The La Grée to Plumelec route

Park on Allée de la France Libre on the site of a former mine near the memorial.

(S/E) Head south-west, then, after 100 m, take the small path on the left which very quickly joins another path; follow this one to the left as well. When you reach a Y-junction, take the right-hand branch and continue to the right for a further 100 m. The path veers to the right, eventually leading onto a small road. Continue straight on until you reach the D126 departmental road.

(1) Turn right onto this road and continue left towards Coëtny; immediately afterwards, take the path on the right.

(2) When you reach a road, follow it to the right for 150 m, then turn left onto another road. Follow this road to the left to reach Le Halliguen, passing a wayside cross on your right.

(3) After the^first house, follow the path to the left to reach Kerrivalen. At the fork in the road, turn left, then after 50 m follow the path to the right. At another fork in the road, turn left again; at the end of the path you’ll find the^GR®38.

Red and white markings for^{the GR®38}

(4) Turn left. After crossing a road, carry on straight ahead and you’ll reach Linier.

(5) When you reach the last house on the left, turn right, heading towards Poulan whilst ignoring it on your right. The road becomes a path and veers to the right, first towards the south-east and then towards the south. When you reach a road, take it to the left and follow it as it curves to the left, passing, on your right-hand side, close to Cadoudal Castle and the Manor House. Join the D126.

(6) Follow this road to the right for a good hundred metres, then turn left towards Létiernan. Pass through the hamlet and continue for 50 metres.

No further signposting

(7) In the bend, where the^{GR® path} follows the road, turn left before a small bridge spanning the Claie. Head due north until you reach a road. Follow it to the right for 150 metres, then turn left to cross Treuzel, veering to the right. Walk due north to the Kerfiloué crossroads.

(8) Very soon after crossing the junction, turn right. The path curves widely to the right. Shortly after passing the junction of another path on your right and before reaching the houses, turn left, heading due west, to join the Route de Bout de Ville.

(9) Turn right, then immediately left. The path leads to the old mine and thus to the car park (S/E).

Between Cadoudal and Plumelec, this stretch of the D126 is famous in the world of cycling: it is the renowned Cadoudal climb, with an average gradient of 6.2 per cent over a distance of 1.7 km, rising from an altitude of 50 metres at the Manoir de Cadoudal and the bridge over the Claie to 156 metres in the village. It features in all races, whether departmental, regional or even national, such as the Tour de France.

Georges Cadoudal was born on¹ January 1771 in Brec’h, a small town in Morbihan near Saint-Anne d’Auray. The son of wealthy farmers and endowed with Herculean strength, he became a general in the Chouan army and commander of the Catholic and Royal Army of Brittany. He was eventually guillotined on 25 June 1804 in Paris.

At (3) La Croix Bouétard: a monument erected in honour of Corporal Bouétard, the first casualty among the allied paratroopers dropped to organise the liberation of France.

Near (7) the Migourdy dolmens: there used to be two chamber dolmens here; one has crumbled away without leaving a trace, whilst the other still has a fine capstone.