Route de la Vignonnière

Park in the car park at Saint-Martin-de-Sallen Town Hall.

(S/E) With your back to the town hall, head towards the church to leave the car park and turn right twice straight away. Head uphill towards Saint-Bénin, let the D 134 turn left and continue straight on along Rue de la Chapelle, following the^GR®36(red and white markings). Ignore a road on the right and continue uphill to a fork (sign marking the end of the built-up area).

(1) At the fork, leave the D 134 and turn right towards the Chapelle Saint-Joseph, still following the^GR®36. Walk for about 600 m to a junction near the wayside shrine and the chapel.

(2) Continue straight on, climbing steeply up to the Chapelle Saint-Joseph (let the^GR® turn left). Pass between the chapel and the wayside cross, then head straight down (south-east then east-south-east) to a road.

(3) Cross the road carefully and take the forest path opposite, which descends to the D 134. Cross this road with extreme caution, then follow it to the left towards Le Mesnil-Roger. Walk very carefully along the right-hand verge of the road for about 500 m.

(4) Then turn sharply right onto a smaller road. Cross the hamlet and the Vignonnière stream and continue for about 700 m towards Meslier. At the junction with the Chemin de la Vignonnière, turn right, pass number 39 on the Chemin des Quesnots and walk about 50 m until you reach Rue des Mesliers.

(5) Cross the street then turn left towards Suisse Normande. After about 50 metres, take the Chemin de Quévrus on the right before a pylon. Follow the path for about 600 m until you reach a three-way junction and rejoin the^GR®36near a pylon on the right.

(6) Turn right and follow the^GR®36for about 1.4 km until you reach a road.

(7) Turn right onto Rue du Col, which is initially a gravel track and then tarmac, and follow the signs for the village of Saint-Martin-de-Sallen. Walk for about 500 m until you reach Rue de la Source and the D 134. Cross this road very carefully and continue straight ahead to go round the church on the right. Emerge on the other side opposite the town hall car park. Cross Rue du Tour de Ville and take Rue des Écoles to reach the car park (S/E).

For a slightly longer version, see a variant between (2) and (3).

Saint Martin’s Church
It dates from the 12th century and was extensively altered in the 17th and 20th centuries.
"Few remains of the original construction; herringbone masonry, a Romanesque semicircular door with some so-called star-shaped decorations. The 20th-century bell tower features a limestone sundial." (Wikipedia)

"The church, situated in the middle of a valley bordered by fairly high hills, features some ancient sections in the walls of the nave and chancel with stones laid in a herringbone pattern; however, as in almost all churches, there are repairs and windows that have been re-cut into these walls. In the north wall of the nave, one can make out a blocked-up, semicircular door without mouldings, whose keystones are divided by cement. The tower to the west is modern." (A de Caumont 1-165)

The Chapel of Saint Joseph
The Calvary is older than the chapel. Made of granite, it was inaugurated in 1846 by the mayor and the parish priest of Saint-Martin-de-Sallen.
The chapel dates from the 19th–20th centuries. The small chapel was built, following a terrible epidemic, by Father Loisel, the parish priest, in accordance with a promise made to Saint Joseph. “Built in 1871; it was destroyed by fire in 1919 and then completely rebuilt. The walled belfry, topped with a gable cross, offers a glimpse of the bell. The same architectural style can be found at the Bonne-Nouvelle Chapel (in the commune of Esson) on the other side of the Orne, which serves as a counterpart to the Saint-Joseph Chapel” (Wikipedia)
Damaged again during the Second World War, the chapel was solemnly consecrated by the Bishop of Lisieux following its renovation in 1958.
Stones from the 19th-century construction were reused in the current building, as evidenced by the inscriptions still legible on the gable’s cornerstones.