The Mayenne and its valley between Pruillé and Sautré

The walk starts at the ferry car park, at the end of Rue du Bac, in Pruillé, in the commune of Longuenée-en-Anjou.

(S/E) Take the towpath so that the Mayenne is on your left.

(1) Look out for the small car park on the right just before the Roussière site, which you will see on the way back. There, turn right onto the tarmac road that climbs uphill. At the crossroads, do not turn left; continue uphill along the road. Do not turn left onto Chemin des Noyers, which is a dead end. (That said, Les Noyers is a very pretty hamlet that may be worth a detour).
So carry on climbing until you come to a wide path branching off to the left.

(2) Turn left onto this path, which heads towards the Grand Jardin farm. Then, ignore the first path on the left.

(3) At the next crossroads, take the path on the right. Follow this path until you reach a small tarmac road at a place called Les Mortiers.

(4) Turn left onto the tarmac road. At the crossroads in the hamlet of La Peloperie, continue along the road opposite towards La Lande and Malvoisine.
At the^fourth bend, ignore the road leading to the hamlet of La Lande and continue towards Malvoisine.

(5) Before reaching Malvoisine, leave the road and take the wide path branching off to the left. Follow this path until you reach the Route des Vergers. Cross this road carefully towards Vauléard – Écluse de Sautré. After about 200 m, turn left to stay on the route towards Vauléard – Écluse de Sautré.
At the next junction, continue towards Écluse de Sautré.

(6) At the lock, turn left to walk alongside the Mayenne, keeping the river on your right.
From there, follow the Mayenne for about 3.5 km to pass the site of La Roussière, once a major centre for flour milling.

(1) Continue straight on to return to the starting point (S/E).

La Roussière site: La Roussière, a major centre for flour milling, reached its peak in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. At that time, it comprised a flour mill consisting of a four-storey building housing the steam engine, a second building constructed of tuffeau stone serving as a three-storey storehouse with a water wheel, a small building for cleaning, and a boiler house built of brick and iron. Opposite, running alongside the river, stood a manor house, part of which was used as the management office, the lock-keeper’s house, six grain or flour stores, the smithy, staff accommodation and the coal store.