Well dwelling into nature, not usually do, I enjoy it but not a into the woods. However, this one is superbe special and worth the detour me think. I have new text and older pictures in my blog. I came here first because my company sponsored a running race thru the woods starting in city center, and I was a happy spectator! And voilà, Malestroit , the pearl of the Oust, came into my map! Things happens here in lovely Bretagne! And let me tell you about why the Pearl of the Oust river is Malestroit!
The best is by car from Vannes take the N166 direction Rennes and come off at exit D776 Malestroit, follow the signs for the city. Or a bit further or coming from Rennes closest is the exit D10 Serent/Maletroit. From Nantes you take the N165 to the N166 direction Rennes and follow above. There is a bus and no train station fyi. It is about 70 km (about 43 miles) from my house.
All works around the Oust river , that connects here with the wonderful Canal Nantes-Brest. All the streets lead to the Canal! No matter where you are in the medieval center of Malestroit, you will always come across the Nantes-Brest Canal and its towpath. you can go for a walk, bike, boat, … you can also have a picnic and laze on a bench or stretch out under the large trees that line the towpath and house the dike.
The Oust river is the main tributary of the Vilaine river, which it joins at Redon on the right bank. Its course, 145 km long or 155 km according to some sources, is entirely located in the departments of Côtes-d’Armor (22), Morbihan (56) and Ille-et-Vilaine (35) of the region of Bretagne. The river, of which a large part of the course is artificial, is an integral part, over more than 80 km of the Nantes to Brest canal. It crosses the Appalachian Armorica and offers a bayonet route forming a lock. The valley of the Oust does not reveal any real historical unity but takes on more the appearance of an aggregate of counties which, through their heritage ie Josselin castle or the presence of symbolic places ie the battle of Ballon, illustrate the long history of Brittany. The Oust river is attested for the first time in the 6C in the work of Grégoire de Tours, Histoire ecclésiastique des Francs, book X, 9 in the form of Huldam Fluvium by the 19C it took the modern spelling Oust.
The Oust river takes its source at an altitude of 225 meters northeast of Le Haut-Corlay (see post), in the Côtes-d’Armor, at the foot of the peak of Kerchouan ,which rises to 318 meters in the western part of the mountains of ‘Arrée. Then, afterward it immediately merges with the Vilaine river. It is after the meeting of the Oust and the Vilaine that the latter becomes maritime, sensitive to the action of the tides. The Nantes-Brest canal taking the last part of its course, the Oust, appears as an artificialized river, a succession of bodies of water, interspersed with 61 locks, The valley of the Oust part on which the canal from Nantes to Brest form the confluence with the Vilaine to the upstream of Rohan; the canal then abandons the Oust to join Pontivy and the Blavet river via an artificial section. Before the construction of this canal, the Oust was already navigable downstream from Malestroit, thanks to 2 locks at Beaumont and Rieux en Saint Congard.
The idea of carrying out this link was relaunched, under the Consulate,(Napoléon) in 1803, the authorities then pursuing an objective more strategic than economic: to connect the arsenals of Brest and Lorient with Nantes and Saint-Malo in complete safety while the English navy had mastery of the sea and was a permanent danger to maritime traffic off the coast of Brittany. Construction did not begin until 1811 and the work was not completed, after many interruptions, until 1836, However, the canal was not officially inaugurated until 1858 by Napoleon III.
In the three departments of Côtes-d’Armor (22), Morbihan (56), and Ille-et-Vilaine (35), the Oust river crosses 49 towns and 14 cantons, The towns are : Le Haut-Corlay, La Harmoye, Saint-Martin-des-Prés, Le Bodéo, Merléac, Allineuc, Uzel, Saint-Thélo, Le Quillio, Saint-Caradec, Trévé, Loudéac, Hémonstoir , Saint-Gonnery, Saint-Maudan, Gueltas, Rohan, Crédin, Bréhan, Pleugriffet, Les Forges, Lanouée, Guégon, Josselin, Guillac, Saint-Servant, Val-d’Oust, Ploërmel, Montertelot, Sérent, Saint-Abraham, Saint-Marcel, Caro, Missiriac, Malestroit, Saint-Congard, Saint-Laurent-sur-Oust, Saint-Martin-sur-Oust, Saint-Gravé, Peillac, Les Fougerêts, Glénac, Saint-Vincent-sur-Oust, Bains-on-Oust, Saint-Perreux, Redon, Saint-Jean-la-Poterie. And the cantons are : canton of Corlay, canton of Quintin, canton of Plœuc-sur-Lié, canton of Uzel, canton of Loudéac, canton of Pontivy, canton of Rohan, canton de Josselin, canton of Malestroit, canton of Ploërmel, canton of Rochefort-en-Terre, canton of La Gacilly, canton of Allaire and confluence in the canton of Redon. I try for my sake to highlight those I have been.
The local Broceliande tourist office on Malestroit : https://www.broceliande-vacances.com/decouvrir/incontournables/canal-nantes-brest/petites-cites-caractere-canal/malestroit/
The river stops along the Canal Nantes to Brest : https://www.escalesfluviales.bzh/escales-fluviales-de-bretagne_canal-de-nantes-a-brest_histoire.htm
The green way for cyclist from Malestroit to Redon : http://www.ma-voie-verte.fr/piste-cyclable/voie-verte-malestroit-redon
The city of Malestroit on its history : https://www.villedemalestroit.bzh/index.php/tourisme-et-patrimoine/presentation-et-actualite
There you go folks, something different in my off the beaten path road warrior ways. This is a must for the nature lover, and those walkers, cyclists will enjoy it much. We have done some walks along the canal and its wonderful, worth the detour to the pearl of the Oust , Malestroit!
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 
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