Mont Pinçon in Le Plessis-Grimoult

Parking is available at the church and town hall car park in Le Plessis-Grimoult, Place des Grimoultais.

(S/E) With your back to the church and town hall on your right, cross Place des Grimoultais, then cross the street very carefully and turn left. Follow Rue du Mont-Pinçon (D54) for about 50 metres, then turn right towards Thury-Harcourt and Campandré-Valcongrain (D108). Take Rue de la Foire Saint-Clément. Follow this road, use the right-hand side lane at the village hall, then on leaving the village continue carefully for about 900 metres until you reach the top of the hill.

(1) At the top, at the crossroads of the road and the paths (point 298), turn left and follow the path for about 200 metres. Optionally, you can discover the geological and archaeological site of "La Bourbe Noire" on your right, where a picnic table awaits hikers. Continue for about 100 metres to the crossroads (point 322) and take the small path on the left, ignoring the signposts. Walk along the hedge on the left and the field on the right. Pass below the old Roman camp (the remains are covered with ferns) and turn left at the edge of the woods. Continue downhill until you reach the next intersection (point 311).

(2) Turn right and walk uphill for about 450 m until you reach the car park between the Mont-Pinçon road (D54) and the TDF site (pylons and antennas).

(3) Cross the D54 road with great care and follow a wide ridge path (Chemin Fête) for about 1.5 km. Along the way, note that on the left, after about 500 m and near an antenna surrounded by a wire fence, there is an orientation table that originally offered a vast panorama, but since vegetation has grown up, the view has lost its splendour. Continue to the next intersection (point 344).

(4) Turn left, taking the^GR® Tour de la Suisse Normande, and continue to the 13th/18th Royal Hussars memorial. There is a picnic table for hikers near the memorial.

(5) Retrace your steps to find the^GR® on the right, walk for about 400 m and turn into the first path on the right. Follow the path for about 250 m and continue on the^GR® by turning left.

(6) Walk for about 1 km until you reach the Mont-Pinçon road (D54).

(7) Turn right before the road, walk for about 200 metres and then cross the Chemin d'Harcourt. Continue straight ahead for about 100 metres, cross the Rue du 7 Août 1944 (D165) and follow a small path for about 100 metres.

(8) At the intersection, turn left, then at the next fork, continue straight ahead towards the village. Take Rue Grimoult du Plessis (you will pass in front of the old fortification of the Baron de Grimoult du Plessis estate) and you will come out in front of the Parish Church of Saint-Étienne. Turn left to return to Place des Grimoultais and the car park (S/E).

Hike suggested bythe Pays de Vire Tourist Office.

See the PDF document provided by the Pays de Vire Tourist Office

(3) Mont-Pinçon radio and television transmission centre
In 1953, the Mont-Pinçon site was chosen by RTF (Radiotélévision Française) to build a broadcasting centre to provide public service radio and television programmes to Lower Normandy.
Construction work began in June 1955 and was completed in July 1956 with the commissioning of a 20kW television transmitter. This transmitter broadcast the^first channel in black and white. (The horse test card, which appeared in 1953 and was designed by Messrs Delaby and Morel, is a statue by the renowned Coysevox and stands in Place de la Concorde).
A year later, in September 1957, this equipment was supplemented by three FM radio transmitters (France-Inter, France Culture and France Musique).
The centre expanded:
In December 1964, the ORTF (Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française) decided to launch a^second television channel. Mont-Pinçon was then equipped with a 50 kW transmitter.
But the major project at the time was the renewal of the pylon. While continuing to broadcast programmes, the new pylon was constructed, which still stands before you today. Built between June and September 1968, this pylon now has a total height of 216 metres (including the UHF antenna).
The 50 kW^third channel transmitter was installed there in 1974, just before the break-up of ORTF.
Since 1975, programme broadcasting has been entrusted to TDF (Télédiffusion De France).
A few years later, in 1979, the Mont-Pinçon centre began broadcasting TF1 in colour.
In the 1980s, the emergence of new channels contributed to the centre's development. In 1984 and then 1987, three new TV transmitters were installed to broadcast Canal+, La Cinq and M6.
In 1985, the three FM transmitters were upgraded.

(5) Memorial to the^13th/18th Royal Hussars
5 to 7 August 1944
During the liberation of France, Mont-Pinçon was conquered in a fierce battle during which the tanks of^the13th/18th Royal Hussars took the heights.
"Of all the local actions that made up the overall confrontation, the attack on Mont-Pinçon was among the most significant, not only in terms of its tactical consequences but also because of the personal qualities it brought out in the men who took part in it." (Chester Wilmot)
This memorial was erected in memory of all those who served in the^13th/18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own) between 1922 and 1992.
This place is also dedicated by the^13th/18th Royal Hussars to the inhabitants of Le Plessis-Grimoult and Saint-Jean-le-Blanc who suffered during the battles for the liberation of France.

La Bourbe Noire
Found almost at the surface, the black clay – the place is called "La Bourbe Noire" (the black mud) – is the result of the decomposition of black Silurian shale (410 million years old). These clays were probably exploited as early as ancient times, as suggested by the remains of Gallo-Roman rimmed tiles found at a nearby site. The clay from this small deposit, located in an area fairly poor in materials of this type (black clays have been found near Ondefontaine), could only have been used to meet local needs.