Long loop between Mayenne and Fontaine-Daniel

Start from the car park at the end of Impasse de la Petite-Croix in Mayenne, behind the Salle des Sports Gambetta sports hall.

(S/E) With your back to the building next to the car park, turn right and then immediately left onto a path that leads to the lake.

(1) Walk along the lake on your left. At the end, turn left and cross a stream. You will immediately come out onto Boulevard Pierre Mendès-France (D304), which you should follow to the right.

(2) Continue straight ahead along the boulevard, cross Rue du Pommier on the right-hand side, and arrive at the Rond-point des Français Libres roundabout.

(3) Go around the roundabout on the right and cross Rue de Bretagne (N12) and Rue de Dublin. Then turn right onto a path that branches off from the N12. Walk alongside a housing estate on your left and a green space on your right.

(4) Arrive at the junction between Rue de Bonn and Rue de Bras, and follow Rue de Bonn to the left. Cross Rue de Londres on the right-hand side and continue straight ahead on Rue du Tramway.

(5) At the end of the tarmac road, continue along a path heading west-northwest and cross a stream.

(6) Arrive at a residential street, Résidence de la Braye, and follow it to the right. At the end, first turn right then left to cross Rue des Maronniers and continue onto Place de l'Église.

(7) At the corner of the church, turn right and walk past the porch. Then turn left onto Rue des Cèdres. At the end, turn left onto Rue des Peupliers.

(8) At the three-way junction that appears immediately, turn left and pass a calvary on your right. Walk along the cemetery and continue straight on Chemin de la Queufrie, a small road lined with fields on the left and houses on the right. Leave the village of Parigné and ignore the access road to Maubusson on your left.

(9) Go around the hamlet of La Queufrie on the left. Cross a stream and continue west on a tree-lined country lane.

(10) You will come to a small road. Follow it to the left and cross the hamlet of La Chaussée.

(11) At a fork, keep right and pass under a high-voltage power line. Walk alongside a football stadium on your left and you will come to a T-junction. Turn left onto Rue de Oisseau.

(12) At the crossroads (Saint-Georges Church on the left), take the second left, Grande Rue (D5), and walk alongside a school complex on your left.

(13) Cross the N12 at the traffic lights and continue straight ahead on Route de Fontaine-Daniel (D249). Continue straight ahead (south) and ignore the side streets and dead ends.

(14) At the crossroads at Beau Soleil, follow the D249 to the left towards Fontaine-Daniel. Follow this road for approximately 1.4 km (remain cautious).

(15) After passing La Croix Roseau, turn left towards the Fichet farm (signposted). Pass the farm and, at the T-junction shortly afterwards (elevation 142), turn left.

(16) After about 150 m, take the first path on the right, which enters the Salair Forest. Continue straight ahead, south-southeast, until you reach a T-junction. Then follow a wide path on the left. Ignore a turn-off on the right and you will soon reach a crossroads.

(17) Turn right and go downhill. Leave the forest and enter the village of Fontaine-Daniel via Chemin du Verger Robert, lined with old workers' houses.

(18) Come out onto the D104 (Rue des Tisserands) and follow it to the left. Cross Chemin de la Forêt on the left and continue to the next intersection with a dead end.

(19) Turn left onto Passage de l'Étang. At the end of the tarmac road, continue along a path and walk alongside the pond on your right. Continue to the northern tip of the pond.

(20) Then turn left onto a forest lane and go uphill.

(21) Shortly before the end of the hill, take the first path on the right. Wind your way downhill. Take the first path on the left, which is straight and heads south-west.

(22) At the end, turn right. Continue straight ahead until you reach the junction with the road you left earlier.

(23) Follow the road to the right, passing La Guillerie, Le Fauconnier and Le Grand Tertre in succession. Continue straight ahead on this road, ignoring all the turnings on the right leading to various places.

(24) Cross the D217 with caution, continue straight ahead and drive along an industrial estate on your left. Cross Rue de Poirsac on your left and continue straight ahead until the next intersection.

(25) Turn left onto Rue Boris Vian. Cross Impasse Jean Ferrat on the right-hand side and, immediately afterwards, take a path on the right. Cross a green space and pass a playground on the left. At the next junction, go straight ahead. Ignore a turn-off on the left and take a series of first turn right then left turns.

(26) At the intersection, turn left and continue straight ahead until you reach Boulevard Mendès-France. Cross the boulevard with caution (there is no protected crossing).

(2) Follow the boulevard to the right, then walk along the pond on your left.

(1) At the end of the pond, continue straight ahead and you will soon see the car park where you started on your right (S/E).

The car park at Impasse de la Petite-Croix, at the start of the route, is free and has no time limit. Other free car parks can be found nearby around Place de l'Europe. The centre of Mayenne is a blue zone, with unlimited parking on Sundays only.

By public transport, Mayenne is served by coaches from Laval (get off at the Lycée professionnel de Vinci stop to be on the right side of the river).

It is possible to shorten the route by avoiding the town of Mayenne. For example, park in Parigné-sur-Braye and start the route at point (8). To return to Parigné at the end of the route, turn left at point . The modified route is only 17 km long.

Mayenne is a town rich in heritage, with its castle containing the remains of a Carolingian structure and old half-timbered houses, particularly visible around Rue du 130e RI. Extending from this important historical axis is an urban complex built in the 17th century by Mazarin, who became Duke of Mayenne. Organised around the squares of Hercé, Cheverus and Saint-Vincent, it includes numerous mansions.

The route between Mayenne and Parigné partly follows the route of the old "tramway", a departmental railway that linked Mayenne to Landivy at the beginning of the 20th century. There are no visible remains, but the Rue du Tramway that we take refers to it.

The village of Parigné-sur-Braye is located on an ancient Roman road and then on a pilgrimage route to Mont-Saint-Michel. Its 11th-century church, which is usually closed, contains Baroque altarpieces.

The larger village of Saint-Georges-Buttavent takes its name from "butte à vent" (wind hill) due to its position on the edge of a plateau. Located in a particularly hilly landscape, it overlooks the immense Mayenne forest (private and not accessible). The church was rebuilt at the very end of the 19th century, but the village still has a few late medieval houses, recognisable by their mullioned windows and ogee doors.

Fontaine-Daniel was originally a Cistercian abbey founded in the 13th century, the remains of which are difficult to see from the road (the old entrance porch behind the restaurant on the square is the most visible). Abandoned and sold during the Revolution, it then became a spinning mill, which was the origin of the Toiles de Mayenne company, which still manufactures its fabrics there. The entire village was built to house the workers, from the 19th-century buildings on the square to the 20th-century detached houses, all built in stone and all different to avoid monotony.