Rocher du Pas de la Mule (forêt de Tronçais)

Braize

At the crossing of two roads in the forêt de Tronçais, a block of stone bears a rounded, horseshoe-shaped cavity. According to tradition, it is the imprint of a hoof. One version says that the mule of Saint Martin leapt from the church of Braize to this rock and left its mark there. Another tells that a beautiful forester's wife, who had given herself to the devil to save her lover, was turned by him into a mule: her hoof is said to have marked the stone. The official sheet of the listed site notes that the rock had long been venerated. A report of 1933 relates that, according to the inhabitants, sand spread on the imprint was clean again the next day, because the mark never gets covered. The place was listed on 19 February 1934 as a ‘picturesque and legendary’ site. Later the block was sealed into the ground so that it could not be moved or carried off. Another reading, cited by a page on the commune, sees in the name a simple ford: the stone would mark the crossing of a stream that ran under the church and fed the étangs Roux. The tradition cannot be dated: no source read gives its origin.

Getting there: Free, at the crossing of two roads in the forêt de Tronçais, in the commune of Braize. Coordinates taken from OpenStreetMap (protected area ‘Rocher du Pas de la Mule’): position to within a few tens of metres. According to the official sheet, an electricity pylon stands behind the rock and panels explain the legend; the rock has been sealed so that it cannot be carried off.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound