Via Saint-Martin le Vieux

When you reach Martin de Bréhal via Avenue de Saint-Martin (D592), just before the 30 km/h speed limit sign, shortly before the end of the road and the main entrance to the beach, turn right onto Rue des Sports. A small sign indicates the car park at the entrance to the street, opposite a real estate agency: Place Monaco, Saint-Martin de Bréhal

(S/E) Exit the car park and turn right onto Rue des Sports, heading towards the prominent church on your right and the tennis courts on your left.
Continue along Rue des Sports, which turns left, and cross Avenue du Docteur de la Bellière. Opposite, take the gravel path, Rue des Minquiers, which leads to the sea.

(1) Then take the seawall on the left, heading south with the Pointe du Roc de Granville on the horizon.
Pass the main entrance to the beach between a restaurant and the lifeguard station. Continue along the sea wall and take the^{second exit}on the left, opposite a staircase leading to the beach. Cross Rue de Pontesrocs and continue straight ahead on Rue Gontran.

(2) At the end of the street, after a conifer tree with drooping branches on the left, do not continue along the street, which turns 90° to the left, but take the path opposite into the dunes.
Walk about a hundred metres and, after a short climb, follow the track on the right that crosses the dunes. Go straight ahead and stay on this track until you see the trees in the distance. Walk along a fence to bypass private properties on the left and cross the housing estate.

(3) At Rue des Bisquines, turn right, then a few metres further on, take the stony path on the left, under the blue and white sign "Coquillages et Crustacées - Vente directe" (Shellfish and Crustaceans - Direct Sale). Further on, the path becomes grassy and runs alongside the lagooning basins on the left. You can pick blackberries along the path in season and see reeds in front of the last basin.

(4) Cross the wooden bridge. After a few dozen metres, you will come to a stony path. Turn left, then just before you reach the D592, turn right onto the grassy path under a post with a green ring bearing the inscription "Village Moine". At the end of the path, turn right, walking alongside a group of houses on your left. At the top of the road, you will find yourself in front of a pretty old wash house.

(5) Continue along the road to the left, leaving the wash house on your right. Take the first road up to the right, just after the sign announcing a stop 50 metres ahead. At the fork, opposite a small car park with a few spaces, turn left. Leave the ruined church of Saint-Martin le Vieux on your right and continue up the road; there is a viewpoint over the Normandy countryside where you can see an old mill that has lost its sails in the distance on the right.
Cross a road and continue straight ahead on the stony path. Pass a small house on your left and continue along the winding path, which turns into a small section of woodland trail.

(6) Just before reaching the D971, leave a path at an acute angle on the right and take the path on the left a few metres further on. Leave a small worm-eaten bridge opposite and take the path on the left under the trees.
Follow the stream (the Vanlée), which remains on your right, where you can see electric blue dragonflies in summer. Stay on the path and avoid venturing into the marshy areas on the left.
After climbing a few steps, you will come to the remains of an old railway line. Continue straight ahead, going downhill. At the end of the path, you will find the stony path you took on the way there. Turn right and cross the road again, then head downhill towards the ruined church.

If you wish, you can go around the church on the right and take the uphill road to see the mill you saw earlier (1 km round trip).

At the church, turn right onto the dark path at the corner of the first house decorated with a star and bearing the number 211 to reach the D592.

(7) Cross carefully and follow the road opposite towards Village Trottin. Walk along the left side of a mini leisure centre. Cross Village Touquerant, then a small stream.
At the end of the road, opposite a beautiful stone house, take the gravel driveway on the left, leaving a bench on your right. Shortly after passing a small manor house on your left and going through a wooden gate, you will arrive at the road (D135). Turn right for a few metres and immediately take the path on the left, going through another wooden gate (in fact, you continue straight ahead). You will then arrive at the D345, after going through a final wooden gate.

(8) Turn left: be careful, as this is on a bend with poor visibility and cars drive fast.
Stay on the left-hand side of the road and after a few dozen metres, enter the field that runs alongside the road, which is less dangerous, and continue in the same direction at the edge of the field, parallel to the road on your right. Pass the first exit on your right and continue along a^second field to rejoin the road (still the same one: D345).
Pass a dirt track immediately on your left and continue in the same direction on the road that crosses the marshes. Cross the footbridge, continue for another 50 metres or so and look for a small wooden gate on the left. Go down to the left, go through the gate and follow the path through the marshes. Stay on the path along the fence and then the hedges on the right, leaving the marshy areas on the left.

(9) After about 600 metres, look for a metal gate on the right, open it and close it behind you before continuing along the grassy path.

(10) At the end of the path, cross Rue des Goélettes and take Rue Jean Bart opposite. At the crossroads, continue straight on along Rue Jean Bart. Further on, cross Rue des Prés Salés on the left and at the next crossroads, turn right onto a small section of road marked as a dead end.
At the end of this short street, opposite a small pine forest, follow the path on the left, leaving the racecourse behind you and walking alongside the houses on your left. Then cross a grassy area in the same direction, leaving a basketball court on your left. Go around a building on the right. Walk past the tennis courts, then a playground on your right, and cross the street to reach the car park opposite (S/E).

This hike is best done between July and September, as the paths become overgrown outside of this season.

Toilets are available at the start and finish, behind the information pavilion opposite the church.

At (6), after rainy weather, the trail is sometimes muddy.
The route may vary by a few metres, as it is redrawn each year depending on the vegetation.
As it is not well maintained, brambles and nettles sometimes encroach on the trail, making it difficult to walk on.

When you arrive at (8), please comply with Article R412-36 of the Highway Code: On country roads outside built-up areas, pedestrians must walk on the left-hand side of the road (in the direction of travel), i.e. facing oncoming traffic.

- Saint-Martin Church with its double bell tower and the representation on an exterior wall of Saint Martin sharing his cloak (S).
- Sea wall with a view of the Chausey Islands offshore (1).
- Dune landscape (2).
- Lagooning basins: protected area, bird sanctuary, between (3) and (4).
- Wash house (5).
- Ruins of a 12th-century Romanesque church, built on a promontory and listed as a historic monument, between (5) and (6).
- Norman bocage between (5) and (6).
- Path through the woods along "La Vanlée", a small river that flows into the sea a few kilometres away at "Havre de la Vanlée" (6).
- Remains of an old railway line and information plaque, shortly after (6).
- Cotentin marshes between (8) and (9).

During this hike, you will encounter donkeys that approach as you pass by.
The Cotentin donkey is a breed native to western France, more specifically the Manche department. Docile and affectionate, light grey in colour, it is characterised by a darker stripe on the upper back, known as the "St Andrew's cross".