Easy hikes and walks around Etang De La Provostiere

A vast industrial forge site dating back to the 17th century. The natural setting is also remarkable, with the dam on the Don River creating a splendid reservoir that supplied the forges. A favorite is Rue des Rochers Bleus and its hanging pine tree.

This church was built in the mid-19th century. It can be seen from afar from the surrounding hills, as its size is remarkable for a small village.

Beautiful 19th-century washhouse located on the Erdre River. A footbridge provides a beautiful view of the washhouse and the river. Picnic tables are available.

The Ajaux channel connects the Riaillé lakes (La Provostière and La Poitevinière) to the large Vioreau Reservoir. The water thus transported supplies the Nantes-Brest canal.

The Provostière pond, with a surface area of 73 ha, is connected to the Vioreau lake by the Rigole des Ajaux. This complex is part of the supply system of the Nantes-Brest canal. Its hydraulic management is ensured by the Loire-Atlantique Department, which has owned it since 2008. A 5.5 km path on which a bird observatory is located allows you to go around the pond in about 1h30.

July 25, 1944, shortly after 3 p.m., a Mosquito type plane, a light and fast twin-engine, appeared in the sky of Riaillé, followed a few seconds later by two German fighter planes. Arriving above the hamlet of l'Enclose, one of the fighters gained altitude and dove on the Canadian plane, riddling it with bullets. After starting a curve, the burning Mosquito crashed very close to the Provostière pond. The debris littered the ground for about fifty meters, the fire and the explosion of the ammunition made it impossible to approach. When the fire died down, the inhabitants rushed to the scene and found the charred bodies of the pilot and the navigator. They were identified as Lieutenants Burgess and McPherson. The Germans, who came to the scene, told the mayor that he could bury the bodies but without an official ceremony. However, the occupier's orders were not respected. The bodies were wrapped in sheets and transported to a nearby farm, the village carpentry made the coffins. The next day, a religious ceremony was held in the parish church in the presence of many Riaillé residents and wreaths of flowers covered the coffins. The procession then headed to the cemetery under the supervision of German soldiers who did not intervene. For 80 years, these two Canadian officers have been resting in the Riaillé cemetery. Their tomb is regularly maintained and decorated with flowers by the UNC-Riaillé Mémoire association but also by anonymous people who thus perpetuate the memory of their sacrifice. https://www.echoancenis.fr/actualite-4422-riaille-le-25-juillet-1944-deux-aviateurs-canadiens-etaient-abattus-dans-le-ciel-de-riaille

Former site of industrial forges in the 17th century, you will discover a landscape bathed in greenery, the pond and the ancestral buildings carved out of the beautiful blue stone. Starting point for hiking trails. Another essential element of the forges site, the large coal storage hall of yesterday transformed today into a museum (free entry). The Forge Neuve museum explains in a clear and fun way the mining past and work in the forges from the 17th to the 19th century. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forges_de_Moisdon-la-Rivi%C3%A8re

The water mills mark the route of the Erdre trail, first the Moulin Pelé then that of the Benâte.