The Gâteau Valley between Le Chillou and Lamairé

The start of the walk is in the car park of the Chillou communal grounds, Impasse du Prieuré.

(S/E) As you leave the cul-de-sac, turn right, pass the war memorial and the entrance to the cemetery surrounding the Romanesque church of Notre-Dame-des-Bois du Chillou; see ‘During the walk’ or ‘Nearby’.
At the crossroads, continue straight ahead then follow Rue du Grand Fief north-eastwards to a dirt track. Follow this to a Fork in the road in the woods.

(1) At the fork in the road, turn left and head due north for 1.2 km. About 100 metres after passing under a high-voltage power line, you’ll reach a junction after a pond.

(2) Take the path on the right until you reach another crossroads. Turn right for a few steps, then take the path on your left which heads south, staying close to the edge of the woods. It then turns left to join the road at the hamlet of Machepaille.

(3) Turn left and head for the wash house in the centre of the hamlet near a cross. Take the road on your right, Rue des Sources, towards the Seneuil springs. After the sharp right-hand bend, at the crossroads, turn sharply right to the viewpoint in the hamlet of Seneuil.

(4) This spot offers a fine view of the Seneuil cirque. Leave the small road and continue the walk along the dirt track. Running alongside the stone house, it leads after a few hundred metres to a T-junction near an underground shelter.

(5) Turn left and follow the^GRP®® des Marches de Gâtine. After a right-hand bend, it descends to a stream: do not cross it, but keep it on your left until you reach a junction. Take the path on the right (the narrower one), leaving the^GRP®®. The path then turns right and joins another path running perpendicular to it in the middle of the fields.

(6) Head left towards the road to the south-west, continue straight on for about 150 m and head for the hamlet of La Tictière. Turn left onto a dirt track and cross a wood, pass the Ruisseau de la Gautherie and join the road at the hamlet of La Joblinière.

(7) Take the path up to the left to the next junction further up, then turn right. Pass under the power line and continue until you reach a dirt track that veers right into the woods. Follow it to the Bois Bourreau fountain shortly afterwards.

(8) Continue along the track, cross the stream, then turn left and carry on to the Lamairé wash house.

(9) Turn left and take the road westwards towards the village. At the end of Rue de la Braudière, turn right into Rue Saint-Léger towards the Church of Saint-Léger in Lamairé.

(10) Continue along the road towards the water tower visible in the distance, then take Rue de l’Arpentin on your left after the village hall. Follow this road to the end, heading south-west to the T-junction (cross on the right-hand side).

(11) At this junction, walk a few metres to the left to find the path running alongside the fence of the house to the south. Enter the woodland and head south-west. After a left turn followed by a right turn, you will reach the bend in the road at the hamlet known as Les Vaux. Walk through this hamlet and reach the crossroads a few dozen metres further on.

(12) Take the path on your right. When you reach the road, turn right towards the water tower; after about a hundred metres, take the^first path crossing the Plaine des Essarts on your left until you reach the junction of the roads to Chillou and Lamairé.

(13) Turn sharply left along the road (take care), ignore the path on the right, and continue straight ahead (away from Chillou). When you come within sight of the junction with the D121, after several hundred metres, a wide dirt track branches off to the right towards the Lavoir du Chillou. Ignore the side paths until you reach the wash house, located about 1 km away, after a left-hand bend.

(14) At the wash house, take the road that climbs, leaving the picnic area on your left. Enter the village, ignore the turn-offs to the right and continue towards the church until you reach the junction by the bus shelter. Turn right and return to the starting car park (S/E).

Depending on the weather, bring something to protect you from the rain or sun for the sections across the plain, which offer no shelter. Sturdy footwear is recommended for the paths, which are stony and sometimes muddy.
Picnic tables are available at the following points:
- at the start, on the Chillou communal land (with toilet facilities);
- at point 5, on the small plot just to the right;
- just before point 7, next to a pond in the woods;
- shortly after point 8;
- at point 13, next to the Chillou wash house.

At this point is the entrance to the cemetery surroundingthe Romanesque church of Notre-Dame-des-Bois du Chillou (circa 12th century); the grave just to the right as you enter is that of a knight (you can see an engraving of a sword and a lance).

At point (3), near the Machepaille wash house, you will see the Château de l’Orangerie (private property), built in 1853.

At point (4), you will see the building housing the Seneuil spring water collection system, which supplies around fifteen surrounding villages.

At point (5), on the land to your left, there is an underground shelter (not accessible) which served as a refuge during the wars of the Middle Ages or as a burial site (its exact purpose is unknown).

At point (7), you will see the elegant Manoir de la Joblinière (private property) on your right.

At point (9) is the Saint Léger de Lamairé wash house.

At point (10) isthe Saint-Léger de Lamairé church.

At point (14) is the Ridefeu du Chillou wash house, built in 1881.

Along the route, you will see numerous Michelin corner markers from the 1930s in good condition.