La Rouxière: Hiking, Bocage and Mining History

La Rouxière combines a predominantly agricultural landscape with hiking trails and several historical themes. To plan your trip, you can start by comparing the routes by length; hedgerows, sunken lanes, a stream and a valley also describe different aspects of the landscape. Gautellerie, the neo-Gothic church and the medieval motte at La Cour offer further points of interest in the area's history. This can help you decide whether to focus on a particular hiking route, the bocage or the area's mining and architectural history.

Landscape of hedgerows, streams and valleys

La Rouxière's bocage hedgerow network is moderately dense to dense and includes a total of 124 kilometres of hedgerows. The municipality is predominantly agricultural; the land uses mentioned include meadows and arable land. Together, these features describe a rural setting in which hedgerows and farmland are key parts of the landscape. When choosing a walk or hiking route, you can consider the landscape as well as the distance, rather than focusing only on length.

The Ruisseau de la Saugère shapes the natural landscape and serves as a visual reference point for the town centre. The Vallon de la Saugère is a small wooded valley crossed by the stream. This means that, alongside hedgerows and farmland, a wooded valley and a watercourse are also specific features of the landscape.

Choose hiking trails by distance and character

The Circuit de la Cour is one of the two main hiking trails in La Rouxière and is 3.5 kilometres long. It is included in the departmental plan for walking and hiking trails and is connected to other footpaths. The Circuit du moulin de Peltré is 8.6 kilometres long, making it 5.1 kilometres longer. This difference gives you a concrete point of comparison if route length is a factor in your choice.

The Circuit du moulin de Peltré passes through sunken lanes and alongside bocage hedgerows to Étang Corbin, where hikers can stop for a break on the shore. This route combines its greater length with named landscape features and a place to rest by the water.

The Circuit de Châteaufromont is a rural, family-friendly walking trail through La Rouxière. In addition to its rural character, this route is explicitly described as family-friendly. The three trails therefore offer different points to consider when choosing: two have a stated length, while the character of the Circuit de Châteaufromont is the main feature highlighted.

Mining and architectural history

The Gautellerie coal mine operated from 1896 to 1911. In 1900, it employed 200 people. The mining site is part of the Route du Charbon. The remains include a chimney with its base and the shaft entrance, as well as workers' accommodation, administrative buildings, an infirmary and a stable. The remains listed therefore include various types of buildings at the site, from accommodation and administration to the infirmary.

La Rouxière's neo-Gothic church was built from 1896 to 1898 using stones from a quarry in the municipality. The quarry was later converted into a water reservoir. The church's architectural history thus encompasses its style and construction dates, as well as the origin of its building material and the quarry's later use.

At La Cour, the only visible remnant of the former Châtellenie Château Fromont, a major fortress in the former Duchy of Brittany, is the medieval motte. Its connection to the former fortress provides the historical context for the motte; it is the named surviving feature of this history. Together with Gautellerie and the church, it adds a distinct point of interest alongside the area's industrial and architectural history.

Discover more destinations: Petit-Mars, Anetz, Saint-Herblon, Le Pallet, Remouillé, Rougé, Le Croisic, Pont-Saint-Martin.

For the wider travel overview: Loire-Atlantique.