The sunken paths from Feugères

Meet at the town hall square in Feugères, where you’ll find the well-preserved old communal wine press.

Follow the yellow signposts anti-clockwise.

(S/E) Head west and follow Rue de La Vasselière (D142). At the end of the tarmac road, continue along a track and leave the village. At the first junction (buildings on the left), carry straight on.

(1) At the T-junction, turn left. Directly opposite a power line, turn right and head up to the hamlet of La Bouillie.

(2) Turn right; you’ll immediately come out onto a small road – follow it to the right. At the next junction (marker 69), leave the road and turn left. At the next junction (marker 81), go straight on. Pass the hamlet of La Vallée and continue along the tarmac road. Reach the hamlet of La Bretonnière and pass a farm on your right.

(3) Take the small road on the right (north). Immediately turn left onto a small road and head for the hamlet of Le Bouquet. At the end of the tarmac road, continue along a track. Head downhill to the D142 (Rue de Feugères) in the village of Saint-Martin-d’Aubigny.

(4) Follow the road to the right, then take the first left straight away. When the street bends to the right, take the footpath straight ahead. After about fifty metres, turn left, walk past the church on your left and you’ll reach a small car park.

(5) Follow the road to the left and walk past the church. At the T-junction, rejoin Rue de Feugères (D142) and follow it to the right.

(6) At a place called La Verte Croix, at a Fork in the road, head slightly left onto Rue de la Verte Croix. When the road bends to the right, take a path on the left. Turn immediately right. After about 250 metres, you’ll reach a junction.

(7) Then turn left onto a path that leads uphill. You’ll come to a few houses at a place called La Rue aux Juifs. Then follow the road to the left.

(8) At the start of a right-hand bend, at a junction, take a track on the right. After about 200 m, turn left. You’ll come to a small road; follow it to the right (south). Ignore the first track on the right and follow the road as it curves slightly to the left.

(9) After about a hundred metres, take the next track on the right. You’ll come out onto a small road (with a building on the right) and follow it to the left until you reach a crossroads.

(10) Take the first road on the right. After about 500 metres, turn onto the first track on the left. Ignore a track on the right and you’ll reach a three-way junction.

(11) Head slightly to the left and pass the hamlet of L’Abbaye. Follow a sunken track that winds its way down. Cross a woodland and reach a junction.

(12) Take the track straight ahead, then turn left to reach the hamlet of La Vasselière. Follow the road to the right and head back up to the D57.

(13) Cross this road with care and continue along the small road opposite. Pass the hamlet of Les Champs Benoist (a fine example of traditional architecture combining granite and clay). You’ll reach the hamlet of La Jolinière about 300 metres further on.

(14) Leave the road by taking a sunken track on the left. Head uphill, following a few bends, until you reach a small road. Follow this road to the left for about a hundred metres.

(15) Just after a junction with a road on the right, take a track on the left and head back down. Turn right, rejoin the tarmac road, go straight on and pass under a high-voltage power line.

(16) At a fork in the road, take the left-hand road. Where the tarmac ends, continue along a track. Go straight on, heading north then north-north-east. Ignore a track on the left and, further on, join the D142.

(17) Follow the road to the left towards Feugères. At the next junction, take Rue de La Cavée, which is roughly opposite. Head uphill and walk past the cemetery and the church on your right. Cross the D57 and you’ll immediately return to the starting point (S/E).

Wearing waterproof boots is strongly recommended in wet weather. An alternative route, marked in white, is also available near the hamlet of La Bouillie. It links La Bouillie to La Vasselière and allows you to split the route in two, with the option of starting from Saint-Martin-d’Aubigny for a 9.4 km northern circular route or from Feugères for a 6.5 km southern circular route. 

Hollow ways, or ‘chasses’, are ancient paths artificially dug below the level of the surrounding fields to efficiently guide livestock during daily transhumance. It was therefore said that cows were ‘chassé’ – herded – by pushing them into the chasses. These paths create a sense of height that is sometimes spectacular, as the trees, rooted in embankments that can reach up to 3 m in height, are naturally elevated above the level of the path. They also form a natural canopy when their foliage meets, creating a typical ‘green tunnel’ effect.

The Saint-Christophe Chapel is located near La Bouillie.