The historic railway route between Argentré-du-Plessis and Vitré

The description below was written by “Le Randonneur Breton”

Free parking is available in the car park at Vitré railway station: at the western end, past the media library.

Marked with green arrows bearing the number 31 on a white background

(S/E) Leave the car park heading due west to reach Rue Sainte-Croix. Follow this road to the left and cross the railway bridge. Continue along this road.
Ignore Rue du Commandant Louis Pétri on the right, as well as the entrance to the SNCF depot, and turn right immediately afterwards onto Chemin du Pavillon. Follow this path to the hamlet of the same name, taking the sheltered path on the left-hand side.

(1) Turn left. Ignore two path junctions on the left and take the greenway that runs above the railway tracks.

(2) Pass under the D178 county road. Continue along the greenway. Pass under a minor road.
The Pierre Blanche menhir is 200 metres to the right – off the route.
Carry on along the greenway. It passes over the D777 and the Ruisseau du Herveleux.

(3) At the junction with a minor road, continue straight on along the greenway and cross the Ruisseau de Guénault. Continue along the greenway.

(4) Take care when crossing the D177 – Route de La Guerche de Bretagne. This road has very heavy traffic.

Red and yellow markings for^{the GRP®} Les Marches de Bretagne

Continue along the greenway. At the Pont d’Étrelles, cross the River Valièrel. Ignore the hamlet of Badier on the left, then that of La Maison Neuve on the right.

(5) Just before the bridge that passes under the four-lane road, turn left. The path soon heads north-east. Cross the Argentré-du-Plessis road and continue straight ahead to the lake.

Yellow^PR® markings – Green arrow markings

(6) In front of the lake, let the^GRP® trail head off to the right and cross the dam, turning left. Follow the path as it bends to the right and walk 200 m to the car park.

Green arrow signpost No. 31

Turn left towards the Bois des Rochers Sévigné and walk along the edge of the woodland, turning left towards the castle.
Off-route: as you walk along the walls towards the south-east, you’ll be able to see the château
In the car park, turn right at the hairpin bend. The path runs alongside the road, gradually moving away from it. At the end, turn left onto a black gravel track.
Please note: exiting onto the road may be difficult if the gate is closed. In that case, head left and walk about ten metres through the small wood.

(7) Cross the road (D88) and head straight on towards the south-west. At the crossroads, turn right then immediately left towards Haut Beau Chêne. Continue along this same track until you reach the Grand Boulay stud farm.

Red and yellow markings of^{the GRP®} ‘Les Marches de Bretagne’

(8) Once you’ve rejoined the^GRP® – which you’ll follow right through to the finish – head off to the right. Cross La Haute Morandière and come out onto the D178.
Proceedwith great caution along the right-hand verge for 300 m, then cross the road and take the path on the left.

(9) At the crossroads, veer right, then follow the path to the left at the fork. Cross a road, then cross the Ruisseau du Herveleux again before carefully crossing the D777. Continue to the right to rejoin the D178 further north.

(10) Turn right, then immediately left to take the tunnel passing under the ring road, and continue along the footpath. Walk alongside the residential area, ignore a road on the right and continue to the right along the Allée des Charmilles. Turn left onto Avenue le Gonidec de Traissan and, at the junction, turn right.

(11) Continue along the footpath to the right, then turn left onto Rue Jean-Marie Choleau. At the end of the street, walk a few steps to the right and turn left onto Rue Frain de la Gaulayrie.

(12) After a junction, the street continues as Rue de la Mériais. Walk past Collège Sainte-Marie on your left. Cross Rue Pierre Lemaître, then take the station underpass and emerge next to the station. The car park is on your left (S/E).

This route is featured on sheet No. 1 – route 31 of the “Pays de Vitré walking routes”. Please note that it is only signposted in an anti-clockwise direction, as described above.

There are two possible shortcuts:
¹) turn left at (3) to join (9) – a route of approximately 9.5 km
²) Turn left at (4) onto the^GRP® to join (8) – a route of approximately 13 km

The ‘Difficult’ rating is solely due to the distance, as there are few significant elevation changes.

Lake de la Valière
The Château des Rochers