Around Pruillé-le-Chétif, Yellow route

Park in the car park of the town hall and church in Pruillé-le-Chétif.

(S/E) With your back to the car park, turn left and cross the Route de Fay (D50) with care. Continuestraight on along the C2 towards Saint-Georges-du-Bois until you reach the cemetery.

(1) Head up the path running alongside the cemetery on its left:in the centre of the cemetery stands a 16th-century cross. Return to the D50, follow it to the left for about fifty metres, then turn left into the passage between the houses, which leads to the end of the Passage de la Nouvelle Chasse.

(2) Turn left (Chemin de Tréfins), pass the hamlets of Pré de la Gargaine and Gratte Loup, and arrive at a fork at No. 18.

(3) Turn left towards Les Petits Tréfins and follow a circular route, keeping to the right at the various junctions. Pass through Les Tréfins, La Grande Trouesse, La Trouesse and La Petite-Brosse in turn: follow the signposting carefully. Return to the Route des Tréfins and turn right to complete this short circular route at No. 18.

(3) Just before No. 18, turn left onto the sunken lane heading west: on the left, you’ll find a rare tree, the service tree. You’ll come to a road.

(4) Take this road to the left and continue straight on until you reach a four-way junction at the end of the Route du Grand Beauvais.

(5) Continue straight ahead along Rue des Fouillées, then turn left onto Chemin de Bel Air. Go straight on through a wooded area until you reach a fork at the edge of the woods.

(6) Follow the path to the left, skirting the Bois de la Manouillère. Join a road and continue in the same direction for about 500 m: be careful. At the entrance to the village, turn right towards La Brosse, join the D50 and follow it to the right until you reach the wayside shrine after Les Hauts Bois.

(7) Head up to the left along the path that crosses a small wood: on the right, you’ll see a Bollée wind turbine.

(8) At the edge of the woods, turn left, cross the small wooden footbridge and follow the sunken path uphill. At the Chemin des Hauts Bois, turn left and continue straight on. Cross the Route de Rouillon and continue along the one-way road until you reach the entrance to the Maison de la Petite Enfance in La Folie. 

(9) Continue to the right along a wide path which marks the start of the botanical trail:on your right, you will find a marl pit.

(10) Just before you leave the woods and reach Route de Rouillon, turn left onto the return path (shared with cyclists) towards Pruillé-le-Chétif. Continue along the tarmac road and, at the junction, carefully cross the A-road and carry on straight ahead. 

(11) Before reaching the houses in Anillé, turn left and take the tree-lined paths that go round the stadium before reaching a junction (Route de Beausoleil). 

(12) First turn left then right to join a path:on your left, you will find a second marl pit. You will emerge opposite the Jacques-Yves Cousteau Primary School, then head left to reach the car park (S/E). 

(S/E) On the right-hand side of the town hall you will find a covered courtyard, which is very useful in the event of a sudden shower. 

Public toilets and an automated external defibrillator (AED) are available under this covered area.

It is worth noting that the cemetery at Pruillé-le-Chétif features a remarkable Renaissance-style cross (1550–1590). At its summit is a disc bearing, on its south face, a Christ on a cross decorated with fleurs-de-lis and fruit. On the reverse side of the disc is an unidentified figure, arms outstretched beneath a canopy (perhaps Saint Peter, patron saint of the parish?). Curiously, this figure has a very elongated face, reminiscent of the 12th-century style. Another peculiarity is intriguing: in other cemeteries, when the reverse side depicts a figure, it is always the Virgin and Child.