Blou: Landscape, Hiking Trail and Heritage

When choosing Blou for a trip, you can plan around specific themes that bring together outdoor activity, landscape and local history. These include the 16-kilometre “Entre Blou et Neuillé” hiking trail, the Butte de Blou with its panorama over the Loire Valley, as well as Notre-Dame de Blou and the Château de la Modtais. The history of white tuffeau stone and the galleries built into the Butte adds further local context to this selection.

Elevation and the Loire Valley

The Butte de Blou rises to 109 metres above sea level and is described as the highest point in the region. From the Butte de Blou, there is a panorama over the Loire Valley. The elevation and the panoramic view offer two different perspectives: the former places the rise in its regional context, while the latter describes the view over the valley. If you include landscape in your plans, you get both a specific sense of elevation and a viewpoint.

On a clear day, the towers of Angers Cathedral can be seen 45 kilometres away. This distant view adds another point of reference to the landscape description and depends on clear visibility.

The “Entre Blou et Neuillé” circular trail

The “Entre Blou et Neuillé” circular trail is 16 kilometres long and passes through forests and vegetable-growing areas in the municipalities of Blou and Neuillé. It also offers the opportunity to discover châteaux and washhouses. The route therefore combines two kinds of experience: forests and vegetable-growing areas along the way, as well as châteaux and washhouses to discover. The 16-kilometre distance gives you a concrete basis for planning; check trail conditions before setting out.

Tuffeau stone and galleries

The Butte de Blou is also associated with the extraction of white tuffeau stone. Large quantities of the stone have been quarried there since antiquity. Prized for its whiteness and quality, it was widely used for buildings in the surrounding area. The history of the material therefore stretches from extraction on the Butte to the use of the stone in local construction. The numerous galleries built there were used to grow Paris mushrooms in the 20th century. Thus, the Butte’s history encompasses both the extraction and use of tuffeau stone and the former cultivation of mushrooms in its galleries.

Church and château

Notre-Dame de Blou is a 12th-century Romanesque church and belongs to the “Eglises Accueillantes” network. The Château de la Modtais dates from the 17th century. A Buddhist congregation acquired the château to turn it into an international study centre for the “Yungdrung Bön” tradition. The two buildings offer different perspectives on cultural history: Notre-Dame is notable for its Romanesque style and membership in the network; the château brings together its 17th-century origins and its planned use as a study centre. If you are interested in buildings and religious traditions, you can take these different connections into account when planning your trip.

Discover more destinations: Champtocé-Sur-Loire, Beauvau, Trémont, Chambellay, Briollay, Champ-Sur-Layon, Morannes, Les Ponts-De-Cé

For the wider travel overview: Maine-Et-Loire.