La Chapelle-Saint-Aubert combines a varied bocage landscape with buildings and traces from different periods. The village can be explored through its valleys, churches and historic routes. The Circuit du Vendelais adds practical route details to these themes.
Rolling Landscape and Bocage
The village lies in a hilly landscape with a variety of valley shapes. In addition to broad valleys with gentle slopes, there are narrow valleys with steep sides. The Touru Valley is one of the incised valleys that run through La Chapelle-Saint-Aubert. The open bocage landscape also shapes the area: earth banks are planted with various tree species, especially oaks and broom. Broad, gently contoured valleys and narrower, steep-sided ravines thus form contrasting landscape features. The Couesnon forms part of the village's southern boundary.
Churches and Architectural History
The parish church of Saint-Aubert brings together architectural elements from several centuries. Some date from the 16th century, additions were made in the 18th century, and the choir probably dates from the 15th century. Its ground plan is in the shape of a Latin cross. It also has a flat-ended choir and a wall-mounted bell tower. These features give the church a clearly defined architectural profile without attributing its construction to a single period. The parish church also houses a 16th-century statue of Notre-Dame du Pont. It comes from the chapel at Pont-Notre-Dame.
The Notre-Dame-du-Pont Chapel was built before 1603, probably in the first half of the 16th century. Today, only four walls remain, protected by a new roof. In the 20th century, the chapel was converted into a pigsty and a shed; its doorway has a pointed arch. The village also has examples of secular architectural history: at the Manoir de Gelle, an axial doorway on the north façade is noteworthy. Its straight lintel is moulded in the shape of a keel arch. The manor is privately owned. The former Manoir du Pont-Notre-Dame, probably, was built in 1656 and later converted into a farm.
Historic Routes and Hiking
The Chemin Chasles is a surviving section of the former Jublains–Corseul road and an important relic of the Gallo-Roman period. At Pont-Notre-Dame, the route crosses the Couesnon. Work carried out there uncovered the foundations of a Gallo-Roman structure around 1863. The river thus features in different geographical contexts: as part of the village's southern boundary and as a reference point for historic and present-day routes.
The Circuit du Vendelais is described with specific hiking details: it is 10.6 kilometres long, includes 130 metres of elevation gain and has a stated duration of 2 hours and 40 minutes. The starting point is the car park by the church in La Chapelle-Saint-Aubert. The route runs along the Couesnon between La Chapelle-Saint-Aubert and Vendel and is marked in yellow. The route details come from a description published in 2018 and last reviewed in December 2024. Check local conditions before setting out.
Discover more destinations: Saint-Thurial, Ercé-en-Lamée, Trans-La-Forêt, Saint-Aubin-D'aubigné, Treffendel, Saint-M'hervé, Noyal-Sous-Bazouges, Goven.
For the broader travel overview: Ille-Et-Vilaine.
