Countryside along the GR®39, the Orson and the Seiche at Noyal-Châtillon-sur-Seiche

Car park at the park’s roundabout

(S/E) From the car park, turn right onto the path through the park, then take the^first left to walk alongside the houses on your left. Pass the recycling centre and take the paved path, then take the^first left-hand turn, which leads to a small car park and some houses.

(1) At the end of Allée Paul Cézanne, turn left and follow Allée Paul Gauguin to the roundabout on Avenue de Cornouailles. Turn right (all directions), cross at the pedestrian crossing and turn left onto Chemin du Hameau du Pin. Take the^second right onto a wide path (Pôle Sud – Swimming Pool), continue along Allée du Printemps and join Avenue de Cornouailles.

(2) Turn left, cross at the pedestrian crossing and go through the car park in front of the houses to reach the pedestrian crossing on Rue Pierre Ronsard. Cross this street, turn right, then take the^first path on the left, Chemin de la Pléiade. Continue straight on until you reach Rue de la Conterie.

(3) Turn left to reach the pedestrian crossing before the roundabout. Cross to the right and carry on straight ahead, between the Cultural Centre and Pôle Sud Secondary School. At the large roundabout, cross the double pedestrian crossing on the right and take the small flight of steps opposite, which leads to a road running alongside the D34. Head slightly to the right, then take the^first path on the left towards the radio station, heading towards Le Champ Rond.

(4) Continue along the path (with houses on your right) which bends to the right, then take the^first path on the left. Carry on until you reach a T-junction of paths. Turn left (there’s a small wooden bench a few metres on the right) and follow this track, which bends to the right. Ignore the track on the left (with another bench) and carry on straight ahead until you reach the houses. Continue along the small road that leads on from there.

(5) At the sign for Les Cours d’à Haut, turn left, then take the^first path on the right after the school stop sign. At the Y-junction, follow the path on the right, ignore the path branching off to the right and carry on straight ahead to Les Guittais. Turn right, pass the houses and take the ^first path on the left (yellow sign 375), then the^first path on the left (hedge on your left). Ignore the path on the left and take the^{first one} on the right.

(6) Ignore the^GR®39which branches off to the left and carry on straight ahead until you reach the road. Turn right, follow the road and cross the bridge over the four-lane road. Continue along this road, past the houses at Le Domaine, and turn into the^first road on the left towards Le Clos Simon. Continue along this road until you reach the large sheds on the right.

(7) Turn right onto the track that runs alongside the warehouses on your left; at the end, turn right and follow it to the houses and the road. Turn left, then take the^first right, towards Ricoq and “No. 3 to No. 9”. After a right-hand bend, continue along the track opposite (with houses on your right), and follow a stream on your left; cross it via the small wooden bridge and continue along this track until you reach the houses and the road.

(8) Turn left towards the red and white posts, continue to the right after crossing the Ruisseau de l’Orson and, at the crossroads, turn left to join Rue Mathurin Méheut. Turn left to cross the street, then follow it to your right until you reach the roundabout at the Super U car park. Go round the roundabout on the left, walk past the water reservoir on your left and turn left to reach the underpass beneath the road.

(9) Go up the stairs opposite the underpass, then turn right at the top and follow Rue de l’Ancienne Gare to the left until you reach Rue des Potiers. Turn right and continue to the pedestrian crossing before the chemist’s (on the right). Cross the road, take the path opposite and continue straight on along Rue d’Alès, then Rue Renaudot. At the end, turn right into Rue de Talleyrand and take the path on the right between Nos. 10 and 12.

(10) Cross the Allée des Glénans and continue along the path to the left of No. 6. At the next street, Rue de Molène, turn right and then left at the small children’s playground. Head towards the roundabout, go round it on the left to cross the car park next to the cemetery. Take the path between this car park and the Espace Jeunes, then the^first lane on the right.

(11) Warning: this section is off-limits (for over 1 km) in the event of the Seiche river rising and flooding.
Cross the small wooden bridge and continue straight ahead to reach a tarmac lane on the right. Turn left (houses on your right and a bench). Stay on this path with the Seiche on your left until you pass under the four-lane road. Ignore the path branching off to the right alongside the A-road and continue along the path with the Seiche on your left. Take the^first path on the right (bench on the left) which turns left then right until you reach Avenue d’Orson.

(12) Take the lane opposite on the left, behind the electricity substation, until you reach Rue Pierre Ronsard. Turn left and take the^first left into Rue Alfred de Musset, then follow the path to the right between Nos. 6 and 8, then left (with the pond on your left). Take the^first path on the right, then turn left onto Avenue de Cornouailles.

(13) Turn into the^first left, Rue Jean Mermoz, then the^first right, Rue Santos Dumont, followed by the^first left, Rue Georges Guynemer. At the end, take the small path that runs between two hedges and, at the end of that, turn right into Allée François Coli. Cross Rue Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and continue along the path opposite until you reach a tarmac lane.

(14) Turn left, then take the^first path on the right with wooden barriers (the Fours à Chaux and Ancienne Mine routes). Follow this path, which leads back to the park near the car park. Continue along the path through the park, opposite (with the ‘sail’ on your right-hand side), until you reach the bridge over the stream, then turn left and finally^take the^{second right} , which leads back up to the car park (S/E).

Don’t be misled by the elevation profile, as the route fluctuates between 0 m and 37 m; it’s more of a ‘false flat’ than any real ‘hills’.
A duration of between 3 hours 30 minutes (at 4.4 km/h) and 4 hours 30 minutes (at 3.4 km/h) seems reasonable to me.

(S/E) Tables, toilets, playground equipment, etc. in Chartres-de-Bretagne Park.
A few benches mentioned along the route.
Tables and benches in Noyal-Châtillon sur Seiche Park.