Le Pellerin Ferry – Martinière Lock loop from Le Pellerin
Le Pellerin Ferry – Martinière Lock loop from Le Pellerin
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Le Pellerin Ferry – Martinière Lock loop from Le Pellerin
04:11
16.4km
50m
Hiking
Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.
Last updated: April 17, 2026
Waypoints
Start point
Bus stop
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1.17 km
Bikini
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You can read the explanations in more detail along the way, but here is a summary:
In their flight at the end of the war, the Germans sank nine ships across the Loire channel to prevent the Allies from sailing up it to Nantes. This forced the channel to move northwards.
Just after the war, a cofferdam was built around the wrecks to refloat them. (including a boat which could not be and is still visible today).
This created the creation of a sand atoll, nicknamed Bikini.
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1.57 km
View of the Loire
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1.86 km
Le Pellerin Ferry
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Find on this page the timetables, webcams and possible disruptions concerning the connection between Couëron and Le Pellerin:
inforoutes.loire-atlantique.fr/44/bacs-de-loire/bac-de-loire-liaison-coueron-le-pellerin/info_60323
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4.83 km
Martinière Lock
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Proposed by engineer Adolphe Radiguel in 1861 to allow transatlantic ships to reach Nantes, the canal is operational in 1892 after 10 years of pharaonic work. Some of the machinery and equipment was previously used for the construction of the Suez Canal.
Three major structures are built for the lock's operating system: the Martinière (in the east), the Carnet (in the west) and the Champs-Neufs half way along the canal. The latter was also equipped with a siphon, allowing a differentiated water regulation between the moats of Vue marshes and those of the canal itself. Two "boat parks" allow large vessels to cross at the "Teignouse" in Pellerin, and between Roche and Carnet Frossay.
The canal has an intense period of activity with the great navigation which lasts 20 years until 1913, with approximately 10,000 passages during these 20 years, then the fluvial watercraft circulates until 1943. It becomes a cemetery of the tall ships between 1921 and 1927. During the Second World War, the Germans occupy it, then the Americans, from 1957 to 1967, will stock NATO material there. The sea canal is closed to navigation in 1959.
In the 1960s, the canal became the hydraulic control tool of the Pays de Retz. Its devastation began in the 1990s, using small dredges. fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canal_de_la_Martini%C3%A8re
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9.26 km
Canal de la Martinière
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11.2 km
Canal maritime de la Basse Loire
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14.7 km
Artistic Sculpture
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14.8 km
Church of Notre-Dame du Pellerin
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Source: Pellerin Town Hall
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16.4 km
End point
Bus stop
Way Types & Surfaces
Way Types
8.29 km
2.87 km
2.75 km
2.51 km
Surfaces
9.34 km
2.63 km
2.06 km
2.04 km
344 m
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Elevation
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Weather
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Thursday 9 July
38°C
22°C
0 %
Additional weather tips
Max wind speed: 14.0 km/h
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Our route recommendations are based on thousands of hikes, rides, and runs completed by other people on komoot.
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