Condé-sur-Vire - Pont-Farcy via the greenway

(S) Departure from the car park at the canoe-kayak base.

(1) Immediately take the path that runs along the left side of the car park.

(2) When you reach the banks of the Vire, take the path on the right towards the club. Cross the club grounds, leaving the kayak polo pool on your right.

(3) You will reach the Moulin de Vire lock on your left. Continue on.

(4) Reach the Boisselière bridge, also on your left, and continue along the Vire (on the left bank).
When you reach the Pont de la Roque bridge, the path splits in two: left over the bridge, right to the hydroelectric power station and Mesnil-Raoult.

(5) Change banks, turn left onto the bridge and head towards the village of Pont de la Roque. Do not continue along the Vire on the right after the bridge, as this is private property, clearly marked as such.
Cross this small village.

(6) Turn right at the crossroads.
Continue along the Route de l'Angle until you reach the Vire again, but on the right bank. Cross the bridge.

(7) Turn left immediately.
Continue along the Vire. The path is sometimes marked "Chemin de Halage" on small wooden signs. Sometimes other signs on small metal panels indicate "Tessy-Le Mont-Saint-Michel".
The hike passes through the hamlet of La Chapelle-sur-Vire (commune of Troisgots).

(8) Pass behind the chapel (which is quite large), between the chevet and the Vire.
The path then continues along the Vire to the Moulin de Ferrevaches dam (private property marked by a large solid wooden gate).

(9) Leave the banks of the Vire by taking the access road to the Moulin dam, turning sharply right and climbing towards the hamlet of La Maigrerie.

(10) At the crossroads in the hamlet, turn left, following the well-marked "Voie verte" signs.

The road quickly turns into a stabilised sand path, leading to the Bouttemont lock.

(11) The path then rejoins the towpath along the banks of the Vire to Tessy-sur-Vire.

(12) Continue along the towpath, passing under the bridge, still on the same bank.

(13) The trail crosses the Vire again, bringing you to the left bank (two branches and an island) at the lock of the Val hydroelectric power station, then follows a bend in the river known as "Le Nid du Loup" (the wolf's nest).

(14) The path leaves the towpath at another lock, also known as the Val lock (hamlet of La Masure de Bas), but remains close to the Vire on the right bank.

(15) The trail then rejoins the towpath, passing directly under the A84 motorway.
Continue on the right bank, pass the lock and the Pont-Farcy power station and reach a large open space, the former port of Pont-Farcy.

(16) The trail climbs back up to the D675 road.
The road climbs into the village of Pont-Farcy.

(17) Head to the centre of the village and turn right onto the street called "Place de l'église" until you reach the 17th and 18th century church.
This is the end of the hike.

The return journey follows the same route (follow the waypoint numbers in reverse order).

(E) You will arrive at the car park of the canoe and kayak centre.

Equipment required: a mountain bike or hybrid bike.

Walking or running is possible.

Good eyesight to look around and find the signs for "Voie Verte" or "Chemin de Halage" or "Tessy - Le Mont St Michel" or "Pont-Farcy - Le Mont St Michel" that mark the route.

No water refills along the route (unless you stop at a café in one of the villages you pass through).

Shelter is available under the Tessy-sur-Vire bridge (12) and the A84 motorway (15) (and in the open churches in the villages you pass through).

At the start or on the way back: canoe and kayak centre, rentals available, several models available.
Les Roches de Ham: panoramic view of the Vire valley, leaving the route. Clear signage from the Pont de la Roque.
All along the route: locks and mini hydroelectric power stations, some still in operation.
La Chapelle-sur-Vire: visit the chapel, a place of ancestral Marian pilgrimage. Children's games, picnic area.
Summer 2014: outdoor exhibition of contemporary art objects in the trees, as part of the Bords de Vire festival.

At Pont-Farcy, the end of the hike, until around 1926, barges carried lime from Carentan upstream and granite and cereals downstream, which explains the large open space, the old port and its long quays.
In the centre stands the 17th- and 18th-century Church of Saint John the Baptist. Its Gothic porch, dating from 1673, shows that Gothic architecture was still being built in the most rural villages of Normandy.
War memorial to the two wars with a soldier lying dying and an allegory presenting him with a laurel wreath, both in bronze.