Country:
District:
Park in the charming hamlet of La Roche Bourdeil, easily accessible from the RD29 road linking Langennerie and Beaumont-Louestault. See practical information for parking details
(S/E) First follow the dirt track opposite a recently restored house at the bottom of the hamlet. After passing a small pond, the track enters the forest and leads to the hamlet of Bois Bourdeil.
(1) Cross the road and quickly leave the tarmac to enter a small wood. Before reaching the power line, you will come to a crossroads.
(2) Turn left, pass under the power line and follow the farm track until you reach another tarmac road.
(3) Turn right and cross the hamlet of Bourmay. Follow the signs for Étang de Bourmay.
From here, don't rely on your trusty old IGN map, as the paths have recently been altered. Head for the pond's spillway at its southern corner.
(4) On the left, find a well-marked path in the forest that runs alongside the Fontaine stream. After a good hundred metres, cross the stream on some more or less stable planks and continue to the left to discover the pond and the Château de Rochefort. The path then climbs towards a water tower and a few houses.
(5) Then turn left. The street quickly becomes a dirt track that descends into the forest. Once at the bottom of the valley, continue left along the road. Reach the bridge over the Fontaine stream.
(6) Take the pleasant dirt track that branches off to the right (opposite the gate to Rochefort Castle) and follow the Fontaine stream again. You will see two other ponds before reaching the fields on your left. Continue along the forest on your left. You will come to a crossroads where a signpost shows two yellow arrows (left or right).
(7) Turn right and follow the edge of the field (yellow sign). At the corner, turn left, pass a power line and rejoin the road.
(8) Continue straight ahead and turn left a few metres further on. Follow the edge of the field, then cross the forest on a pleasant path lined with imposing ditches, which sometimes winds between the trees before joining a track at the edge of the forest. Take this track on the left. Cross the road (cross) and join a new fork.
(9) Take the slightly grassy path on the right which leads to the heights of the hamlet of La Roche Bourdeil. After passing some beautiful buildings, you will come to a final pond (private) before returning to the starting point (S/E).
Visorando member
Easy 
