Route des Roches in Torfou

From Cholet, take the D753 then the D949 and take the Torfou exit. Park on Place Clemenceau.

Follow the orange signposts.

(S/E) With your back to Place Clemenceau, take Rue Nationale opposite. Ignore the first junction and continue to the second.

(1) Turn right onto Impasse du Ruisseau, a fairly narrow lane situated between two houses, and follow it. When you reach the pond, turn right and follow the path to the corner formed by the pond.

(2) Keep to the left bank of the Étang de la Pierre Tournisse and carry on like this until you reach the first junction.

(3) Take the path on the left. On your right is the Pierre Tournisse. Continue along the path running parallel to the Ruisseau du Bon Débit, then cross it at the Pont des Roches. At the bend, turn right and you’ll reach a road.

(4) Turn left and carry on to the Moyenne Tiboire farm, then take the path on the right and go straight on. Cross the stream and start a gentle climb until you reach the junction with a cross-road.

(5) First turn left then right and join the path at the Croix de la Petitière. Continue until you reach a road.

(6) Make the first turn right then left and follow this path straight on, then cross a second road. Ignore the paths branching off to the right or left and keep going straight ahead until you reach the pond.

(7) Go round the Plan d’Eau la Gautronnière on the right via a wooded path and rejoin Route du Motreau. You’ll see a haulage company on your left.

(8) At the junction, turn left (Rue Griffon) and follow it back to the starting point, Place Clemenceau (S/E).

The Escupale grass snake:
Zamenis longissimus
The Aesculapian snake is diurnal but is sometimes active in the evening in warm weather. It feeds mainly on small mammals (voles) and lizards. It climbs trees and shrubs to hunt for nestlings and eat eggs. It is not shy and ventures close to human dwellings. It is non-venomous. To defend itself, it can emit a foul odour by emptying its cloacal glands.

Broad-leaved helleborine:
Epipactis helleborine (See also route no. 12 – La Cour – Tillières)
Along the route, on the verges, often at the foot of poplars, the broad-leaved helleborine can be seen in July and August; this orchid is still quite common in the Mauges.

The Sainte-Marie Community:
The Congregation of the Sisters of Sainte-Marie was founded by Father Charles Foyer in 1823, in the wake of the devastation caused by the Revolution, to “care for the poor and sick, provide a Christian upbringing for young girls, and, more generally, devote themselves to works of charity and mercy”. It currently has a presence in Upper Volta, Burkina Faso, Benin and Chad.
The chapel, a true three-aisled church designed by the architect Tessier, was consecrated in 1864 in the presence of five bishops and 500 priests, eight days after the death of its benefactress, the Marquise de la Bretesche. It features neo-Gothic capitals with astragals (rounded mouldings, a sort of ring framed by two fillets). Externally, the side walls are flanked by flying buttresses.
Private property

(8) Former tinned food and tinware factory: Rue Griffon (1906–1997)
Léon Griffon, the main supplier to the “Société Anonyme les conserves choletaises”, developed the Torfou site in 1906. Originally focused on producing tinned meat for the army (corned beef, ‘meat in jelly’ and similar products), the company expanded its production to include tinned vegetables (peas grown in the region) and fish. It also manufactured the tin cans for the company’s various factories located in Les Sables d’Olonne (85), Vannes, Lomener (56) and Saint Guénolé (29). It ceased its “canned food” operations in 1953 and continued its tin can production until 1997. The company, which was acquired by Carnaud, employed up to 150 people between 1966 and 1980.

(3) La Pierre Tournisse