The Mervent Forest from Chevalement d'Épagne

Park in the Mine car park near Épagne. Picnic area, Chevalement Saint-Michel. Access signposted on the left from the D89 towards Puy-de-Serre.

(S/E) Leave the car park and head right onto the road. When you reach the D89, cross carefully to the right and immediately turn left onto the cycle path leading up towards the forest.

(1) Cross the D65 carefully and head straight on along the Allée du Couvent. Just after the small house on the right and before the log barrier, leave the path by turning left and enter the forest. A little further on, the path skirts a meadow surrounded by the remains of a wall, a vestige of the Couvent des Robinières. When you reach Allée du Pont à l’Evèque, turn right.

(2) Go round the log barrier and turn left. Continue along the tarmac track which descends to the Ruisseau des Verreries. After the stream, turn left onto the path which climbs, and after a left-hand bend, go through the log barrier to continue along the Allée du Pont Mathé.

(3) At the crossroads, just after the two hunting lookouts, leave the lane by turning left onto the^GRP® Tour du Pays de Mélusine (yellow and red markings) Further on, turn right, cross two ditches (dry in summer, but if this is impossible, continue straight on at the previous fork; the path rejoins the route before the road). After the ditches, turn left, still on the GRP^®.

(4) Arrive at the small car park beside the D65 (Route de Mervent-Vouvant)^. Cross carefully to the right and^, after about 100 m^, turn left onto the^GRP® path^. 300 m further on, turn right then left and arrive at the Allée de la Cornelière.

(5) Turn right, ignore the first path branching off to the left, and further on, take the Chemin Forestier de la Guillotière on the left.

(6) Leave the^GRP® by turning left onto the path just before the log barrier blocking access to the lake, which can be glimpsed through the trees. This part of the route is often damp and a bit muddy. Once you reach the Allée des Cosses, continue to the right for about 100 m, then, just before the end of the lane, take the path on the left that leads into the woods.

(7) Turn left onto the Allée de Bonneraie (there isa picnic area not far to the right). Keep going straight on and ignore all the turnings to the right and left.

(8) Just before reaching Allée d’Épagne, turn right onto the grassy path lined with hunting towers, which descends and runs alongside the pine forest. At the bottom, step over the ditch to reach the road, turn left and walk carefully along the road for about 400 m.

(9) Turn right onto Rue des Corons and continue straight on until you reach the front of the mine. Cross the road carefully to reach the car park (S/E).

Toilets and picnic tables at the Chevalement d'Épagne car park (S/E)

Some sections of the trail may be muddy during the rainy season. (Couvent des Robinières,^GRP® and after point (6))

The Chevalement d’Épagne is one of the last remaining vestiges of the region’s mining industry. Coal mining at Épagne operated intermittently from 1847 to 1925. In 1947, a reinforced concrete headframe replaced the original wooden one. It was never used, due to a lack of sufficient coal reserves and subsidies from Charbonnages de France for the small Vendée mine. Today, this industrial structure—unique in the region and standing 25 metres tall—is owned by the Vendée Departmental Council, which has restored it. See more information.

Covering an area of 5,518 hectares, the Mervent-Vouvant forest complex includes a 2,530-hectare state-owned forest. It is home to a rich variety of plant species. The most common species, the sessile oak, can reach a height of 35 metres at 200 years of age. The suggested route follows a section of^{the GR®} de Pays Tour du Pays de Mélusine in the north-western part of the state-owned forest.