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Step 1: Chapel Manor
The imposing chapel mansion is a fine example of 15th century architecture. Closed in the 18th century, it successively became a girls' school, an orphanage and a retirement home. After the Second World War, it became a school again. In the 2000s, it experienced a new phase of restoration. Since then, it has housed a media library, a social center and services from Fougères Agglomeration. The building still houses remarkable vaulted cellars and a very large fireplace.
Step 2: Flying Granite Balls
Surprising these large stone balls that dot the meadows and fields! Result of erosion, these chaos, balls of granite, with sometimes astonishing shapes, outcrop almost everywhere, sculpt the landscapes and feed many legends. This surface granite, called "grison", is a brown-brown colored granite which was used in the construction of old buildings.
Stage 3: The Morinais quarry
This quarry is still in operation and extracts, over 18 ha, the Blue Gray granite of Louvigné. The extraction is carried out by drilling or by cutting with a diamond wire. 7 to 8 m000 are extracted each year. A factory transforms the blocks, mainly for roads and urban development. The granite from the quarries in the Louvigné-du-Désert region has been used in major projects such as those of the Paris metro, the Alexandre III bridge or even in more local projects such as the construction of the basilica of Pontmain.
Step 4: The Morinais mansion
Do not miss to observe the manor of Morinais, with its wide openings and its apparatus in large stone, it is part of the remarkable heritage of the town.
Stage 5: On the rails between Fougères and Vire
The circuit takes the old railway line linking Fougères to Vire, now rehabilitated as a greenway dedicated to soft travel. This railway line was opened in 1894 for the transport of passengers and goods. Passenger trains were abandoned in 1939, while freight traffic continued until 1988. This line, also called Fulgence Bienvenüe after the engineer who built it, contributed to the development of the granite industry in Louvigne-du-Desert.
