Route of photography from Conflans-sur-Anille

Start at the church square in Conflans-sur-Anille

(S/E) Leave the church square to the right (Rue Saint-Maurice), then follow Rue Élie Cottereau to the left. Continue along the path that descends to the left. Turn left, then right, and follow the road for 400 metres. Take the path on the left and cross the woodland (private). At the exit, follow the road to the left for just under 2 km.

(1) After the access road to La Lande, take the covered path on the right.

(2) At the end of the woodland, continue to the right and take the stony path straight ahead.

(3) At the crossroads, carry on straight on towards La Tesserie. Take the path that goes downhill, then carry on straight on. At the junction after L’Anille, turn left. Before the bend, turn right onto the path that climbs into the woods.

(4) Take the path to the left, then to the right, and follow the hedge. At the crossroads, you can take the alternative route by turning right. Otherwise, carry on straight ahead through the woodland until you reach the D98.

(5) Follow it to the left. At the junction, go straight on.

(6) Further on, leave the road and head right towards the path leading into the woods. At the crossroads, take the first path on the right.

(7) At the corner of L’Épinerie, turn right, then take the path on the left. At the end of the path, take the one that continues straight ahead before keeping left at La Bourrelière.

(8) Take the road on the right, then the track on the right. Follow the road to the right until you reach the junction with the D1.

(9) Cross it (take care) and take the small road opposite.

(10) Turn right towards La Petite Fourmonnière and continue along the track. At the end, take the track on the right. Cross the D1 again (take care) and, at the first junction, turn left. At Le Grand Genetay, take the dirt track that descends to the right.

(11) After the ford, at the crossroads, turn left and carry on straight ahead onto the D98.

(12) Before entering the village, leave the D98 and take the path on the right. At the road, follow it to the left, then turn left onto the path. At La Pitié, turn right onto the D98, then left onto Rue du Panorama and left again onto the D98 to return to the starting point (S/E).

Yellow markings.
50% tarmac.

A map and full route description are available in the Perche Sarthois Hiking Guide (50 routes). On sale at Perche Sarthois tourist information centres for €10.

• Saint-Maurice Church (^16th–18th centuries), wall paintings (^19th century).
• Former presbytery, now the town hall (late^15th and^16th centuries).
• Houses (^16th and^17th centuries).
• Château de la Barre (^15th and^16th centuries).
• Corbohay Castle (private)
• 8 service trees, 1 pear tree and 1 service tree

In the early 19th century, the property (4 Rue Poitevin) already belonged to the Poitevin family, a family of merchant weavers. It remains best known as the home of Alphonse Poitevin, mayor of Conflans-sur-Anille from 1872 to 1878 and famous for his work, which contributed significantly to the invention of photography: a small plaque on the façade commemorates him. Thanks to him, the village and the house, where Alphonse had set up his studio, were the subject of several early photographs, taken between the 1850s and the 1880s. Most of these are held at the Niepce Museum in Chalon-sur-Saône and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris; they provide a rare and valuable record of the history of a rural village in the Sarthe region and the evolution of its architecture. The street-facing façade of the house, with its three bays and brick ornamentation, as well as the paved courtyard surrounded by outbuildings, have retained their mid-19th-century character.