Circular route to the Étang de Beaufort via Mireloup and Le Tronchet

Start from the Étang de Beaufort car park.

(S/E) Go up the small hill and join the road. Follow it towards the hamlet of La Moignerie, pass the right-hand bend and at the crossroads (elevation 35) turn left onto a street that turns into a path after a hundred metres. Follow it, cross the first road and continue on a gravel path.

(1) When you reach a place called La Lande aux Chats, cross the D75, continue for 180 metres and turn left. Follow the road, pass the houses and then, after about 150 metres, take the road on the right towards Le Rohéard.

(2) Keep right, and at the fork, take the road on the left towards Étang de Mireloup. After 350 metres, before the barrier, take the path on the right that goes through the woods and follow it to the road.

(3) Turn left and continue along the road. Pass the place called Mireloup. At the fork, take the road on the left, follow the forest and reach a new fork.

(4) Take the road marked as a dead end on the left, pass the car park and when you reach the edge of the pond, follow the shore, staying on the path until the end. When you see the golf course footbridge, go up the stream on the right to the gravel farm track.

(5) Turn left onto the path and continue to the bridge over the Meleuc. Cross the bridge, take the street on the right and continue to the end. At the bus stop, turn left to reach Rue de la Croix Saint-Benoit.

(6) Head towards Plerguer on the right. After about 130 metres, take Rue de la Chouannerie on the left, which turns 90° to the left and joins Rue de Colette (well on the left). Take this street on the right to leave the village (C205).

(7) Pass the hamlet of La Lézardière to reach Ruelle du Rocher on your left, just before a crossroads. At the end of the lane, take the D119 on your left for 80 metres.

(8) Continue along the road on the right for about 180 metres and take the gravel path on the right. Continue along the woods and, at the end, take the road on the right at a place called Le Tuly. The road forms a circular route.

(9) At the foot of the antenna, take the road on the right, pass the place called Les Écotays and continue straight ahead for 800 metres.

(10) At a place called Le Chauchix, take the road on the right and stay on the right on the path that leads to the car park (S/E).

Please note that hunting is permitted on Tuesdays and Saturdays from late September to late February in the Mesnil Forest. See the ONF website.
Mushroom picking is prohibited on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the year in all state-owned forests in the Ille-et-Vilaine department.

A little way off the route is the Abbey of Notre-Dame du Tronchet.
The Abbey of Notre-Dame du Tronchet dates back to^{the 12th} century. It has its origins in the Cistercian movement, a branch of the Benedictine order founded in 1098, which advocated simplicity, contemplation and an austere monastic life. Click here to read more.

Nearby is the monastery of Beaufort.
The monastery is a former Breton manor house, located in the middle of woods and on the edge of a pond.
The Beaufort site has been home to no fewer than three different castles: the first, a motte-and-bailey castle, built in the^12th century; the second, a stone castle, erected in the^17th century; and finally, a manor house, which was later built and converted into what is now the Château de Beaufort.