The mills of the Rance - Le Poudouvre

The Rance once had many tide mills on its banks. Today, with the passage of time, erosion and lack of maintenance, little remains. This circuit allows you to discover the coastline, countryside, coastal path, remains of the Montmarin mills, the new mill and the dam that uses the movements of the tides for its tidal power plant.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 16.64 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 20 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 215 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 212 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 50 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ City: Pleurtuit (35730|35870)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 48.597375° / W 2.026852°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 1116ET
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Departure point at Champ Rozé. Hiking car park indicated on site. Park along the road on the banks of the Rance.

(S/E) Leave the car park and return to Champ Rozé, then head for the D114. Opposite, take the road towards Pleurtuit. At the exit of Les Forges, turn right and follow the yellow markings. Turn right towards the lake and go around it on the right.

(1) Go up the road and turn left towards La Jéhannie. Turn right onto the fishermen's path. At the pond, stay on the left-hand side. At the corner, turn left onto the path that goes uphill. Walk along the fir trees at the edge of the football pitch, head towards the sports hall, then turn right towards the roundabout.

(2) At the roundabout, turn left onto Rue des Anciens Combattants. At the junction with Rue de Malabry, continue straight ahead along the path. Continue straight ahead at the Belle Entrée sign, then turn right under the power lines. At the stop sign, turn left.

(3) Before the bench, follow the path on the right (still under the high-voltage lines) which descends after the electricity pole towards the Hourdel valley. At the two red crosses on a tree, descend to the right (east).

(4) When you reach the D114, go up to the left on the footpath for 100 metres. In the bend, go up the path on the left into the woods, stay on this path which turns right and goes uphill. Under the power lines, continue to the left and pass between the houses.

(5) At the boathouse, turn left onto Rue de la Croix Aubrée. At the Calvaire roundabout, turn right onto Rue de la Remoue, go straight ahead at the next roundabout and then pass under the four-lane road. Continue straight ahead at the new roundabout.

(6) At the last roundabout, turn left and continue along the one-way street. At the next roundabout, turn right in front of the post box into Rue de l'Isle Celée and continue along this street.

(7) At the junction with Allée de Cartagène, turn left to enter the park through the green gate. (See Opening Hours in Practical Information) Walk along the right-hand side of the animal park, passing to the right of the manor house and the small pond. After the manor house, take the path on the left to go behind it, then turn right towards the lake. Cross the stone bridge, then the wooden bridge on the left, and exit the park. Cross the road and head towards the banks of the Rance.

(8) Walk along the quays to the right. At the end of the quays, continue up the street on the pavement. Turn left twice to follow the signs for the mini golf course.

(9) At the car park, take theGR®34(red and white markings). Follow the coastal path, which will take you to the tidal power station via Pointe de la Vicomté.

(10) Cross the road via the underground footbridge. Join theGR®34on the right along the car park. Follow the Rance river along the coastal path. At low tide, continue along theGR®, otherwise follow the alternative route indicated on site.

(11) At the car park near the D114, follow the paved path (slippery), climb the ramp or follow the road to Avenue du Grognet. Turn left into the avenue and, at the fork, turn right. At the water sports centre, cross the boat ramp on the right and rejoin theGR®34. Opposite the jetty, turn left up Rue du Port. At the stop sign, turn left into Rue de Dinard.

(12) Immediately after the bridge, go down the steps on the left. Follow the path near the low wall, go around the cove and pass in front of the new mill (renovated into guest rooms).

(13) At the end of the road, turn left at the car park. Continue on theGR® trail, walking around Pointe de Cancaval clockwise, staying as close as possible to the coastline.

(14) Back on the road, cross the hamlet of Haut Créhen, turning left at the crossroads. Pass in front of the entrance to the Château de Montmarin. After the park's boundary wall, turn left and follow the GR®. At the wash house, turn left onto the road to see the ruins of the Moulin de Montmarin. Retrace your steps and return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 8 m - Le Champ Rozé - Rance (fleuve)
  2. 1 : km 1.79 - alt. 9 m - Cabanon le moulin neuf
  3. 2 : km 2.59 - alt. 26 m - Palm tree on roundabout
  4. 3 : km 3.32 - alt. 35 m - EDF post
  5. 4 : km 3.87 - alt. 12 m - View of the Rance
  6. 5 : km 4.36 - alt. 39 m - Wisteria path
  7. 6 : km 5.26 - alt. 48 m - Roundabout, on the left
  8. 7 : km 6.11 - alt. 28 m - Equestrian centre
  9. 8 : km 6.77 - alt. 10 m - View of St Malo
  10. 9 : km 7.35 - alt. 9 m - Mini golf
  11. 10 : km 10.51 - alt. 9 m - EDF museum entrance
  12. 11 : km 11.51 - alt. 6 m - Slippery paving stones
  13. 12 : km 12.82 - alt. 8 m - Steep staircase
  14. 13 : km 13.98 - alt. 27 m - Gravel car park
  15. 14 : km 15.39 - alt. 18 m - Stone houses
  16. S/E : km 16.64 - alt. 8 m - Le Champ Rozé - Bord de Rance

Notes

Starting point location: Pleurtuit, Le Champ Rozé.
How to get there: on the D114 road between La Richardais and Minihic-sur-Rance, follow signs for Montmarin - Cancaval. At Champ Rozé, turn right towards Le Port.

Park opening hours:
1 October to 31 March: Every day from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m
from 1 April to 30 September: Every day from 8.30am to 10pm

Worth a visit

Nearby: La Richardais: all shops.
Rance Dam: EDF tidal power museum.
The pirate city of Saint-Malo.

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 17 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.7 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
Laurence La Méziere
Laurence La Méziere

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 22, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A varied walk through the undergrowth and along the banks of the Rance

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Edmond T.
Edmond T.

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 23, 2023
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 plenty of variety (woods, town, park, beach, GR34, Rance)
When asked, "In your opinion, was this route very busy?(*)", I answered "no" because during the first hour, from the start at Champ Rozé to Dinard, it was not very busy. However, when I arrived in Dinard, at the park and the beach, on the GR34 to the Rance dam, it was crowded with people (who weren't doing the route...) and some were walking on the path. Towards the end, there were few people.
The comments from other users were valuable, such as the change of route at 3.
Finally, we wondered about the duration of the route (5 hours 5 minutes). I activated two stopwatches at the start.
- Stopwatch 1: Breaks counted: 3 hours 50 minutes of walking
- Stopwatch 2: Including breaks, picking blackberries, admiring the scenery, taking photos (...), watching the Rance bridge lift... it took us 5 hours 15 minutes
We highly recommend it!

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Breizh35
Breizh35

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 02, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Everything is fine
Highly recommended
Thank you, pls.BZH

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pls.BZH
pls.BZH

Thank you for borrowing this circuit and for your feedback.

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domivasseur2935
domivasseur2935

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 31, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Busy route at Cancaval, otherwise quiet for a Sunday
Please note, change at point 3: a footpath has been created on the roundabout, just opposite: take it and turn left as soon as possible to rejoin the route. This means you will miss the two red crosses on the trees.

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Ricou et Domi
Ricou et Domi

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 08, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb circuit completed in 3 hours and 40 minutes
No difficulties

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Razhkoed
Razhkoed

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 24, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

This hike can be split into two trips starting from the Rance dam. Either head towards Dinard or towards Pointe de Cancavale. For the latter, it is better to retrace your steps after going around the point rather than following the less interesting route back along the road. There aren't many people on this hike, but be aware that there are many fairly strenuous climbs. However, the beauty of the site gives you the courage you need

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co35490
co35490

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 01, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

We enjoyed the walk along the Rance, with its beautiful scenery and plenty of shade. We recommend this very pleasant walk.

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v.fraize
v.fraize

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 12, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful, varied walk.
At the end, as I was in a bit of a hurry, I wanted to cut across in front of the Vaumadeuc manor house. That was a mistake.
I was stopped by the owner, who was walking a large dog on a leash and was not at all friendly.
Yet it was the day after lockdown ended, and he couldn't have been very bothered by walkers the previous month.

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2810pwp
2810pwp

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 16, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Hello,
Unable to download PDF files.
Polluted by adverts!
What a shame...

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Lnpapaye
Lnpapaye
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 20, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing

Hike completed in 4 hours, with a 10-minute break on Dinard beach.
The route and directions for the hike are very precise; there's no risk of getting lost!
I really enjoyed discovering the coast of La Richardais; it's full of charm. The bay from the priory to the Pointe de la Jument is also beautiful to explore.
However, the walk is spoiled by the extremely loud noise of cars driving along the Rance dam. Similarly, there are numerous high-voltage power lines, which spoil the landscape.
The walk often takes us through urban areas that are of little interest.
Unfortunately, the overall impression is rather negative. A round trip along the coast would ultimately be more satisfying.

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gwaka
gwaka

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 13, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

We didn't find the yellow markings, but with the directions we were given and the map, we were able to enjoy a beautiful hike without any difficulty.
Worth discovering

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Mondia65
Mondia65

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 15, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful hike. The sun was shining, it was magnificent.

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Christian  g
Christian g

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 25, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

The small cove located between the Chateaubriand pier and La Richardais, at the foot of the old shipyard, is ideal for picnics.

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bibi
bibi ★

You can change the different GPS coordinate formats in your profile....

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