Groups
Route details
Description
This circuit is a combination of several routes. It reveals all the know-how of the stonemasons of this country.
Your itinerary
Step 1: The chapel mansion
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.
Stage 2: The 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
The Morinais quarry is still active and extracts, over 18 ha, the Gris bleu granite from 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: Saint-Guillaume Rock
Nestled in the undergrowth, Saint-Guillaume rock is one of the highest points in the area. The site is especially known for its legend which affirms that Saint-Guillaume lived in this place during seven years and which one finds carved in the rock, the wash-house, the bowl, the fountain and the bed of the hermit.
From there, you can admire a beautiful panorama of the surrounding countryside.
Step 5: The Godard quarry
This quarry is one of the last two quarries still in operation where Gris Bleu granite is extracted, in Louvigné-du-Désert. Hammered, burned, cut, the stone then goes through several stages, before arriving under your feet in the various urban developments.
