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Park at Place du Marché.
Follow the signposted route “In the footsteps of Paul Sérusier”
(S/E) From Place du Marché, head down towards Rue de la Mairie and follow it. Walk past the tourist office (saltire 1) then the town hall, where a mosaic is inspired by a painting by Sérusier. Leave Rue du Four on your left, turn right, walk past a fountain and arrive at Place de l’Église (saltire 8), where the museum is situated. Head towards Saint-Julien Church.
(1) Enter the church to discover, in the baptistery on the right, two frescoes by Sérusier painted between 1914 and 1918. Leave the church, walk round the building and head towards Rue Paul Sérusier. Walk down this street, past the house where he lived, and you’ll reach a fork in the road (saltire 4).
(2) Turn right onto a grassy path which winds downwards, running alongside a small valley on your right where sheep are grazing, and leads to the wash house (saltire 5). Continue to the right, join a street and cross a stream (saltire 6)
Off the route, take a detour through a newly landscaped park with a pond (not shown on the base maps) and continue downhill. Pass the sewage treatment works and reach a junction (saltire 7).
(3) Off the main route, turn into the Allée des Peupliers, which descends to the banks of the channelled River Aulne (Nantes–Brest Canal). Turn right, pass close to the old Pont du Roy, built under Louis XIII to replace an ancient ford, then cross the new bridge and continue along the towpath. Pass a covered picnic table, then a second one, and just after that, look out for a discreet path leading into the woods.
(4) Turn right and begin the slightly steep but steady climb up this narrow path, which leads to a crossroads of paths. Go down a few steps to the right, then turn left to join the Allée Notre-Dame des Portes, which climbs towards this imposing chapel with its slender bell tower. Note the porch of the old ossuary on the right.
(5) Inside this large chapel stands the statue of Notre-Dame des Portes, one of the five crowned Virgins of Brittany (a major pilgrimage festival is held on the penultimate weekend of August). Walk round the chapel to enjoy a view of the Aulne Valley, then continue along the esplanade, which passes by a wayside shrine, until you reach a crossroads (saltire 2).
Turn right onto Rue de Pontadig for a return trip to the Notre-Dame des Portes Fountain, then head back up Place du Marché (saltire 3) to the car park (S/E).
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