www.fluviacarte.com/fr/voies-navigables/region-ouest-2/voie-aff-25
And there is some fishing here, if you like, me never try it but info on what is to catch in French here: https://www.parcours-de-peche-morbihan.fr/carte-peche/l-aff-autour-de-la-gacilly
The tourist office of Broceliande on La Gacilly: https://www.broceliande-vacances.com/decouvrir/incontournables/villes-villages/la-gacilly/
And there you go, just for the nature lover in you and us with moderation! La Gacilly has it all in inland Morbihan, real country, real France, the best. Hope you enjoy the post and do come in, recommended.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
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