Along the water from Ranville

Parking is available on Rue des Airbornes, opposite the town hall and Marlène Jobert nursery school.

(S/E) From the car park, with your back to the town hall and the school, cross the car park and, after the Salle Henri Robin, cross Rue de la Brigade Piron via the pedestrian crossing and turn right. Go around the tower on the right, turn left and continue along Rue du Comte Louis de Rohan-Chabot, on the left-hand pavement, until you reach the junction with Rue Général Leclerc (D223A) opposite the entrance to Château du Mariquet.

(1) Turn left and follow this street on the left-hand pavement until you reach the next crossroads. Use the pedestrian crossings to cross the crossroads safely on the right and continue opposite on Rue Albert Camus (D223) towards Bréville-les-Monts. Walk about 200 metres until you reach a pedestrian crossing just before Impasse du Petit Clos on the right. Cross Rue Albert Camus (Route de Bréville - D223) carefully, then cross Rue du Général Poett on the left and continue for about 50 metres until you reach the path on the left, which is closed to vehicles.

(2) Take the path, cross the residential area, crossing Rue de Bruxelles, Rue Motten and Rue Berlin until you reach the plain at Allée des Pins Gris. Continue straight ahead on Chemin des Agriculteurs, pass in front of a farm shed and follow the path until you reach a road.

(3) Turn right onto Rue du Bac du Port towards Bréville-les-Monts, then, after about 100 metres, turn left onto Rue du Gable Harel towards Amfreville and follow it until you reach Rue du Plain.

(4) Cross this street carefully, turn left and, after about 20 metres, turn right towards the church. Take the tree-lined path on the left, follow it until you reach a street, then turn right onto Place du Commandant Kieffer. Walk past the town hall, go around it by crossing the car park on the left and join Rue Morice. Cross it, then walk between the two walls opposite towards Salle Georges Brassens, then cross Rue Matthieu Méalet.

(5) Pass between the École des Quatre Vents on the right and the Salle Georges Brassens on the left, then follow Chemin des Vergers opposite for about 500 m. On the way, pass by the entrance to the former Château de Venoix (moat), cross the park and then reach the hamlet of Oger. Turn left onto Rue Patra, pass the entrance to the Château du Hameau Hauger and go down the hill to Route de Cabourg (D514).

(6) Take great care when crossing the D514 road and continue downhill to the Marais de Cagny. At the bottom of the slope, turn left, then right onto the first path. At the end, turn left and, at the crossroads, turn right until you reach the banks of the Orne.

(7) Turn left and follow the towpath until you reach the Ranville bridge. Use the pedestrian crossing and carefully cross the D514 road, continue straight ahead on the towpath and, after about 50 metres, turn left onto the small Chemin du Dimanche towards Ranville (British cemetery). At the end of the road, turn left onto Chemin Sous la Chasse and continue up to the roundabout about 80 metres further on. Continue on the right, take the pavement to go around the roundabout on the right and, with great caution, cross the Route de Colombelles (D223). At the next exit (D37 towards Ranville), keep right and continue to the path on the right towards Ranville (British cemetery).

(8) Turn right down Chemin des Buissons, ignore the small path on the left and cross Ruisseau l'Aiguillon. Continue straight ahead, walk past the water treatment plant and, at the next crossroads, continue to a long stone wall and the outbuildings of a castle. Turn left into Rue du Moulin d'Eau (lined by two stone walls), walk past the castle entrance gate and go down to Rue du Colonel Fabien.

(9) Turn left onto this street and, using the pavement on the left, reach the protected crossing. Cross the street carefully, continue in the same direction on the pavement on the right and, a little further on, at the calvary, keep right onto Rue des Castors. Follow this street until you reach a driveway on the right that leads to the church. Enter the cemetery and cross it, passing to the right of the church. Leave the cemetery, continue straight ahead and use the pedestrian crossing to cross Rue du Comte Louis de Rohan-Chabot. Follow the side road to the right of Rue des Aibornes, pass in front of the town hall and then reach the town hall car park (S/E).

^PR® and^GR® markings

Château du Mariquet
This elegant^18th- and^19th-century château was owned by the Rohan-Chabot family until 2009. The building was constructed during the Directoire period with three storeys of alternating brick and stone. At the time, it was a "modest" residence in the heart of a park covering several hectares. The Château du Mariquet was purchased around 1830 by Monsieur Verrier, grandfather of Hortense, who married General Comte de Brye. The two turrets that frame it were added around 1880 by the Countess de Brye, wife of the Count de Brye. She lived there for many years with her daughter Jeanne and her son-in-law Louis de Rohan-Chabot. Born in 1832, she died in 1931 at almost 100 years of age. Requisitioned in 1940 by the Nazis, the château was made available to the Allies by Count and Countess Louis de Rohan-Chabot on the morning of 6 June 1944 and became the headquarters of the 5th Brigade. The château remained in the Rohan-Chabot family until 2009. Louis de Rohan Chabot and his son Gaël were both mayors of Ranville. In the same park, there is a beautiful^18th-century house overlooking Rue du Général Leclerc. Until around 1875, it was completely independent, with its farm surrounded by a large garden. It was accessed through the beautiful porch that can still be seen today. The Countess of Brye bought this house, known as the "Pavillon du Général de Brye" or later the "Pavillon Ranvillatte" or "Pavillon du Mariquet", to add it to her estate. On the edge of the hamlet, just before Hérouvillette, stands an elegant Louis XV manor house which belonged to the Countess of Brye's father in the^mid-19th century. As he did not like noise, he would send his grandchildren there during the holidays.

The Plain
The striking central square of Amfréville, known as "Plain", with its trees and impressive^19th-century church, is a reminder of the old hamlet where all the festivals, fairs and major popular events took place. At certain times of the year, the inhabitants were allowed to bring their flocks there to graze. Today, the town centre has moved slightly, but the Plain, a vast grassy area, remains a precious asset for the inhabitants. The ponds that were once used as communal drinking troughs or wash houses have now been filled in.

Saint-Martin Church in Amfréville
Located in the centre of the village of Amfréville, on the square known as the "Plain", which is, after the Caen meadow, the most beautiful communal grazing land in Calvados (5 hectares), this impressive church was built in the^19th century (1843-1844) to replace its^12th-century predecessor, which was considered to be in poor condition. It was designed by Maillet du Boullaye, an architect in Caen, and the land was donated by the Marquis de Venoix. The church, in the shape of a cross, is topped by a dome and, contrary to traditional norms, faces north-south. The interior is full of treasures: a wooden pulpit carved with the theme of the Good Shepherd, stalls, a gilded wooden eagle donated by Empress Eugénie in 1857, a high altar topped with an altarpiece depicting the Holy Family (a copy of a painting by Murillo from 1680, kept at the Louvre Museum), a harmonium, stone statues, a beautiful statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague, superb stained glass windows of Saint Hubert, Mary and the charity of Saint Martin, among others...

Château du Home
The Château du Home, at the corner of Rue du Colonel Fabien and Rue du Moulin d'eau, built in^{the 18th} century during the reign of Louis XV and enlarged under Napoleon III, is an elegant property in the middle of a large park crossed by the Aiguillon. In its five-hectare park stand two gigantic sequoias planted in^{the 19th} century when the château was enlarged. On 6 June 1944, Château du Home became the headquarters of General Gale, who commanded the 8,000 men of the British^6th Airborne Division parachuted into Ranville.

Bell tower of the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady in Ranville
The last remnant of an ancient church dating back to the Middle Ages, the bell tower of Ranville is located on a hill. It was probably used as a watchtower. From the top of its platform, it was possible to survey the Orne River and its estuary. From 1940 onwards, German troops used it as an observation post. The base of the bell tower features very old herringbone masonry (^11th or^12th century). Traces of the nave of the old church, which was originally made of wood, can still be seen. It is said to have burned down several times... In very poor condition and too small for the village population, it was replaced by the current church following a decision by the Municipal Council on 11 November 1860. However, it was specified that the bells of the old church would be kept, which is why no bell tower was built on the new building. It is said that this bell tower was built by lepers who had a camp on the site of the old Château du Home farm, at the bottom of Ranville. This could explain why Saint Roch, patron saint of lepers, is the second patron saint of the commune (his statue was erected in the north chapel). Legend has it that during the Hundred Years' War, the remains of an English soldier were laid to rest under the slab at the top of the tower... After the last war, the slab, which had been broken by a shell, had to be replaced, but no trace of bones was found! In 2007, the municipality decided to restore the bell tower, respecting its style and originality.

Guernon-Ranville Castle
Between Rue du Belvédère and Rue du Colonel Fabien, hidden behind high walls, lies Guernon-Ranville Castle, named after the family who owned this residence for almost two centuries, from 1751 to 1926. In 1790, after the Revolution, Roger de Guernon-Ranville became the first mayor of Ranville. But the most illustrious of the owners was Martial, Minister of Public Instruction under Charles X. In 1830, imprisoned for participating in the "Three Glorious Days", he was placed under house arrest in his château in Ranville, where he died in 1866. In June 1944, the British used the château as a military infirmary.

_The Château Brüder__
On Rue Général de Gaulle, a large early^19th-century house, now beautifully restored, was known as Château Brüder. In 1914, the château was inhabited by an Alsatian, Monsieur Brüder, who gave it its name. Because of his origins, Mr Brüder was suspected by the population, most certainly wrongly, of being sympathetic to the enemy. Legend has it that he sent light signals from the top floor of his house to supposed German ships cruising at sea, but the presence of these ships was never reported and the signals would have been very difficult to see from the shore. He was probably just moving around his château with a hand lamp! In 1944, British paratroopers turned it into their field hospital.