As far as Gué Guérin, following the Ernée

Use the large car park at the sports complex, on the right as you leave the village of Montenay, before the sports hall, rather than the angled parking spaces along the football pitches.

Yellow signposting

(S/E) Leave the car park by turning right towards the football pitches. Continue along this road. Cross a bridge over the Oscence and note the start of the^GRP® on the left^.

Yellow and Red Markings and Yellow Markings

(1) When the road curves to the left, turn right onto a dirt track. Follow it until it meets a road.

(2) Continue along this road, turning right, and pass the houses at Bois Joli. Follow the D209 local road to the left for about fifty metres.

(3) At Grand Gévereau, take the first track on the right which descends into the Ernée valley.
Follow the course of the Ernée. Pass the ruins of Monthéreux Castle and head towards Gué Guérin. The path turns left, moving away from the river.

Yellow markings

(4) Let the^GRP® head off to the right and climb the northern slope of the Ruisseau de la Perche valley along a mule track to the Bouhameries farm.
First turn right then left onto the small road and follow the path to reach La Marguinière.

(5) Turn left onto the Chemin de la Pesgerie and continue to the right at its end.
Don’t miss the left turn onto a very pleasant sunken path before crossing the Ruisseau des Beuchetières via a small footbridge.

(6) Follow the Route de Vautorte to the left for 50 metres, then turn right towards L’Aunay. The path takes a 90° bend to the right and then leads to the Route de l’Asnerie.

(7) See note in the section: During the walk.
First turn left then right and take the small road towards the Château de la Bas-Maignée.

(8) On this road, temporarily leave the yellow markings by turning right towards La Berthelière, then follow the path to the right to see the Pierre Saint-Guillaume polishing stone (see photo).
Retrace your steps and rejoin the Route de la Bas-Maignée.

(8) Continue to the right. After the Château de la Bas-Maignée, turn left onto the Route de la Traverserie. Follow it for almost 2 km to rejoin the GRP^®.

Yellow and red markings and yellow markings

(9) Take the path on the right and head down towards the pretty valley of ponds at La Brosse.
Cross the D247 and continue along a magnificent path running alongside an orchard.

(10) Turn left onto the Route des Coqueries and enter Montenay. Walk past the church, then turn left into Rue Roullois. Turn right, then, before the town hall, turn left into Rue de l’Asnerie to return to the car park (S/E).

At several points, in addition to the two sets of markings (^{the GRP®}’s yellow and red, and occasionally the route’s white and red and yellow markings), you will come across several signposts indicating a change of direction for the “Oscence Trails Route”.

Whilst this route very often follows magnificent sunken paths, it should be noted that between (7) and (9) – a stretch of 3.5 km – it follows small tarmac roads. Occasionally, the verges allow you to walk on softer ground.

At (7), there is the option of a shortcut: follow the road to the left and head for (1), then return to the car park via the same route as on the way out.

Route de la Traverserie:
as its name suggests, this road linked Montenay and Mayenne, winding its way along the rugged ridges of the Mayenne Forest, which stretches across the eastern horizon.