Along the Airon from Landivy

Start at the church square.

(S/E) Leave the car park by taking Rue de Normandie on the left. After about a hundred metres, follow a path on the left which quickly leads to a business park. Leave the park by turning right to reach the houses of Le Bignon.

(1) Cross Rue du Collège and turn left after 100 m, then continue right into Rue des Combattants. At the end of the housing estate, take a short detour along a pleasant little path that leads onto a road.

(2) After crossing the D102, take the small tarmac road on the left leading to the Red Cross. Continue straight on along the old pilgrims’ path to Mont Saint-Michel, the Chemin Montois. At the Hôtellerie, keep left for 50 m then turn right, below Le Tertre de Montabon.

(3) Cross the D31 with care and first turn right then left to follow the winding path. After crossing two footbridges, the path leads to L’Aubriais au Blanc.

(4) Then turn right and follow the small tarmac road for 600 m to La Guyardière (on the left).
At the bend after this village, take the dirt track that winds its way until it joins a road. Turn right and follow this small road for about 400 m.

(5) Turn left and follow the winding path (1.5 km) to Les Pièces.

(6) Turn right towards the D122, then follow the D122 on the right for 100 m. Keep well to the left-hand verge as it is a busy road, then turn left onto the Chemin de la Morissais. Continue straight on along the sunken lane as it descends to cross a stream.

(7) Continue left along the path leading to L’Aubriais Gigot. The small tarmac road that extends this path leads to the Chemin de la Basse Citerne, which you take to the left for 150 m before turning left onto a 1 km path along the embankments. Descend towards the Vallée de l’Airon.

(8) At a bend to the right, where a granite picnic table with benches offers a well-deserved break, continue downwards to walk alongside the Étang de la Chaussée Neuve before joining the D134.

(9) Turn left and cross the Pont d’Airon. Just after the bridge, follow the road as it curves to the left, taking the footpath protected by an embankment. At the end of the path, cross carefully and continue straight ahead along a magnificent path between the woods and the river, which leads to the Moulin du Pont.

(10) After crossing a footbridge, climb the hill leading to Pont-Aubray.
Off the route: on the right, you can see the Pont au Bray chapel, which is well worth a short detour.
Continue to the left then turn right after the first house. Follow this path all the way to the end.

(11) At the T-junction, turn left to reach La Gilleraye. From there, the route ends on a small tarmac road that leads to the sports ground.

(12) Cross the main road with care and turn left into the sports hall car park (the yellow markings do not apply to route No. 15). After the car park, continue along the protected footpath and then on the pavement.
At the end of Rue de l'Airon, cross the Grande Rue and turn left to return to the church car park (S/E).

The entire route is clearly signposted in yellow as the “Circuit de l’Airon” with the number “15”.

The Airon, known as the Futaie for its first few kilometres, forms the boundary between the departments of Ille-et-Vilaine and Mayenne throughout this route. It therefore also forms the regional boundary between Brittany and Normandy. It becomes the Airon when it forms the boundary between the departments of La Manche and Mayenne. It flows into the Sélune after 42 km near Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët; the Sélune flows into the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel at Pontaubault.

Alternative Route No. 1: at (5), continuing straight on to cross first the Davoudière, then the Bouverie and finally the Doctière to reach (7), the route is shortened to 15 km.
Option 2: at (9), continue straight on to reach (11) directly. The route is shortened by 2 km.
Combining the two alternatives reduces the route to 13 km.