The Tannery and 5 Mills Route starting from Château-Renault

Park in the car park at Château-Renault Town Hall, Rue du Château.

(S/E) Enter the castle grounds through the gate beneath the Clock Tower. Enjoy the view from the town hall esplanade over the valleys, the town, the church and the old tanneries.
Climb the steps and note the old chapel destroyed by the castle fire in 1907, then the outdoor gallery beneath the lime trees, featuring the work of the naïve painter André Bauchant
Just past the gate on the right, enter the dry moat that once protected the castle from invaders. Head towards the junction of Rue Renan and Rue du Château.

(1) Continue straight ahead along Rue du Château, cross Rue Gambetta, and carry on straight ahead to reach Rue Mme Sornas and then Impasse Gault. At the end of the cul-de-sac, take the path to reach the Ruisseau Le Gault.

(2) Cross the stream, turn right twice, then left into the Prés de Moulinet to reach the green corridor. Follow the Gault to reach the Moulin de Moulinet.

(3) Turn left, cross the Gault twice, then cross Rue Victor Hugo. Head left for about 20 metres and continue right along Chemin de la Taille, passing the old abattoirs. You’ll reach a path junction.
Turn right before the woods and follow the Gault again, then cross it. You’ll emerge behind Saint-André Church, with its remarkable stained-glass windows.

(4) Turn left, then left again onto Rue Ernest Bellanger and follow it to the junction with Rue Marceau. Turn left onto Rue Marceau for a few metres until you find a staircase on the right.

(5) Turn right up these steps onto a steep path leading to Rue Trousseau. Take this on the right and follow it to the end. Continue left between the buildings along the path leading to Rue Louis Delamotte. Turn right onto this street and join Rue de Beauregard.

(6) Turn right onto this street; at the junction with Rue de la Foulerie, continue straight ahead along the path. Enter Parc de la Foulerie, where you will reach the left bank of the Brenne; turn left to follow it. Join Rue de la Foulerie.

(7) Turn right, cross the Brenne and immediately turn right to follow the right bank this time. As you leave the park, cross Avenue du Maine to quickly reach the community of communes building opposite; this is the former tanneries district.

(8) Walk through this neighbourhood via the narrow streets, pass Rue de la République and continue along Place Gaston Bardet. Walk past the Tannery buildings, the Media Library and the former MJC. You’ll come out onto Rue Vauchevrier. Turn right onto it, cross the Brenne again, then turn left into Rue de l’Abreuvoir. Head towards the Moulin de Vauchevrier and, a few metres further on, you’ll reach a crossroads with a footpath.

(9) Keep left on the street, go under the bridge on the D910. Continue straight on this road, following the Brenne at a distance until you reach the Moulin de Gravier, then leave the Chemin / Rue du Gravier on your right and continue straight on.

(10) Continue straight ahead, staying on the road to Neuville-sur-Brenne, following the Brenne river until you reach a T-junction.

(11) Turn right up Rue du Gabon, then continue along Rue de Perchêne. Go downhill, passing under the power lines. Further on, after a hairpin bend to the left, you’ll reach the Moulin de Perchêne.

(12) Continue along the road, crossing the Brenne, the Rondy and the railway line. Leave the road immediately afterwards and take the path on the left before the bridge. Shortly afterwards, turn left; here you will find the^GR®655West, marked in red and white. Pass under the power lines again. Follow the edge of the woods, then enter the woods. Pass the buildings at Guillemoreau. Turn right to reach a road.

(13) Turn left onto it and cross the small river, the Glaise. Stay on this road which runs alongside the woods. You’ll reach a T-junction at the edge of the woods. Take the road on the left, still marked in red and white, and follow the woods. Cross the railway line and you’ll reach the junction of the Route de Neuville-sur-Brenne and Rue de Gabon.

(11) Turn right onto Rue de Neuville to reach the Moulin de Gravier junction.

(10) Leave the^GR® here and take the path on the left towards the districts of Grand Tronchot and La Folie. Head down to the right along Rue de Vauchevrier to return to the Moulin de Vauchevrier crossroads.

(9) Turn left, follow the stony path up into the castle grounds, walk along the edge of the woods then cross to the right before returning to the original junction with Rue du Château.

(1) Turn right and follow the same route as on the way there to return to the town hall car park (S/E).

You can take shelter or have a picnic at the Halle aux Écorces (9) if needed.

Don’t miss the entrance: the 11th-century Clock Tower with its wooden defensive battlements.
The views from the castle and town hall over the town from the ramparts and the castle forecourt, and the 11th-century round tower, built on a mound of earth and now partially collapsed.
The old tannery buildings which house the Leather and Tannery Museum (open during the season or by appointment).
(2) The rivers form the backbone of the route; the Brenne and the Gault are freshwater rivers home to brown trout.
(Between 2 and 4) the Coulée Verte is a wetland area with many remarkable tree species.
The Perchène mill, ideally situated on the Brenne, is said to have existed since the year 1000.
(3) The old Moulinet mill produced tannin for tanning hides.
The old abattoirs have been converted into municipal halls.
(4) Saint-André Church: note on the left the former ‘Bains Douches’ (public baths) incorporated into the Relais d’Assistance Maternelle building (Le Martin Pêcheur).
(Between 7 and 8) take in the view on the right of the old tanneries, the castle and the church.
(8) Tannery district, where leather for soles was produced.
(Before 9) Bark market and Vauchevrier tanning mill