Between the pond and the forest in Martigné-Ferchaud

Very good yellow markings, sometimes with signs for the "MF06 - Entre étang et forêt" route.

(S/E) From Place Sainte-Anne, join Rue des Résistants and turn right. Pass in front of the Tourist Office. Turn into the first street on the left: Rue de Bellevue. Go straight ahead through the first roundabout.

(1) Ignore Rue du Docteur Le Frèche on your left and take the next left in front of the calvary: Rue Charles Rabot. Continue south on Promenade de la Lande. The road becomes a path.

(2) Go straight ahead through a roundabout and continue along a wide track. It makes a first turn right then left. Cross the road to the right and follow the signs for "Angers". Go over the "Rennes - Angers" four-lane road, then go through another roundabout and continue in the same direction.

(3) At La Landais on the right (200 m after the roundabout), take the small road on the left. At La Soulvachère, turn left onto a gravel path, then follow a path on the right heading due south. It widens and leads to a road, which you follow to the right for 100 m.

(4) Turn left and then left again at the edge of the forest onto a wide lane. Follow this lane due east until you reach a railway bridge. Continue straight ahead along the lane with a wooden barrier until you see a lake on your left. Continue until you reach a crossroads.

(5) See note in "Practical information"
Turn slightly right and follow the path southwards, still along the edge of the forest. Go around a field on your left.

(6) Walk along the private pond of Saint-Morand.

Follow the edge of the pond at a distance. Leave the access to the mill on your right and continue straight ahead, then after a right-hand bend, join the road.

(7) Turn left. Turn left again onto the D94. Cross and take the first street on the right. Continue to the left, then make the first turn right then left to rejoin the D94.

(8) Follow it to the right for a little over a hundred metres, then take the path on the right, which quickly heads east along a field. At the end, turn left. Go through the tunnel under the four-lane road and continue north-east to reach a road.

(9) Turn right, pass the houses on your right, then take the path on the left at the cross. Follow it left/right. Further on, it first turns left then right before reaching a road.

(10) Follow this road to the left, leaving La Sagourais on your right, until you reach the main road.

(11) Be careful to stay on the left-hand side of the road, which is relatively wide but unpaved.
Turn left onto the D53 and follow it for one kilometre.

(12) Turn right towards the car park and picnic area, then take a sharp left turn to follow the banks of the pond. Walk along the pond, staying as close to the bank as possible, and cross Martigné leisure park.

(13) Turn right between two large stones, then right again to follow the road and pass under the bridge. Take Rue du Feuillet to the town hall. Turn right onto Rue Paul Prime and return to Place Sainte Anne (S/E).

At (5), there is a sign for a shortcut: turn left at the end of the path and continue right until you reach the road. Follow the road to the left for 100 m to rejoin the route at (8).

Martigné-Ferchaud was very prosperous in the 17th century when a blast furnace, created in 1672 by René Saget, replaced the previously thriving hand-forge industry. The iron ore came from Loire-Atlantique and the charcoal from the surrounding forests. The iron was exported as far as the West Indies. (This may explain the town's name, which means "hot iron").

Étang de la Forge or Étang de Martigné. It covers 80 hectares and its waterfalls were once used to power the town's forges.

One man is also very famous: Émile Bridel, industrialist and founder of the Bridel dairies (butter, cheese, etc.), was born in 1918 in Martigné-Ferchaud. He died on 13 August 1994 in Missillac (Loire-Atlantique).