Route des Brosses in Meslay

Parking in the Meslay town hall car park.

(S/E) Leave the car park, turn left and walk past the town hall. At the end of Rue de la Mairie, turn right into Rue des Courtillages and follow it to the wayside shrine.

(1) Cross the Route de Falaise (D6) very carefully, turn left and, taking great care, follow the road along the verge. Walk for about 500 m to the Church of Saint-Célerin, passing the Haras de l’Aube on the way.

(2) Take the path on the right rounding the church and follow it for about 1.5 km until you reach the Cour Fontaine farm on the right.

(3) Walk past the farm, take the Cour Fontaine cul-de-sac (tarmac path) and negotiate the right-hand bend. Continue to the Tourelle farm on the left, walk past the farm entrance and, about fifty metres further on, leave the road and take the path on the right. Follow the Chemin du Grand Moulin (a sunken path); as you pass through the hedge, admire the manor house on the left, then cross the Ruisseau de Bactot via the footbridge. Continue for about 300 m until you reach the hamlet of Froide Rue on the right.

(4) Turn right, walk for about 80 m and, at the bend before a large wall, take the Chemin de la Porte Rouge on the right. Walk along the left-hand side of the walls of the Château de la Motte for about 1.2 km and note the small square building at the southern corner. At the end of the path, turn left towards the corner of the castle walls and walk for about 600 m until you reach the Route de Falaise (D 6) near a power line pylon.

(5) Cross this road carefully, turn left and follow the road for about 50 metres. A few steps before the D241 road towards Angoville, turn right onto the path that branches off at an acute angle. Follow the Chemin des Cerfs for about 500 m until you reach a tarmac road. Turn left into Rue de la Vallée, then, at the bend 200 m further on, turn left onto the tree-lined, stony track towards the Bois de Saint-Clair and continue to the woods.

(6) At the forest house, turn left at a right angle, go round the house and follow the edge of the woods for about 1.2 km until you reach a crossroads. Note the numerous observation posts along the way, all facing the fields.

(7) At the two metal gates, turn right at a right angle, go through the second gate (the first is on private property), and walk for about 450 m. At the next crossroads, continue straight ahead, go down the sunken path and cross the Ruisseau de la Vieille Maison very carefully; the old railway crossing that serves as a footbridge is very slippery. Follow the sunken, ravined path for about 500 m until you reach a crossroads.

(8) Turn right onto Rue des Brosses, cross the village of Les Brosses, then, just before a detached house on the left, turn into the tree-lined path on the left. Follow the path to Route de Donnay (D134).

(9) Turn right, then, after No. 14 (on the left) and just before No. 23 (on the right) on Route de Donnay, turn left onto Rue de la Mairie. Cross Rue des Courtillages, follow Rue de la Mairie and ignore Rue de Pallène on the right. Take the left-hand bend and head for the town hall car park and the parking area (S/E).

Château de la Motte in Acqueville.

Saint-Cellerin Church in Meslay.