The Chemin Mélouin in the Fougères Forest

Coming from Fougères, park on Rue Mélouin, after the speed bumps.

(S/E) Walk up Rue Mélouin until you reach Allée de la Teurtais on your right.
Cross over and take Chemin de la Forairie opposite. After the houses, the road becomes a footpath and ends at Route de la Touche.

Take the road on the left, then, after the houses, turn onto the path on the right: this path does not appear on IGN maps. Turn right onto Allée Forestière du Galoupel until you reach the forest house.

(1) Cross the D108 road with great care. After joining the path opposite, turn immediately left to follow the road. The path leads to a three-way junction on the left: road / lane.

Take the lane on the right. This is the Ligne Forestière du Chemin Mélouin. Follow it all the way, heading north-north-east. When you reach a clearing on your right, the lane becomes a path. Ignore the first path on the left and join the^GR®34.

Red and white markings of^{the GR®34}

(2) Turn left onto the^GR® and walk along the right-hand side of the lake at the Chêdenet Leisure Centre. The path veers northwards then westwards to reach the Route Forestière du Rocher. Cross the road and continue straight ahead. Follow this path, which is more or less well-marked, until you reach a crossroads.

No further signposting

(3) Let the^GR® head off to the right and turn left (path not shown on IGN maps).
Follow the Ruisseau de la Grande Rivière and pass the two ponds of the Moulin d'Avion on your left. Reach the D108

(4) Cross the D108 road with great care. Continue straight ahead, following the Ruisseau de la Grande Rivière more or less closely. After a sharp bend to the right, you will reach a forest track.

(5) Follow it to the left, heading south. When you reach the Ligne Forestière du Gué aux Merles, turn left and continue for about 250 m.

(6) Turn right onto the path. Further on, turn right onto the path leading to the banks of the Nançon. Cross the footbridges and reach the road.

(7) Turn left towards the Pont aux Ânes and head uphill through the woods.

(8) At the junction with the Voie Verte, continue straight on.
Shortcut option: follow the Voie Verte to the left to reach point 10 directly. After a right-hand bend, turn left and, at the crossroads, continue straight on.

(9) Go through the tunnel under the road and continue south. Turn left towards the riding school, then right into Rue Louis Garin. Turn left twice, then take a path on the right after the last houses to reach the Voie Verte. Follow it to the right.

(10) Go up the stairs on the left and follow Chemin de Fontaine la Chèze straight on to the roundabout.

Turn left, cross the road and continue along the path opposite after the entrance to a property. This path does not appear on IGN maps but is marked on OSM. At the crossroads, continue along the path opposite and pass the pedestrian crossing.

(11) Immediately turn right onto the path that climbs and ends in the housing estate. Turn left, then take the first street on the left. At the green space with a basketball court, turn right and walk along the edge of the A-road.
The path leads to Rue Mélouin, which you take to the left to cross the ring road bridge and return to the start (S/E).

In the Middle Ages, ‘white gold’ (salt) was widely used to preserve foodstuffs and even, at times, as fertiliser on so-called poor soils. From 1380 onwards, unlike independent Brittany, Maine, Normandy and Anjou paid a tax on salt. Despite its annexation, Brittany retained its privilege in the 16th century.

It was along the Chemin Mélouin that the salt smugglers carried salt from Brittany, where it was untaxed, to Normandy, where it was worth twenty times as much. Moreover, the customs officers were never far behind. They would tear open the sacks, hence the name ‘Chemin de Gâte-Sel’ given to this stretch of road.