La Tuilerie des Saules via the hills of Souvigné-sur-Même

This walk starts in the village of Souvigné-sur-Même and follows sunken paths lined with pollarded trees, allowing you to explore the bocage, the grazing meadows, the woods and the surrounding countryside. The rolling hills offer views from their summits of the villages of Préval and Avezé and the Huisne and Même valleys.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.10 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 20 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 659 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 653 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 564 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 305 ft

Photos

Description of the walk

(S/E) From the car park, follow Rue de la Ronde, which runs alongside the cemetery and winds past the houses. Before the crossroads (cross), turn left. At the fork in the road, take the middle path, which becomes a stony track as it climbs. You’ll come out onto a wide dirt track; follow it to the left for about thirty metres.

(1) At the crossroads, continue to the right, heading due north, along the path overlooking the Même valley. Ignore a turn-off to the right. At the end, follow a tarmac path to the left.

(2) Cross the D59 (caution: reduced visibility) and head straight on along a stony track. After about 200 metres, at a crossroads, take the first track on the left. This narrow track descends gently then steeply and becomes tarmac as you approach a house.

(3) Just before the bottom of the descent, turn right onto a wide stony track that runs along the foot of the wooded hillside. At the T-junction, turn right and continue to a house at Le Géolet.

(4) At the fork in the road, turn right onto a dirt track that starts just behind the house. This track climbs very quickly and steeply towards the top of the hillside.

(5) At the junction at the highest point, continue along the path opposite. Carry on straight ahead along a tarmac road.

(6) At La Tuilerie des Saules, at a bend, take the dirt track opposite which leads into the forest. After about 150m, turn right onto a path through the woodland. Walk alongside the meadows until you reach a wider dirt track, then follow it to the right.

(7) At the T-junction, turn right onto the path which climbs and widens as you approach several houses. Pass them and continue to the tarmac road. Follow it to the right for 150m until you reach the Petite Pannerie crossroads.

(8) Then turn left onto the tarmac road that passes in front of the Petite Mare. At the hamlet of Les Créances, continue along a dirt track at the edge of the woods, overlooking the pastures. At a Fork in the road, turn right.

(9) At the T-junction, take the left-hand track leading to a house at the hamlet of Bellevue. Continue down the track (not shown on the map). At a track junction, turn sharply left and follow the path down to a tarmac road.

(10) Follow the road to the right and continue down the D59 to the houses at l’Aumône. Then turn right onto a stony track which leads to the houses at le Creux. Continue along a grassy track.

(11) At the end, turn right onto a wide stony track that runs alongside the railway line. At a level crossing, turn right and take the tarmac track that climbs up to the houses at La Ponjardière. Take the track on the left that passes in front of a pond and a house. At a junction, veer to the right and you’ll immediately reach a crossroads.

(12) Then turn left, then left again about fifty metres further on. Go uphill, then downhill, and finally climb steeply up to the sandy track at the Haras de la Milsandière.

(13) Follow the wire fence. At a crossroads, continue straight on along the path which enters the woods.

(14) At the start of the descent, turn right onto the wide dirt track leading to Le Petit Écossé.

(1) Turn left onto the path you took on the way there and follow it back to the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 341 ft - Souvigné-sur-Même car park - Même (rivière)
  2. 1 : mi 0.37 - alt. 505 ft - Crossroads
  3. 2 : mi 0.98 - alt. 535 ft - The barley mill
  4. 3 : mi 1.64 - alt. 341 ft - Préval Water Tower
  5. 4 : mi 2.09 - alt. 328 ft - Le Géolet
  6. 5 : mi 2.4 - alt. 548 ft - Chemin de l’Ogerie in Beauregard
  7. 6 : mi 2.65 - alt. 558 ft - La Tuilerie des Saules
  8. 7 : mi 3.52 - alt. 512 ft - Chemin des Piffolière
  9. 8 : mi 4.31 - alt. 551 ft - La Pannerie
  10. 9 : mi 4.93 - alt. 545 ft - Chemin de Bellevue
  11. 10 : mi 5.19 - alt. 423 ft - Route de la Tuilerie
  12. 11 : mi 5.94 - alt. 312 ft - Railway line
  13. 12 : mi 6.61 - alt. 427 ft - La Ponjardière
  14. 13 : mi 6.99 - alt. 525 ft - La Milsandière Stud Farm
  15. 14 : mi 7.41 - alt. 492 ft - La Groie
  16. S/E : mi 8.1 - alt. 341 ft - Souvigné-sur-Même car park

Worth a visit

The church at Souvigné-sur-Même.

On the discovery trail featuring:
- The Tuilerie des Saules, listed as a historic monument in the ‘Industrial Buildings’ category.
- The 16th-century Ponjardière Manor House.
- Panoramic views of the Même and Huisne valleys.

Reviews and comments

4.2 / 5
Based on 4 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
4 / 5
boulard pierre
boulard pierre

The route you took is indeed challenging for anyone with just a map and a compass. Nevertheless, you managed it, and I’d like to congratulate you on that. It’s worth noting that in the Avezé and Souvigné-sur-Même area, the network of paths is very dense; there are several marked routes, all in yellow: the FFRP route (from the ‘La Sarthe à Pieds’ guidebook), two routes from the ‘Topo-guide du Perche sarthois’ (starting from Avezé and Souvigné) and a yellow-marked route run by the Val au Perche community of communes. It is indeed a little confusing for anyone with just a map and a compass. This route suggested on Visorando is not signposted, and using a GPS would have made things much easier for you.... The Tuilerie des Saules site, listed as a historic monument (industrial heritage), is private property and can only be visited during Heritage Days.

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DaDoRando14
DaDoRando14

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 21, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Quite disappointed with this walk: a particularly complicated route, GPS essential (and for us who walk with a map and compass…!), place names not marked on the ground, and directions that were sometimes very vague (e.g. what is a path that goes down ‘abruptly’??? In the mountains, fair enough, but otherwise! La Tuilerie des Saules is situated on a farm and seems inaccessible… except to the farm machinery parked below! Signposting that makes it hard to follow the route… in short, not a very good experience – a shame, as the surroundings are lovely.

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Judéaux
Judéaux

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 09, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant, shaded and varied walk. It’s easier if you do it the other way round.

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kiwi61
kiwi61

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 03, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

a very pleasant route

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sandrine72400
sandrine72400

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 28, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A lovely walk, very pleasant. Some lovely views. Perhaps the signposting at point 13 needs reviewing. The written directions don’t match what’s on the ground. There’s a sign pointing to Souvigné at that spot, so I followed that one. But perhaps I’m the one who’s mistaken. It’s also possible to go from point 6 to 8. It’s a lovely discovery in any case.

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