In the middle of an imaginary line from Nantes to the coast of Pornic, the town of Rouans and the circuit "Le Grand chemin" offer fans of cinema and bucolic landscapes a long stroll through time and nature.

Damien Dufour, photographer in love with nature, likes to share his passion. "Behind every memory is a journey. And the possibility of living." He shares his beautiful adventures through his travel diaries.
 

This route allows you to start the loop from two different places: on the banks of the Acheneau but also at the foot of the church of Rouans, opposite the café “La bonne vigne”. You will thus be able to discover all the cinematographic history of this small picturesque village of just over two thousand eight hundred inhabitants.

Indeed, Rouans had its hour of glory on the big screen in 1986 with the filming of the film which gave its name to the circuit you may be about to follow: “Le grand chemin”. The director Jean-Loup Hubert, who had lived in the village for a few years, then returned there to shoot one of his best films, which he would present the following year to the general public. He will also be nominated for the Césars, in the categories “Best Film”, “Best Director” and “Best Screenplay”.

In the photo, attached, the famous gargoyles on which the 2 children venture do not appear. It's an adaptation of the screenplay.
 

"Le grand chemin" tells the story of Louis, a 9-year-old Parisian, entrusted by his mother to Marcelle and Pélot, played by Anémone and Richard Bohringer, a couple of friends living in Rouans.
Young Louis befriends Martine, the couple's daughter, and gradually discovers the joys of life in the countryside. But also, the dramas and stories that are hidden there.
 

The circuit "Le grand chemin" invites you to travel through this countryside via a long loop which invites you to discover the landscapes which contributed to the beauty of the film: the marshes, the white paths winding along the meadows and pastures or the courtyards of water from the Acheneau, the Tenu and the Blanche.
These panoramas of groves, canals and meadows are all opportunities to escape and reconnect with the natural rhythm of time. Harvest here and there the many fleshy and colorful fruits that this trail of about twenty kilometers can offer you, depending on the season in which you are walking it : apples, blackberries, chestnuts, wild strawberries, ...
 

For sure, this route will offer you a nice parenthesis on the trails of the hinterland of Pornic and on French cinema.
 

Useful information
Circuit Le Grand Chemin
Departure point: car park in the village of Messan (or town of Cheix-en-Retz) 21.4 km
5h15 on foot
1h45 by bike
3 hours on horseback

To see nearby
The brand new "Vallée de la Blanche" circuit (15.7 km).