Saint-Urbain is characterised by hilly terrain: numerous streams cut through the landscape and all flow into the Mignonne. The river forms the natural boundary between Saint-Urbain and Irvillac. Three hiking routes pass through heathland landscapes, valleys and rural heritage sites. This brings landscape and local history together at the heart of a stay here.
Hiking among heathland landscapes and valleys
The “Entre landes et vallées” route is included in the Finistère Department’s PDIPR. Its title means “Between heathlands and valleys” and refers to two landscape features also mentioned in connection with the three hiking routes as a whole. The PDIPR is the departmental plan for walking and hiking trails; the route’s inclusion gives it a specific connection to the Finistère Department.
The Golf de Brest Iroise offers a different kind of landscape: it is set in a wooded park covering 220 hectares. The heathlands and valleys along the hiking routes are thus complemented by an explicitly wooded parkland.
Buildings and traces of the past
The Chapelle de Trévarn follows the site of a religious building already mentioned in the 1172 foundation charter of Daoulas Abbey. The chapel has a Kersanton stone baptismal font dated 1666. On its placître, the calvary was restored around 1630 by the Landerneau sculptor Roland Doré. The three dates refer to different traces of the past: the earlier religious building, the restoration of the cross and the baptismal font.
Other places of remembrance also span different centuries. The calvary in the Saint-Urbain cemetery dates from 1575. The Notre-Dame Chapel of Trévarn is dated to the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The church in the centre of Saint-Urbain was completely destroyed by fire on the night of 13–14 November 1904.
The Château de Créac'h-Balbé is privately owned and was built in the second half of the 19th century. Its symmetrical layout consists of a central main building flanked by two lower pavilions. The chapel of the Beuzidou manor house is rectangular and apparently dates from the 18th century. Together, these architectural forms offer an insight into different historic building types, though they do not date from the same period or serve the same purpose.
The Pont de Mel Coz was built or rebuilt in 1702 to cross the Mignonne; it lies on the former Royal Road 170. The viaduct over the Guern ar Piquet valley is another example of a structure set within the landscape: construction began in spring 1865. At Guern ar C'Hoadic, an overgrown ruin complex contains three watermills, including a fulling mill and two grain mills.
The Kanndi de Penbran stands on municipal land below the hamlet of the same name, in the bottom of a valley. A sunken lane, now part of a hiking trail, leads to it. This site thus combines its location in the valley with a connection to an existing hiking trail.
Wednesday market
A market is held on the town hall square every Wednesday from 9 am to 12 pm throughout the year. The offerings include fish, baked goods, honey, fruit, vegetables, flowers and eggs; vendors may vary. This regular day of the week provides a clear reference point for planning, while the selection of goods should not be assumed to remain unchanged.
Discover more destinations: Bolazec, Argenton, Ploudalmézeau, Plougar, Dinéault, Audierne, Le Faou, Garlan.
For the broader travel overview: Finistere.
