Long route east of Péaule

Park in the small car park below the Moulin de Fescal.

(S/E) Start at the edge of the RD 148, just downstream from the old Moulin de Fescal.
Cross the RD to take a small path that leads under the hazelnut trees towards the hamlet of Téneurien. Pass between the houses and continue along the sunken path that begins between the last two buildings. Further on, this path joins a small road, which you follow for about 200 metres.

(1) Leave the road and enter the woods. The path crosses a magnificent forest on the hillside before passing along the edge of agricultural plots. When you reach the surrounding wall of Fescal Castle, note the beautiful stone oven on the right-hand side of the path.
Pass the castle entrance and go around the outbuildings on the left before coming out onto a small road. Turn right until you reach the foot of the castle.

(2) Leave the road and take the path on the left that descends through the chestnut trees. In wet weather, it can be muddy in the lower part, just before reaching the dyke that blocks the valley. This dyke, which was probably part of an old water mill, is now disused. Cross the valley and turn right to follow it. Go around the hillside before turning right to cross a stream, then climb up the opposite slope to rejoin a farm track. Turn right to reach the village of Fescal Goff.

(3) Follow the road into the village, then turn right, descending between two houses. Pass a road on the right and take the track that branches off to the left after a sharp bend. As you climb back up to the plateau, you will see the village of Kerligo, which you can reach via a wide farm track.
Cross the village and continue along the road that leads to it until you reach another farm track that branches off to the left. Take this track to reach Kerdoré, which you also cross.

(4) Just before the last houses, take the path that branches off to the left at the bend. It winds between two beautiful tree-lined hedges before coming out onto a forest edge. Turn right and follow it to reach a road. Pass the first buildings of the village of Kermoué and turn left onto a path at the first bend. After a bend, this path continues north until it reaches the valley where the Étang du Doyenné stream flows.

(5) As you approach the stream, turn left and follow it until you reach a footbridge. Turn right to cross the stream and climb up the opposite slope until you reach the village of Saint André. Just before you get there, leave a path on your left and go around a ruin and the adjoining garden on your left to reach the fountains and wash houses that once served the village. Go up towards the Saint-André Chapel via the path on the left before the fountain.

(6) Opposite the chapel, turn left and follow the road to the village of Tréluban. At the first crossroads, turn right and continue between the beautiful granite houses. Once you have passed them, continue straight on downhill towards a stream and turn right to cross it. Climb up the opposite slope along a wide path lined with pine trees.

(7) When you reach a farm track, turn right, go around the recent farm buildings and follow several bends before reaching the RD148. Cross the road and continue opposite along a tree-lined farm track. To bypass the hamlet of Kerichard, the path winds through an environment of moorland planted with tall pine trees. At the crossroads after the village, turn right onto a beautiful path that descends towards the village of Rocu.

(8) This village is bypassed to the north, as is the next village, Lescuit. Between the two, the path becomes a balcony above the Étier river, whose reflections can be seen below if the vegetation is not too dense.
At Lescuit, turn left at the crossroads, descend for about 100 metres, then, when the path goes between two embankments, turn right onto the first path you come to. A few hundred metres further on, the route reaches the Étang du Doyenné stream again, which it crosses via an old mill dyke with a footbridge.

(9) Cross the stream and turn left to reach the edge of the Étier via a path that becomes uneven towards the end. From this point, the route is like a roller coaster, alternating between ascents and descents between the river banks and the plateau.
Go up the path that leads to the farmland and go around it by following the edge. After a left turn, the path descends into a small valley and climbs back up after a hairpin bend to the right. A nice slope takes you up to the outskirts of the village of Château, but at the crossroads halfway up the slope, leave the path that leads there and take the one on the left that goes back down to the river.
Reach the river and take the footbridge, which now leads to the north bank of the port of Folleux.

(10) After the footbridge, continue down the Étier. Shortly before the confluence with the Vilaine, the path leaves the bank and tackles the steepest part of the slope. If you are unable to take the very rugged path, you can follow the track on the right-hand side of the path. This makes it easier to reach the plateau again. Leave a path on the right and then turn left to go around the agricultural plots surrounding the village of Château. After re-entering the woods, the path climbs up a small valley on the hillside.

(11) After crossing the stream that flows there, take the path on the left that leads to the Vilaine on the opposite slope.
Then follow the river for about two kilometres, walking along the paths that run more or less alongside it. A stony, steep passage marks the approach to the high-voltage power lines that have such an impact on the landscape in this area.
The agricultural or forest paths that have been established more or less high up on the hillside lead to the outskirts of the village of Kerubaud, where the route again deviates from the river.

(12) At the crossroads just below the first houses in the village, turn left to reach La Falaise, a place named after two small houses lost in the greenery. Turn left when you reach the farm track, which then continues into the woods with a much more uneven profile. After a steep climb, it reaches another track, which you follow by turning left.
As you are at a high point, all you have to do is go back down.
This is what the path does as it descends into a new valley. On the way up, turn left three times to go around the Kergerbé hill. In the part closest to the river, there are some beautiful views of the river and the steep bend at Port-es-Gerbes.

(13) Back on the plateau, follow the path that separates the woods from the farmland. Pass two paths on the right and turn left at the third. The route then begins a long descent to the banks of the Vilaine and the stream that marks the boundary with Marzan. A few boats find a very bucolic refuge here.

(14) Take the path that climbs back up the valley for over a kilometre and a half to return to the starting point through a beautiful forest area. Finally, a flat and relaxing section of the route takes you back to the Moulin de Fescal car park (S/E).

(10) The footbridge over the Étier provides access to Foleux and the services and shops located there.

(Shortly before 10) At one of the corners of the crossroads leading to the footbridge, a tree (unfortunately dead) makes a complete circular motion before returning to an upright position.

(10) The port of Foleux is located on both banks of the Vilaine and the Étier du Trévelo and is home to boats, some of which come here to spend the winter sheltered from the harsh sea conditions.

Between La Falaise (12) and Kergerbé (13), on a right-hand bend, you will pass a steep path on your left with a sign for Port-es-Gerbes. After 100 metres, you will come to a magnificent viewpoint overlooking the two meanders of the Vilaine below.