The castles of Barbelinière and La Massardière as you wind through the woods

Start from the car park at Thuré cemetery (signposted as having 35 spaces). Access via Rue du Champ de la Porte, which begins opposite the porch of Thuré church.

Many firebreak tracks are numbered and signposted along the route. In the description below, they are referred to as “ChDI” followed by their number.

Yellow + Orange + Mauve markings

(S/E) On leaving the car park, turn left and walk alongside the cemetery on your left. At the corner, continue along ChDI No. 2, a grassy track running along the edge of a field on the right-hand side. Note the Château de la Barbelinière on your right. Pass a detached house (Le Champ de la Porte), cross a stream and climb gently. Pass through a forest gate, enter a woodland and continue uphill, keeping a ruined low wall on your right. Ignore a path coming from the left and you’ll reach a junction.

Yellow + Orange markings

(1) Go straight on, passing through a forest gate.

Yellow markings

Further on, cross ChDI No. 1 and continue straight on until the next junction.

(2) Then follow ChDI No. 4 to the right. Head downhill, skirt a recently thinned area on your left and head back uphill. Continue on level ground between two stands of young pine trees. Ignore a path coming from the right and you’ll soon reach a three-way junction.

(3) Then turn left onto ChDI No. 3. Stay on this main path and ignore any vague side tracks. Pass through a metal gate, continue straight ahead downhill and pass through a second metal gate. You’ll rejoin the tarmac road at the hamlet of Les Pichreaux and pass No. 15 on the right-hand side.

(4) At the corner of the house, turn right onto a stony path that winds between the houses. After the garden of the last house (on the left-hand side), continue along a grassy path at the edge of the woodland. The path, which is very overgrown, appears to be little-used and poorly maintained (as of June 2021). It leads out onto the D14.

(5) Cross the road (be careful, traffic moves fast) and follow it to the right (note the remains of the Tour de Pouillé on the right-hand side). After just under a hundred metres, turn left onto the Route des Blots towards La Motte. Carry on straight ahead and pass through the hamlet of Les Blots (the purple line on the 1:25,000 map, which is supposed to represent the^PR®, is not up to date here). Continue to the next junction with a track (there is an electricity pole with a Yellow Cross on it opposite on the left-hand side).

(6) Leave the small road and follow the ChDI No. 6 to the right. Climb gently towards a woodland along this grassy track. Pass through a forest gate, enter the woodland and continue climbing. Ignore a track on the right (wooden cross; track not shown on the map). At the junction that appears shortly afterwards, go straight on. Cross the Bois de la Barbelinière, staying on the main track, heading south-east.

(7) Pass through a metal gate and follow a small road that continues from there. At the^first junction (metal cross), turn left onto ChDI No. 7 (Chemin des Saboureaux). Follow this gravel track, lined with fields on the left, and pass through a gate on the right. Enter the woodland and you will immediately come to a crossroads.

(8) Pass through a forest gate and continue straight ahead (east-north-east) along ChDI No. 7. Walk through patches of pine trees, some of which are regenerating, with an undergrowth of ferns. Through a clearing on the right, take in the panoramic view of Thuré and the Château de la Massadière (small orientation table). Shortly afterwards, pass through a gate and continue straight on until you reach a crossroads (metal gate on the left).

(9) Take the^first right, a wide track of a mixture of stones and gravel, and head down a steep descent. Pass the farm belonging to Thuré’s Agricultural Vocational College (LPA) on your right and reach a junction with a path on the left offering a superb view of the Château de la Massardière.

(10) Continue along the road and pass the castle’s monumental old gate. Pass ChDI No. 10 on the right-hand side and head uphill again. Head back downhill, pass between the LPA buildings and continue straight on. At the Stop sign, turn right into Place de la Liberté. After about thirty metres, turn left into Rue de l’Église. Walk alongside the church on your left, from its apse to its entrance porch.

Yellow and purple markings

(11) With your back to the church porch, cross a road and follow Rue du Champ de la Porte towards the cemetery. You will soon reach the starting car park (S/E).

Hiking boots are useful in dry weather and essential in wet weather.

No water points have been identified along the route. In the centre of Thuré, there are public toilets on Rue de l’Église, and a bar and mini-market on Place de la Liberté.

A detailed map is useful (at the very least the one accompanying this description).

Hike completed by the author on 17 June 2021.

- The route is mainly through woodland.
- View of the Château de la Barbelinière ahead (1).
- A cave dwelling at Les Pichereaux (4).
- Ruins of the Tour de Pouillé (5).
- A sweeping panorama a little further on (9).
- Château de la Massardière (10).
- Thuré Church (13th–15th centuries) with its porch (11).