Around Duneau

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The village of Duneau is located in a dominant position on the left bank of the Huisne, on a route that has been highly sought-after since prehistoric times. The Pierre Fiche menhir and the Pierre Couverte dolmen, dating from the Neolithic period (around 4000 BC), bear witness to this. These are the only visible archaeological remains among many others covering the periods of Antiquity and the Middle Ages.

Details

n°5557298
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 2.42 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 1h 15 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 138 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 138 ft
  • ▲
    Highest point: 344 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 217 ft
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ City: Duneau (72160)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 48.069012° / E 0.519508°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 1818SB, 1819SB
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Description of the walk

Park at Place de l'Église.

(S/E) Turn left onto Rue de la Mairie, turn right at the first street, and join a rural path, Chemin de Connerré.

(1) Turn left and follow this road to a place called Le Point du Jour.

(2) Go down to the right towards the valley; follow the path on the left that runs alongside the small road, which you will eventually take before turning right onto the path towards the river.

(3) Cross the small footbridge over the Huisne and continue straight ahead along the path through the meadow (view of the Château du Bréteau on the left).

(4) Turn right and cross the river again. After the Le Gué farm, take the valley road on the left for 400 metres.

(5) Take the path on the right and join a road called Chemin des Caves. Turn right onto Chemin de la Vallée and, via Rue Saint-Cyr, join Place de l'Église on the left (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 344 ft - Church Square
  2. 1 : mi 0.13 - alt. 279 ft - Connerré trail
  3. 2 : mi 0.61 - alt. 338 ft - Place known as Le Point du Jour
  4. 3 : mi 1.11 - alt. 217 ft - Footbridge over the - Huine (
  5. 4 : mi 1.48 - alt. 220 ft - Fork in the road
  6. 5 : mi 1.93 - alt. 226 ft - Fork in the road
  7. S/E : mi 2.42 - alt. 344 ft - Church Square

Worth a visit

Things to see along the way

- Saint-Cyr and Sainte-Julithe Church (listed building and furnishings).

Nearby attractions

- Pierrefiche menhir (listed building).
- Dolmen de la Pierre-Couverte (listed building).

Other walks in the area

Walking The Beillé meadow

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↔5.58 mi ↗+135 ft ↘-135 ft ◔2h 40 ▲Easy
⚑Departure from Beillé (Sarthe)
This walk follows the Huisne Valley and crosses the meadow where an American airfield was set up following the liberation of France in August 1944. A sign on site recounts the history of this temporary airfield.

Walking In the shade of the hedgerows towards Thorigny-sur-Dué

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À l'ombre des haies vers Thorigny-sur-Dué
↔7.30 mi ↗+203 ft ↘-213 ft ◔3h 30 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Thorigné-sur-Dué (Sarthe)
A few archaeological finds attest to human presence in Thorigné as far back as the Neolithic period. In Gallo-Roman times, a large agricultural estate (villa) is thought to have been the origin of a permanent settlement, which is better documented from the Middle Ages onwards. Despite the destruction of its medieval castle, which was replaced by a bourgeois house in the19th century, Thorigné stands out as a fairly large village offering a wide variety of civil architecture, spread out along the main axis linking the Dué valley to the church. Probably of Romanesque origin, the church was enlarged in the16th century and remodelled inthe 18th century . It houses interesting stained-glass windows and furnishings, such as the high altarpiece dating from 1669 and the18th-century side altarpieces.

Walking The Two Oaks of Luart Route

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Circuit des deux chênes du Luart
↔4.15 mi ↗+69 ft ↘-69 ft ◔2h 00 ▲Easy
⚑Departure from Le Luart (Sarthe)
This rural village had a population of just over 1,000 in themid-19th century before seeing its population gradually decline due to rural depopulation until 1962, when it fell to 643 inhabitants. The closure of many small farms gradually freed up the least productive agricultural land for building. Thanks to a proactive policy by the local council and the presence of a construction company in the village, Le Luart experienced considerable suburban development, leading to a spectacular rise in its population, which reached 1,445 inhabitants in 2012. Since then, the population has tended to stabilise.

Walking The Chéronne stream

Tourism professional
↔8.57 mi ↗+531 ft ↘-528 ft ◔4h 25 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Tuffé (Sarthe)
The route through the countryside around Tuffé takes us to the Château de Chéronne and the church of Saint-Denis-des-Coudrais. The Chéronne, which feeds the Tuffé lake, crosses and recrosses the sunken paths several times. This route is best enjoyed in good weather as the dirt tracks can be quite wet.

Walking Tuffé Abbey Circular Walk

Tourism professional
Boucle de L'Abbaye de Tuffé
↔7.09 mi ↗+167 ft ↘-157 ft ◔3h 25 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Tuffé (Sarthe)
Tuffé-Val-de-la-Chéronne is a new commune formed in 2016 from the merger of the communes of Tuffé and Saint-Hilaire-le-Lierru. Inhabited since the Neolithic period, as evidenced by the Grandes Brières dolmen, Tuffé began to develop in the Early Middle Ages with the founding of an abbey around 650. From the Middle Ages to the Revolution, the monastery of Tuffé was also a large seigneurial estate bearing the title of barony; its power sparked emulation and, at times, rivalry with the neighbouring lay lords of Chéronne. At the end of the 19th century, the railway gave the village a new lease of life; it encouraged the establishment of an industrial estate on which the town’s current economic vitality still partly rests.

Walking Bird trail from Nuillé-le-Jalais

Tourism professional
Sentier des oiseaux depuis Nuillé-le-Jalais
↔4.43 mi ↗+151 ft ↘-174 ft ◔2h 10 ▲Easy
⚑Departure from Nuillé-le-Jalais (Sarthe)
Nuillé-le-Jalais, first mentioned in the9th century , still has a small Romanesque church. Surprisingly, many of the local place-names refer to birds: La Pie qui Couette, La Grande Oiselerie and Le Chardonneret. The route’s signposting is a nod to this unique feature.

Walking An unusual walk in Dollon

Tourism professional
Balade insolite à Dollon
↔14.36 mi ↗+715 ft ↘-689 ft ◔7h 15 ▲Difficult
⚑Departure from Dollon (Sarthe)
This route will allow you to discover the villages of Lavaré, Dollon and Semur-en-Vallon. These villages developed in the Middle Ages on land that was often sandy or stony, not particularly suitable for farming before modernisation. The villagers therefore found additional sources of income through textile crafts and the extraction of building materials. Situated away from major transport routes, these villages have retained their vitality despite the rural exodus that affected them following the decline of rural industries and traditional activities. Furthermore, these villages have managed to maintain a vibrant community life, fostering the development of unique events and venues such as the tourist train in Semur-en-Vallon and the Museum of Mechanical Music in Dollon.

Walking The Maquis des Bois de la Croix in Connerré

Tourism professional
Le Maquis des Bois de la Croix à Connerré
↔3.50 mi ↗+233 ft ↘-220 ft ◔1h 50 ▲Easy
⚑Departure from Connerré (Sarthe)
Situated in the Huisne valley, inhabited since prehistoric times, Connerré developed in the Middle Ages around a religious centre comprising the Church of Saint-Symphorien and a priory. The town, enclosed by a wall at the end of the 16th century, opened up at the end of the Ancien Régime thanks to the construction of bridges replacing fords and the expansion of transport links: the construction of the Paris–Nantes royal road around 1780, followed by the opening of a station on the Le Mans–Paris line in 1854. These developments fuelled the economic boom of the 19th century through fairs and markets and the growth of industry. The market town modernised and expanded gradually, then more rapidly from the 1970s onwards. Today, Connerré is an attractive small town, situated halfway between Le Mans and La Ferté-Bernard.

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