Between hills and ancient Breton polders in Roz-sur-Couesnon

Roz-sur-Couesnon Town Hall - Belvédère car park.

Before setting off, take the time to enjoy a 180° panoramic view of the Bay of Mont Saint-Michel from the belvedere behind the town hall. An orientation table helps you to interpret the landscape.

(S/E) Then walk up the street to reach the village centre. Pass by the church and take Rue de la Margasse (D389 - towards Saint-Malo) to the Croix Châtre crossroads. Go past the intersection.

(1) Turn right into Impasse du Pré au Moine. After a few houses, continue along the dirt track, taking the left fork, which crosses through meadows. Walk alongside a property surrounded by fences before rejoining the road.

(2) At the gate, turn right onto the road and continue along the property, which is "hidden from view". You will come to a bend and join the GR®34 (white-red markings) by leaving the road on the left. Descend into the woods and cross a stream via a footbridge. You will arrive at a place called Tertal. Take the road on the left and you will arrive at a wide crossroads. Turn right onto the path, staying on the GR®. Cross the pastures and you will come to an intersection.

(3) Leave the GR® and follow a PR® trail, turning right. Pass through Haute-Bahaldière, then turn left towards Bahaldière.

(4) Follow the Route du Tertre Rougi to the right. At the crossroads, turn right onto a dirt track, which joins Impasse Pinet, leading to the D797 at La Poultière. Cross the road carefully to reach the opposite side.

(5) At the stop sign, turn right onto Rue du Ruet. Leave the hamlet and pass in front of a lake. Stay parallel to the road until you reach a crossroads. Avoid joining the D797 at the intersection by turning your back on it.

(6) At the next crossroads, leave the Route de la Paltière à Paluet by turning right onto a bridge over a ditch. Head towards Les Quatre Salines, passing La Grange au Bois. Arrive at the hamlet and pass in front of a modern hotel. Cross the crossroads (stop sign) and arrive at La Maison des Polders.

(7) After stopping (depending on opening hours), take Rue des Mondrins on the left, then turn left onto a greenway. At the crossroads, avoid the road again by staying on a parallel path below.

(8) At the fork in Impasse des Polders in the hamlet of La Rue, follow the small road that leads to the D797.

(9) Headopposite towards the hamlet of La Rue. Turn right and look for the entrance to Manoir de la Rue on your right. AtLa Ville, turn left in front of a house with red shutters. Take the small tarmac road that leads to Val Saint-Revert before winding your way up through the forest to the D389.

(10) Turn right onto the road and cross the hamlet. At the crossroads, turn left towards Pleine Fougères (D289) then leave the road at a bend and take a track on the right.

(11) At Moulin de Launay, take the path on the left through the fields. At the intersection, near a pond, turn right towards the village of Roz-sur-Couesnon via a path followed by a tarmac road at Pont Auvray. Continue along Rue du Douet Curieux, which leads to the village wash house. This municipal wash house in Douet Curieux (late 19th century) is made of granite and schist and has been restored by the municipality. This is where women used to gather to tell stories about the village...

(12) Finally, follow the D289 to the primary school, then turn right to return to the belvedere car park (S/E).

In front of the Maison des Polders, there are two picnic tables where you can take a break.

This route is largely similar to this one, although the direction has been reversed so that visitors can visit the Maison des Polders during opening hours.

Roz-sur-Couesnon:
Enjoy a superb panorama from the viewpoint next to the town hall.

Other routes have been marked out around Roz-sur-Couesnon. Some sections of these have been combined to form the circular route described. You can download them here

The Maison des Polders
Housed in a beautifully restored 17th-century building, this museum allows you to discover the history of a great conquest over the sea in the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel: 3,000 hectares of land reclaimed and desalinated, now used for market gardening and cereal crops.
More information here

The Manoir de la Rue
The manor house dates back to 1574. It was built by Jean Ybert, whose daughter married Georges Simon. Several generations of Simons followed until 1699, including Françoise Thérèse Simon, wife of Julien de Brumes de Montlouet. One of their children, François (1712-1765), was Vicar General of Dol and then Bishop of Saint-Omer.
The entrance to the manor house, on the south side, is an imposing porch built in grand style, with a large vaulted ceiling and a gate in the same style. Unfortunately, the upper part of this structure has been damaged.

Saint-Marcan : (5 km via the D797): Drive to this village, which has a Chappe tower:built in 1799, this device enabled messages to be transmitted between Mont-Dol and Mont Saint-Michel on the Paris-Brest line. The mechanism has been completely renovated.