In the Moulière forest

A bucolic hike in the forest with very little road walking.
Tree lovers should not hesitate to bring a book or app to help them identify the different species.

Details

n°9505185

Creation:
21 May 2021

Last update:
29 May 2021

Last review:
18 Aug 2025

Activity: Walking
Distance: 11.05 km
Average duration: 3h 15
Difficulty: Moderate
Back to start: Yes
Ascent: + 30 m
Descent: - 30 m
Highest point: 130 m
Lowest point: 98 m

Country: France
District: Montamisé (86360)
Start/End: N 46.631882° / E 0.49107°
IGN map(s): Ref. 1826SB, 1827SB
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Description of the walk

Park in the Maison de la Forêt car park at Le Grand Recoin.

(S/E) Cross the D20 road and turn left onto Chemin du Grand Recoin. Continue along this shaded path to Manoir des Meurs.

(1) Turn right onto the path and continue slightly uphill. At a left-hand bend, join the^GR® de Pays de la Vienne Médiévale and follow it for about 200 metres.

(2) Leave the^GR® by taking the path on the right and continue around the bend, leaving a path on your right. Then continue along the edge of the forest with meadows on your left where you will see many horses from the Champot equestrian centre.

(3) Cross the wide path diagonally to rejoin the small track. Continue for about 150 metres to cross the wide path known locally as "Sommière". In the right-hand bend, you will see the bell tower of Bignoux church. You will arrive at a small road.

(4) Turn left, pass in front of the water tower and, at the crossroads, continue straight on along Chemin de Vaugellais.
Walk alongside a property on your right and a cemetery on your left. After leaving the edge of the woods, a clear stretch of about 200 m leads to a crossroads.

(5) At the ruined hut and bamboo, turn right and continue across open ground until you reach the forest again. Continue along this path until you reach the small road, which you should cross.

(6) Take a small path that runs alongside the road for about ten metres and then veers to the right (note: the Chemin des Fossés Rouges shown on the map no longer exists). Continue along this track with a clearing on your right until you reach the Route Forestière de Bignoux.

(7) Turn left and continue along the road until you reach the path that enters the forest.

(8) Take the path on the left into the forest, which is part of^{the GR®} de Pays de la Vienne Médiévale, then turn right onto the main path straight ahead, Sommière de Corsec.

(9) Turn right to join the Bignoux road.

(10) Turn left onto the Bignoux road and, after the bend, you will return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

S/E : km 0 - alt. 100 m - Maison de la Forêt car park
1 : km 1.92 - alt. 103 m - Manoir des Meurs
2 : km 2.58 - alt. 111 m - On the right (leaving the GR)
3 : km 3.85 - alt. 120 m - Cross diagonally.
4 : km 4.39 - alt. 122 m - Turn left onto the road.
5 : km 5.94 - alt. 128 m - At the crossroads, turn right.
6 : km 7.36 - alt. 123 m - Cross the road.
7 : km 7.91 - alt. 123 m - Turn left at the fork.
8 : km 8.43 - alt. 122 m - Forest path on the left
9 : km 9.94 - alt. 108 m - Turn right
10 : km 10.63 - alt. 106 m - Brignoux road
S/E : km 11.05 - alt. 100 m - Maison de la Forêt car park

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5

Based on 8 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5

Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5

Route interest
4.6 / 5

Philippe69

18 Aug 2025 at 08:23 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 18, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Very pleasant forest trail completed on 15 August 2025 during a heatwave. Easy to follow with the Visorando app, completed in less than 3 hours

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Chamdom

05 May 2025 at 14:35 7200

Thank you for your comment. It has been a long time since I used this route, so perhaps some sections have been changed.

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Béa86

05 May 2025 at 13:55 7200

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 05, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Nice route, not too difficult to find your way around.

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Chamdom

08 Mar 2024 at 13:02 3600

Thank you for your comment. Of course, the paths are a bit muddy at the moment, but that's just the season.

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Clo Larmo

08 Mar 2024 at 09:07 3600

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 07, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant hike on a beautiful sunny winter's day. Yes, it's not spring yet! Of course, it was a bit damp, but nothing insurmountable. We just had our noses stuck to our shoes. To be repeated in the warmer months. To enjoy the shade of the trees. Thank you for this suggestion. Very good.

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Chamdom

15 Aug 2023 at 18:30 7200

Thank you for your comment.

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Marc Boisson

15 Aug 2023 at 16:56 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 12, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The route was not very busy, perhaps because of the month (August), the early morning hour, the day (Saturday) and the weather (rainy). A very good hike, but only in the forest. Be sure to bring insect repellent, as there are many horseflies and flies that are very persistent.

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Chamdom

20 Jun 2023 at 10:29 7200

Thank you very much for your comment. I have stopped publishing routes because even the moderators make comments such as "cross the road with caution". Hikers are not five-year-old children. I had a hike rejected because the arrival point was 200 metres from the starting point!
Making mistakes and turning back are part of the game, especially with GPS, where you get a warning signal after 20 metres if you stray from the route! This is not the case with a paper map! Making mistakes can sometimes lead to the discovery of interesting sites.
Best regards

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jm-parvery

20 Jun 2023 at 10:01 7200

No... but we're fed up with people complaining because it's poorly marked... bloody hell, they don't get it. I'd add... that's not the case here when you see a 500m elevation gain... or even just 300m, it means there'll be climbs and even descents.
People who need assistance annoy me!
Thank you for taking the time to share your hikes!

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Chamdom

19 Jun 2023 at 23:22 7200

Thank you for your comment, it's encouraging.

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jm-parvery

19 Jun 2023 at 21:54 7200 • Edited: 19 Jun 2023 at 21:58 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 19, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We did this hike on a Sunday morning when it was very hot. Almost the entire route is in the shade, with little tarmac and beautiful paths or trails, making it really very pleasant.
Just one comment: stop saying that it's poorly marked... it's not marked at all. And for those who complain about the description... try writing one yourself one day, you'll see that it's very complicated and takes a lot of time. We use the GPS track and never, ever have any problems!
Happy hiking!

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Chamdom

02 Sep 2022 at 17:03 7200

Hello,
Tell me about your "many" hesitations and where you turned back! You mention beehives that were not there when I surveyed the route in 2021, or perhaps they were hidden by vegetation. I did the route again last July and people were cleaning around the beehives, which are likely to be moved.
It seems to me that you are giving more explanations than I did, but they are redundant and therefore more confusing.
You are asking me to change my routes!!! Why? I mapped out this route based on my impressions, and I commented on it based on the points I saw, which are my own. You do not have the same point of view as me, which is normal, but I do not see why I should change my version for yours. There are many possible routes. Map out your route and publish it.
Thank you.
Kind regards

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hebdo15meros

31 Aug 2022 at 21:59 7200

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 31, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We had a lot of hesitation and backtracking during the first part of the route due to confusing or inaccurate directions. That is why I would suggest making the following corrections to the proposed description...

(S/E) Cross the D 20 road and turn left onto the tarmac cul-de-sac of Grand Recoin, which shortly afterwards becomes the path of the same name. Continue straight ahead along this shaded path until you reach Manoir des Meurs.

(1) Opposite the manor gate, turn right onto the path and follow it slightly uphill, curving to the left to go around the manor grounds. Pass a apiary on your left and you will come to a crossroads. Turn left and follow this path (which continues straight on to Bignoux, point 4).

References to the GR de Pays de la Vie...

(2) About 1 km further on, at a three-way junction, leave the path on the left that leads out of the forest towards the Champot equestrian centre (a grey metal barrier is visible from the three-way junction) and follow the other path on the right that runs alongside the equestrian centre at the edge of the forest.

(3), (4), (5), (6) unchanged.

(7) Turn left and continue along the road until you reach one of the perpendicular paths on the left, as they all lead to a large stone path straight ahead, the Sommière de Corsec, which you follow on your right.

Delete point (8) as it is no longer necessary.

Turn right to join the Bignoux road. Or better still (alternative), continue straight ahead along the marked path signposted Maison de la Forêt, which avoids a section of road and takes you out of the forest at the restaurant "Le Recoin Gourmand" and the car park.

Suggestion for enjoying a break at the restaurant about two-thirds of the way along the route: start the route at point (4) by finding a parking space near the water tower (in front of the houses or in the car park opposite) and begin the walk by taking the Chemin de Vaugelais. This allows you to walk for two hours in the morning and a good hour in the afternoon (after a meal that is quite reasonable for the price).

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michel64

22 Nov 2021 at 11:08 3600

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 21, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello,
For tree lovers, this is a very interesting route, especially in autumn due to the diversity of the foliage.
Still to be done in spring.
Best regards,
Michel64

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Chamdom

21 Jun 2021 at 13:05 7200

Hello Michel, thank you for your comment, but what do you mean by poorly marked and average map reliability?

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Chamdom
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