Claire-Fontaine and the Chapelle de Courbefosse in Fougerolles-du-Plessis

Park at Place de l’Église.

(S/E) Head south, crossing Square Marin Marie with the town hall on your left. Take Rue des Châteaux. At the bottom of the alley, turn left onto Rue de la Filature to join the departmental road.

(1) Cross carefully and continue straight ahead. At the crossroads, turn right towards the lake and walk round it in a clockwise direction.

(2) Leave the lake via the wooden footbridge on the left and join Rue du Bardeau. At the top of the hill, turn right.

(3) Cross the D141 road with care and walk along the left-hand side of the pond’s embankment. At the junction, turn right, walk past the Chapelle Saint-Joseph and continue along this road to the Ferme de la Bruyère.

(4) Turn left onto the path towards the village of Chamossay. Before reaching the houses, turn left to rejoin the D141. Take care. Follow it to the right for 100 m, then turn left onto a dirt track which, heading north, leads to a small road.

(5) Turn left and, after 20 metres, follow another track to the right. It crosses a stream before reaching Aubigné and then La Table – where it becomes a road – eventually joining the D122.

(6) Cross carefully and continue straight ahead, keeping slightly to the left. Cross a^second road and carry on straight ahead. Finally, cross the D116 road carefully and continue straight on along the path.

(7) Cross the D588, keeping slightly to the left, and reach the village of Louzelaie. Turn left, cross the village and come out onto a small tarmac road; follow this to the right for about twenty metres

(8) Turn left onto a lovely dirt track.

(9) Turn right. The track runs alongside a private property before joining the road leading to Les Hauts Champs. Turn right, then very soon after turn left onto a road which becomes a track and leads to La Pitantonnière. Follow the D 122 for a few metres.

(10) Continue along a path that runs alongside the river and then disappears into the pastures (see note below) until you reach a small tarmac road.

(11) Turn right and head uphill to the Chapelle de Courbe Fosse.

(12) Return to the road and continue down the slope to the left.

(13) Turn left to climb up the side of a hill and then descend through the pastures to a small road at elevation 174. Follow it to the right towards the south. Continue to the left to reach Louzelaie.

(8) Turn right onto the same path as before to reach a junction you passed on the way out.

(9) Follow the path to the left. At the end of it, continue along the road. Cross the Route de Savigny and carry on straight ahead along the Sentier de la Planche. Continue straight ahead through the Résidence de l’Aunay.

(14) Turn right to walk past the care home. Carry on along Rue de Moroge.
Note: two hundred-year-old yew trees. At the end of the street, the church car park is on the right (S/E).

This route can be divided into two parts: the right-hand circular route, the Claire Fontaine route (approximately 9 km, marked with Yellow Triangles), and the left-hand circular route, the Chapelle de Bellefosse route (approximately 6 km, marked with Yellow Rectangles), if you start at point (10) between La Motte and Les Champs

Please note: between (10) and (11), the path is barely marked. You must therefore make your way by sight, keeping as close as possible to the stream, which requires crossing several fences and barbed wire.
We encountered the same problem between (13) and the road. Furthermore, on the road there is a sign directing you to turn left, but we found no path beyond that point. Hence, we followed the road to the right to get back to Louzelaie.