A walk around the Férel bell tower

Car park at the sports complex, Route d’Assérac.

(S/E) Return towards Route d’Assérac via the main entrance, turn right towards the village centre, then turn left at the end of the sports ground (altitude 44m). The path has been converted into a cycle path (pink surfacing) and leads to the heart of the village of Kerrouault. The village centre consists of a square where several roads meet.

(1) Leave the road leading up to the water tower on your left and take the road opposite. Then take the Chemin des Maris, which branches off to the left of the farm. Leave the Rue du Château d’Eau. If you cannot make it out straight away, simply take the muddiest track – the presence of animals and machinery makes this obvious.

The path crosses farmland dotted with a few clumps of pine trees, before emerging at Le Guerny via the Chemin des Maris.
Before you reach the first houses, turn right onto the little Chemin des Corniers, which runs along the back of the gardens.
At the road, turn left and head towards the R 34 (Route de l’Océan).

(2) Cross the departmental road (D34) with care. This road can be very busy and visibility is reduced on the village side.
Take the path opposite (^GR®39) and follow it down to the next junction. Turn right towards the pine-covered moors, then left after 100 metres. The path leading to Kerabin is called the Chemin du Sable, and it’s true that sand accumulates in the gullies carved out by the rain.
Halfway along, let the^GR® 39 branch off to the left and carry on straight ahead until you reach the Kersauvage road. The bell tower looms above the rooftops of the village of Férel on the right-hand side, appearing remarkably close.

(3) Cross a road and continue along the Chemin de l’Alambic, towards Kerverte. This name derives from a practice still remembered by the oldest residents: this was the spot where the local distiller’s travelling still used to be set up.
The narrow path that winds its way between two hedgerows climbs towards Kerverte. It emerges onto the road serving the hamlet, just to the east of it. Cross the road and continue along the path that leads straight ahead into the wooded moorland. Further on, it joins a cycle route, then, after a right-hand bend, the Route de l’Isle.

Turn left and follow this road up to about fifty metres before the Croix du Grand Moulin. This pretty cross with outstretched arms is one of the most charming examples of the commune’s rural heritage.

(4) Turn right to head back under the trees, then right again at the next junction. The long path running along the edge of the Landes du Chat marks the boundary between arable land and the clay-rich moorland. In the 19th century, like many others, these moors, covered in heather and gorse, were planted with maritime pines. Their periodic felling occasionally restores the appearance these moors must have had before they were planted.

(5) Reach and cross the RD 34 with care, then continue straight ahead along the path running behind the back gardens of the La Noë Blanche housing estate. This narrow passage leads to a wide track which continues as far as the Route des Pargo.

(6) At the junction with this road, turn left and follow it for about 500 metres. Take the second right towards Kervigné. A small road shaded by tall trees leads to the heart of the hamlet. Just before you arrive, take a moment to admire the magnificent covered well on the left-hand verge of the road, before a stone house. There are many examples of this unusual type of well in the commune of Férel. Walk through Kervigné.

(7) At the next junction, continue along the farm track opposite the road you arrived on. This stretch once again offers a lovely stretch of countryside dotted with woodland of all kinds.
Pass the farm and the old part of the village of Coldan, before coming out onto a road.

(8) Turn left at the thatched cottage, following the road, and at the lowest point, turn right onto the path that runs alongside the stream. At the next three-way junction, take the path that climbs to the left.
This crossroads bears traces of a former industry. Indeed, if you scratch the black earth on the embankments, it is easy to find pieces of slag, remnants of an ancient ironworks. Moreover, the name ‘Férel’ is thought to derive from the presence of iron ore in the area. Continue along the path through a ‘grée’ (a stretch of open farmland) before reaching the first houses of the village of Quelnet.

(9) At the cross, cross the road with care (visibility is limited and traffic can be heavy at times), and take the wide, tree-lined path opposite the cross. This path joins the Route de Trégrain, which you must cross, before continuing opposite along the Chemin des Pogasés. This wide path, lined with tall trees and very dense woodland, leads to the village green, where two ponds have been created. This can be a lovely spot for a break.

(10) Continuing along this path, you’ll approach the sports complex. Just before the sports ground, on your left, a small gate in the fence allows you to cut across the grounds to return to the starting point (S/E).

The village of Férel has shops where you can stock up on supplies or take a refreshing break after your walk.

Beneath the tall bell tower, which dates only from the late 19th century, a stained-glass window dating from the early 16th century has been reinstalled. Depicting the Tree of Jesse (the genealogical tree of Christ), it was removed from the original church, which stood in the centre of the present-day village, and stored for several decades before being reinstalled in the current church in 1933.

The area around the village of Férel boasts a network of paths and trails offering a variety of routes and attractions. Several other walking routes are described on Visorando.