The banks of the Loir, the Soucelles Forest and the large meadow

Departure from the Carrefour Contact car park.

(S/E) Head south down Rue du Vieux Port.

(1) At the first crossroads, turn right and take Chemin de la Saurée. Follow the purple markings (provided by Angers Loire Métropole) to La Roche Foulques. At the end of this section, the route runs alongside the Loir.

(2) At La Roche Foulques, admire the banks of the Loir (you may wish to continue for a hundred metres or so to the chain ferry. Why not take the opportunity to cross over and explore the other bank?). Avoid the road that climbs to the right and take the path that climbs towards the Chapelle Saint-Julien.

(3) Turn right and, after about a hundred metres, turn left onto Route du Clos du Val towards Briollay. Be careful, as there may be some traffic. Pass Route de la Chapelle du Chêne, then take the path on the right that leads into the woods.

(4) Turn right onto the path that joins Route de la Chapelle du Chêne, passing in front of the chapel. Immediately after the crossroads, turn right and follow the road to the pretty village of La Bodinière, with its few well-restored old houses. Cross the road carefully , continue straight ahead and, at the first crossroads, turn right until you reach the Aulnaies crossroads.

(5) Follow the road to the left until you reach a crossroads and leave the tarmac road via Chemin de Gaza, opposite.

(6) At the crossroads, enter the Soucelles Forest by taking a pleasant path on the right. Follow it until you reach a gravel track, turn right and carefully cross the D313 road. Turn left and follow the road on the right along a wide path, which soon veers off at a right angle to the right. Just after another right-hand bend, don't miss a path that branches off to the left (signposted "qui mange qui?" on the forest discovery trail).

(7) Say hello to the old three-hundred-year-old chestnut tree (the living parts are not that old). Immediately afterwards, turn right at the T-junction. Join a gravel track, turn right onto it, then leave it on the left via a wide path. Follow it to the edge of the forest (sign). At the end, it turns left to run alongside a road.

(8) Be sure to notice the Christianised menhir. Take the road on the right and do not enter the Domaine de l'Ermitage. Further on, cross the departmental road 109 straight ahead (be careful). Descend for about a hundred metres and find a yellow marker.

(9) At the pasture for young racehorses, turn left to follow it (you are on private property, owned by the horse breeder), join the D109, but do not take it. Take the wide gravel track on the right and leave it at the first path on the right towards the Pierre Césée dolmen.

(10) At the dolmen, continue to follow the yellow markings to a large stone across a large meadow. This immense meadow enabled François Mitterrand to fly clandestinely to England on the night of 15 to 16 November 1943. He returned there on a pilgrimage in 1984.

(11) At the large rock, continue almost straight ahead until you reach the D113, cross it (there is a designated crossing) and follow the yellow markings.

(12) The yellow markings indicate the right, but don't miss the opportunity to go left to the edge of the Loir to admire the view of Villevêque and its mill. Retrace your steps and follow the yellow markings again. Just before you reach the intersection you passed at the very beginning of the walk, don't forget to stop off at the Soucelles wash house and the fountain that supplies it.

(1) Follow the same route back to return to the car park (S/E).

Refreshments available at the start and finish in Soucelles.

Much of the route may be impassable or even flooded. Please check with the town hall in Rives-du-Loir-en-Anjou.

Villevêque and its "l'Engrenage" mill, the château (not open to visitors), the Château du Plessis Bourré, Cheffes and the banks of the Sarthe, Montreuil-sur-Loir with its chain ferry for a trip to the Boudré estate...