Circular route from Saint-Léonard-des-Bois to Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei

Park in the Gasseau car park in Saint-Léonard-des-Bois.

(S/E) Head towards the Domaine du Gasseau. You will soon reach the crossroads at the rest area.

(1) Turn right and go around the estate on the left. Reach the Sarthe river and follow it, passing the hamlet of Le Val, until you reach a crossroads. Turn right to leave the river and you will soon reach a crossroads.

(2) Keep left on the^GR®36marked in white and red, continue uphill and arrive at a crossroads of tracks.

(3) Leave the^GR® here and turn right, joining a road, then turn left. After the hamlet of La Soudonnière, you will reach the D146. Turn left onto it and, at the next crossroads, you will find the^GR®. Continue along it until you reach the four-way crossroads at the hamlet of La Touzelière.

(4) Turn left onto Rue du Cussonnet, then continue along a path. You will then reach the Sarthe river. Follow it until you reach the Pont district. Turn left, cross the Sarthe and continue to the crossroads where you will find the Saint-Céneri Information Point.

(5) Go up to the right to the village of Saint-Céneri, then take the lane on the right just after the stone wall. You will arrive at the town hall of Saint-Céneri.

(6) Return in the opposite direction to the previous crossroads.

(5) Turn right, then immediately left onto Rue de l'Église, which climbs slightly. At the top, you will find Saint Céneri Church. Continue on to reach Saint-Céneri Chapel, built in the 15th century.

(7) Turn 180° to the right to follow the banks of the Sarthe and return to Saint-Céneri via a different route. Then turn left and carefully take the D144. Just before the town exit sign, you will reach a crossroads with a footpath.

(8) Take it to the right, then cross from the Orne to the Mayenne via a small metal footbridge. Continue along a path parallel to the D144 and rejoin it after a left-hand bend. Cross it with caution. Continue along a footbridge before arriving at the Moulin de Trotté

(9) Cross the Sarthe river on the wooden bridge and then begin an easy climb to reach the^GR® crossroads at the edge of the woods.

(10) Turn right and follow the forest along a wide right-hand bend. Further on, you will come to the crossroads of the path you took earlier.

(3) Retrace your steps and you will come to another junction that you passed on the way there.

(2) Leave the^GR® here and start a new, easy climb to the left. Pass the hamlet of L'Étang Sec and reach the hamlet of Le Grand Pâtis.

(11) Turn right onto the wide track. At the cross in the bend, continue straight ahead on a path. Keep left at the Y-junction to reach the leisure park and then the Gasseau car park.
Here you have two options: either finish the hike or continue.

(S/E) Take the same path as at the start and return to the picnic area.

(1) Turn onto Route du Gasseau and follow it to reach the Sarthe at the Roirie bridge.

(12) Do not cross the Sarthe, but continue to the left to follow it. Take a large circular right turn to reach a chapel.

(13) Turn left and follow the path up into the woods, turning almost 180°. Gradually move away from the Sarthe to reach the Haut Fourché viewpoint. Enjoy the breathtaking view of Saint-Léonard from here.

(14) Stay on the path and, at the bend where it joins the road, turn left and continue along the path. Descend until you reach the GR^®.

(15) Follow it to the right and you will soon reach the crossroads at the rest area.

(1) Take the path to the right, retracing your steps, to return to the Gasseau car park (S/E).

Although very accessible, this route requires footwear suitable for hiking.

(5) Saint-Céneri Church: built in the 12th century, it overlooks the cliff. A little further on, you can see a 16th-century Roman bridge over the Sarthe River.
(6) Saint-Céneri Town Hall: see the unique French War Memorial in tribute to the heroes of the Hundred Years' War.
(9) Trotté Mill: a recently restored 16th-century watermill.