Le circuit du Bouillon

All water, all water !
Between the sea and the bocage, water is omnipresent, left, right, in front, behind... Bring boots for this charming easy path, lined with delicious bridges over streams and varied built heritage.

Remarkable points on the circuit :
0 - Departure from Lestre, at the foot of the Saint-Martin church, with a bell-tower and a XIIIth century gate. The walls are built in fish-bones and carry Romanesque modillions.
1- View of the Saint-Michel chapel, in the village of Lestre - Partly Romanesque (12th century), it is decorated with geometrical symbols or grimacing figures (frequent in the Cotentin region). Having attracted the attention of Mérimée, it was one of the first listed monuments in the 19th century.
2 - Tourville Castle, 18th century, built by Jean-Louis Avice de Tourville then taken over by Louis de la Bretonnière, "inventor" of the port of Cherbourg and 1st maritime prefect. Round trip of 400M opposite to the feudal mound.
3- The most important feudal mound in Normandy (in the 10th century) is near the ivy-filled tower of the old church of Tourville.
4- Under this bridge, which is not blue despite its name, the Bouillon and the Sinope rivers meet. The latter, 25 km long, has its source at Montaigu-la-Brisette and flows into the English Channel at Quinéville.
Remarkable points in the vicinity :
La Cour de Lestre, in the Bourg de Lestre: manor-farm, XIIth-XVIIth, which was the residence of the Lords of Lestre. Raymond Godefroy, peasant writer, who published several collections of tales, lived there. Today, sculptures are exhibited there
Sainte Colombe church, Crasville: built in the 12th century, but its present form dates from the 17th century. Only the triumphal arch between the choir and the nave is medieval. From there, one should not miss the viewpoint on the Hougue, the Cul de Loup and the bay of Morsalines.
Château de la Brisette in Saint-Germain de Tournebut: 18th century castle, composed of a main facade that is reflected in its pond. On the sides two pavilions slightly overhanging and on the back the old stables.
Former station of Saint-Martin-d'Audouville: railway junction between the Tue Vaques lines, commissioned in 1886 to reach the Val de Saire. It was one of the longest running small trains: 64 years of service (stopped in 1950).
Château de Quinéville (open to the public): medieval manor house destroyed by the English, the current 18th century castle has 2 side pavilions. In the park: an ice-house and a dovecote (dating from 1422).