Passing by the old lime kilns at Erbray

A pleasant walk in the countryside that takes us past old lime kilns.

Details

266547
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 10.42 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 44 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 44 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 85 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 54 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ City: Erbray (44110)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 47.656619° / W 1.312169°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 1321SB
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

(S/E) Start near the Étang de la Mouette, on the D40 which bypasses the village of Erbray. Follow the D40 southwards for about 100m. Turn left onto a wide land consolidation track.

(1) At the first junction, continue straight ahead along the track (the track to the right is the return route).

(2) At the second junction, follow the small road, almost opposite, towards the hamlet of La Priais. Walk past the hamlet to reach another junction.

(3) Turn right, pass through the hamlet of Le Perray and cross the D40. Continue along the road straight ahead and pass through the pretty hamlet of La Pélouinais. Follow the small road to La Jeussais.

(4) Take the D122 on the right, cross the village to the Route de la Coltière, which you take on the right, and pass in front of La Coltière (cider shop). Continue along the road.

(5) Turn left uphill onto the road leading to Launay-Morisseau. At the entrance to the hamlet, take the road on the right and continue.

(6) Leave the road and go straight on at the bend to take a narrow, seemingly little-used path. At the end of the path, about 100m on, take the wider track on the right and continue along the road past the houses in the hamlet known as Le Cormier. Then, walk alongside the site operated by MEAC and turn left.

(7) The old lime kilns are located on the site, to the right of the road. There is also an Ecomuseum (see appendix). Join the D40, turn left and follow the road until the next bend at La Boulais.

(8) Take the small road on the right, cross the hamlet and continue until you reach the land consolidation track from the outward journey.

(1) Turn left to follow this track in the opposite direction. At the end of the track, follow the road to the right and you will arrive at the Étang de la Mouette (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 54 m - Car park near the Étang de la Mouette
  2. 1 : km 0.66 - alt. 66 m - Crossroads for the outward and return journeys
  3. 2 : km 1.67 - alt. 64 m - Junction
  4. 3 : km 3.11 - alt. 70 m - At the crossroads, turn right
  5. 4 : km 5.27 - alt. 72 m - La Jeussais
  6. 5 : km 6.52 - alt. 68 m - Turn left towards Launay-Morisseau.
  7. 6 : km 7.98 - alt. 78 m - Take the small sunken path opposite
  8. 7 : km 8.63 - alt. 80 m - Site of the old lime kilns and Ecomuseum
  9. 8 : km 9.33 - alt. 85 m - La Boulais
  10. S/E : km 10.42 - alt. 54 m - Car park near the Étang de la Mouette

Notes

A gentle, very pleasant walk, with no difficulty at all. But there is a lot of tarmac. Can be done in trainers.

Worth a visit

Ecomuseum: Exhibition on the work and life of lime burners and an old lime kiln.
Very interesting. To visit, you must contact the Tourist Office in advance on 02.40.28.20.90.

Reviews and comments

4.1 / 5
Based on 5 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
3 / 5
Norman49
Norman49

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 04, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Very busy route : No

This route runs almost entirely along tarmac "paths" or follows tarmac roads. The landscape is of no interest whatsoever, except for the occasional encounter with a motor vehicle, for which it is clearly best suited.
We have rarely been so disappointed.

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tugny44
tugny44

Thank you for letting me know. I’ll pop round to see what can be done.
Kind regards.

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JbJt
JbJt
• Edited:

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 24, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Please note that the MEAC has redesigned the surrounding area by installing barriers that make it impossible to follow the route.
You have no choice but to turn back at (6).
The old lime kiln is still visible, though it too is behind barriers.

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Georges et Martine
Georges et Martine

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 02, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant route, with a few stretches on the road, and a notable section past the lime kilns.

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pipouette
pipouette

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 04, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

A really lovely walk. I really enjoyed it because I had no trouble finding my way around

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tugny44
tugny44

Thank you for your comment; it’s a very helpful addition to my description of this walk.
In fact, a significant part of this trail follows the route described by the Castelbriantais Tourist Office. However, a few errors in the signposting led me off the original path. And I thought it would be interesting to extend the trail slightly by adding a bit of elevation to what is otherwise a very flat route.
But you’re right, this route crosses other paths and it’s important to follow the route shown on Visorando closely.

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plidenantes
plidenantes

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 05, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A pleasant walk, with varied scenery and plenty of flowers, including some unexpected species. There isn’t actually that much tarmac, and where there is, it’s often flanked by a wide grassy verge where you can walk. And the Étang de la Mouette offers a pleasant, well-equipped spot for a picnic.
However, it is essential to follow the map’s directions carefully (or to follow the GPS track exactly). There are markings along the path, yellow as is now the fashion, but in places these do not correspond to the lime kiln trail as described on the map and seem to relate to several different walks. Three critical points:
- on arrival at La Jeussais, the path is blocked by a Yellow Cross, but is no longer signposted beyond that point. It leads to a dead end. Therefore: follow the map, enter the village and, once on the D40, turn right.
- Another path appears on the left, well signposted, but it does not lead in the right direction at all (towards the water tower). Probably a competing walking route...
- Between La Jeussais and the junction for Lanay-Morisseau (checkpoint no. 5), there are no more markings. From the junction, the markings are good quality all the way to the site of the old lime kilns.
- Upon arrival at the lime kilns site, several crosses block the path. It seems there is another route leading to the shared section of the return path (a very narrow path is signposted on the way to the lime kilns), but it is unclear.

The moral of the story: follow the Visorando map, and you’ll be fine! A walk worth doing again.

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