The Iron Route - Discovering the mining region of Orne

During this hike, you will discover surprising mining remains: iron mine shafts, calcination furnaces from before and after 1938, and a mining town.

The hike begins along a Way of the Cross that will take you to the Calvary of Mont Brûlé.
The hike winds through the undergrowth and follows a few sections of road.

During your journey, you will discover a castle and an old watermill nestled in a green setting.

Details

1446429
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 12.90 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 10 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 173 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 172 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 296 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 195 m

Description of the walk

Lac de la Morinière car park

(S/E) Go through the iron gate and climb up to the calvary. Go around the calvary on the left and continue along the path.

(1) Take the road on the right and continue towards La Fieffe.
.
(2) At La Fieffe, follow the "Voie sans Issue" road on your left until you reach the next crossroads. At the crossroads, turn left towards the Pralon well.

(3) Turn around, return to the crossroads (262m) and continue on the left.

(4) Opposite the model-making club, take the path furthest to the right (information sign).

(5) Turn right towards the open-cast mine. Retrace your steps and continue along the path.

(6) Follow the yellow marked trail to the right, crossing the D825.

(7) Continue straight ahead on the yellow dotted trail until you reach a road.

(8) Cross the D21, continue along the path and follow the road that runs alongside the Étang du Vieux Fourneau on the left. After 500m, turn right towards Moulin Neuf. Cross the D21 again and arrive at the Butte Rouge site. Turn left for a return trip.

(9) Site of the old kilns at Butte Rouge. Return to the path and continue to a small road on the left, which will take you to the calcination kilns.

(10) Calcination kilns, turn right and continue to Gué Plat.

(11) At Gué Plat, turn left and cross the mining town via Rue de la Piscine, Rue des Tilleuls and Route des Puits.

(12) Turn left towards La Fieffe and return to the starting point via the road.

(2) Continue straight ahead, heading north, pass the hamlet of Le Brûlé, then turn right via Les Riautés and arrive at the lake car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 254 m - Morinière Lake car park
  2. 1 : km 0.71 - alt. 273 m - Road on the right-hand side
  3. 2 : km 1.66 - alt. 285 m - La Fieffe. Fork in the road for the outward and return journeys.
  4. 3 : km 2.28 - alt. 270 m - Pralon Shaft
  5. 4 : km 2.98 - alt. 278 m - Model-making club
  6. 5 : km 3.11 - alt. 280 m - Open-pit mine
  7. 6 : km 3.87 - alt. 289 m - On the right-hand side - Yellow markings
  8. 7 : km 5.58 - alt. 241 m - Straight ahead - Yellow dotted markings
  9. 8 : km 6.41 - alt. 208 m - Crossing the D21
  10. 9 : km 8.23 - alt. 202 m - La Butte Rouge - Site of the old furnaces
  11. 10 : km 9.5 - alt. 195 m - Calcination furnaces
  12. 11 : km 10.54 - alt. 225 m - Le Gué Plat
  13. 12 : km 11.27 - alt. 252 m - On the left towards La Fieffe
  14. S/E : km 12.9 - alt. 254 m - Morinière Lake car park

Notes

At the starting point, there is a large car park and a parking area for motorhomes at the campsite.
The route is very hilly.

Please note: there are three types of markings on the route: red and white, yellow, and yellow dots.

There are two picnic tables and a bench after the open-cast mine.

The main sites are equipped with very well-designed explanatory panels.

Worth a visit

During the hike, don't miss the old Pralon shaft and the old kilns at Butte Rouge, two of which have been renovated. At La Haie, the remains of the last calcination kilns are impressive.

On the route, you will pass in front of the castle.

In the village of Gué Plat, you will discover a small shrine with statues of Saint Barbara, Saint Eloi and Saint Lawrence. Until 1970, the statue of Saint Barbara was located at the bottom of the mine, that of Saint Eloi on the mine floor and that of Saint Lawrence at the calcination furnaces in La Haie.

Right next to the route, discover how apple juice and perry are made...

A few kilometres away, discover the medieval town of Domfront.

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 12 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.8 / 5
Dany Blues
Dany Blues

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 11, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

It's not easy to follow the route!

Machine-translated

Mister61
Mister61

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 01, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike, but you could shorten it because at times it's just forest, which is a bit boring. But it's still very enjoyable. You have to enjoy walking.

Machine-translated

fil61
fil61

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 09, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful and interesting hike, we discovered these old iron mines, the old miners' village and their canteen, which has now become the miners' inn, and a castle. The hike winds through the woods and follows some sections of road.
A beautiful historical hike.

Machine-translated

Goultard
Goultard

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 21, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A magnificent hike, a beautiful route, well shaded, lovely trails and a chance to discover industrial heritage!

Machine-translated

QUILOTOA
QUILOTOA

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 07, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful route with lovely paths and some very interesting sights to see.

Machine-translated

DidierE
DidierE

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 18, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The path passes through private property and I get the impression that the owner wants to prohibit access.
The route is interesting because of the impressive sites visited (especially the calcination furnaces). No particular difficulty.

Machine-translated

toutain
toutain

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 15, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful hike. Lovely places to visit. A bit too much road.

Machine-translated

Claude-Meignen
Claude-Meignen

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 26, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Wonderful hike.
Easy, beautiful paths, and we enjoyed the autumn colours!
Interesting discoveries about the old iron ore mining activities that add to the enjoyment of the hike!

Machine-translated

RANDO141944
RANDO141944

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 20, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We did not follow the entire route, but used a few variations.

Machine-translated

cocochanel72340
cocochanel72340

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 20, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello,
There must be an error at Gué Plat, as there is no longer any information on the signposts. You need to be a good hiker to avoid getting lost and have a good map.
Kind regards.

Machine-translated

vdtbzh
vdtbzh

In anticipation of a stay in the region in June 2020

Machine-translated

gillespsg93
gillespsg93

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 23, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A good route with elevation changes, a good mix of roads and trails, but not for those who don't want any roads at all...

Machine-translated

jean.grandin@bbox.fr
jean.grandin@bbox.fr

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 01, 2018
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Hello. I chose this hike for a weekend outing in 2020 with the Hiking & Cycling section of Trip Normand.

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.