The Lay Valley in Mareuil-sur-Lay-Dissais

The village of Mareuil-sur-Lay-Dissais, crossed by the River Lay, is a stopover for hiking in this wooded valley. Fauna and flora are abundant.

Details

24117
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 7.49 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 20 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 69 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 65 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 44 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 5 m

Description of the walk

Departure from Mareuil-sur-Lay-Dissais, Les Halles car park

(S/E) Walk past the shops on the left to reach the war memorial square. Walk up Rue de l'Abbé Guérineau towards the church and overlook the Pont Neuf bridge.

(1) Go down onto the bridge, cross the road and stay on the right-hand pavement until you reach the traffic lights.

(2) Take the road on the right (D60) towards La Bretonnière. Follow this road for 200 metres.

(3) Turn right, going uphill, onto Chemin du Rocher. Ignore Rue du Moulin on the right. Chemin du Rocher ends in a grassy path. Continue straight ahead, south-west, until you reach the D60.

(4) Take this road on the right. Cross the hamlet of Les Tessonnes, staying on the D60.

(5) Leave the D60 and continue straight ahead southwards, following the signs for Le Gazon until you reach a junction with a road before Grande Versenne.

(6) Turn right and continue to the D60. Cross it with caution. Continue straight ahead until you reach a small pond and quickly catch up with a path on the right.

(7) Take this path, pass a spring on your right and reach a road. Continue right on this road until you reach the first intersection on the left.

(8) Continue along this road for about 200 metres, then turn right and pass a housing estate and turn left onto thePR®® at the edge of the forest. Pass a first intersection of paths and arrive at a second one.

(9) Turn right, still at the edge of the forest.

(10) Turn right and walk along the woods and meadows. This path leads to the banks of the Lay. Turn right onto Rue du Moulin, then left onto the R60.

(3) Enter the village of Mareuil. Cross the river again via the Pont Neuf bridge to return to the Halles car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 8 m - Parking at Les Halles
  2. 1 : km 0.31 - alt. 12 m - Lay (fleuve)
  3. 2 : km 0.51 - alt. 9 m - Traffic lights
  4. 3 : km 0.68 - alt. 10 m - Chemin du Rocher
  5. 4 : km 1.09 - alt. 34 m - D60
  6. 5 : km 1.44 - alt. 44 m - Fork in the road
  7. 6 : km 2.48 - alt. 26 m - Crossroads with a road
  8. 7 : km 3.46 - alt. 19 m - Pond
  9. 8 : km 4.4 - alt. 43 m - Fork in the road
  10. 9 : km 4.98 - alt. 25 m - Trail intersection
  11. 10 : km 5.21 - alt. 8 m - Fork in the road
  12. S/E : km 7.49 - alt. 8 m - Parking des Halles car park. Close to - Marillet (cours d'eau) - Affluent du Lay

Notes

The village of Mareuil-sur-Lay-Dissais has many amenities (grocery stores, post office, banks, etc.).
Drinks.
Cameras.

Worth a visit

The vineyards.
Luçon, 15 minutes away.
Saint-Denis du Payré Nature Reserve in the Marais Poitevin, 20 minutes away.

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 6 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
5 / 5
JCB85320
JCB85320

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 23, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful circular route with no particular difficulties. No private property to cross.

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Cricri85
Cricri85

Hello, following an email from Marion Visorando, the route must be modified by her between 7 and 8, as this path has become private property. When I created it, this was not indicated by the owner, who has complained about people crossing his land. I am sorry. A new route is in the pipeline.

Cricri85

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jepetoo
jepetoo

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 16, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

pleasant walk in pleasant surroundings

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rando_pyramide
rando_pyramide

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 08, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

The hike is very pleasant in a wooded area. It follows a private path that is marked by the owner as "no trespassing". That said, we passed through without any difficulty.

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gazok54
gazok54 ★

Thank you Virgin63
With Visorando, you don't have to systematically follow or search for markings. These are not under our control, and even if they are mentioned in the description, you should follow the defined directions and use the map to help you.

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Virgin63
Virgin63

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 03, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Signage is a bit sparse in some areas.

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RBBB44&ema
RBBB44&ema

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 09, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A pleasant and easy circular route. If I may... two comments: 1) there is a lack of clear signage to indicate the grassy path to take after the houses in the village of Beailieu (especially on the way back!) - 2) "On leaving Lavert, turn left for 200 metres then right for 1.2 kilometres". This description is imprecise because, wanting to turn right as indicated in the description, we ended up in La Marionnière! Fortunately, the map allowed us to correct our route. Perhaps it would be useful to specify "do not head towards La Marionnière". Thank you for this mini hike in a very pleasant setting (among other things, magnificent beech trees... unfortunately diseased).

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Cricri85
Cricri85

Hello,
Thank you for your clarification about this hike taken in the spring. So it's not recommended during hunting season
During my hike, I saw deer in this wood near the river, which may explain these battues or private hunts.
Cricri85.

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nosmarches
nosmarches

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 16, 2014
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good



A lovely, very easy route through the Vendée countryside!
Please note that certain sections of the route mentioned are now closed to the public, with signs stating (very pleasantly, as you can imagine!) "No trespassing - live fire training": in other words, anyone who ventures there will be shot at like a rabbit!
Fortunately, you can easily take other paths that are a little further away from the banks of the Yon and complete the circular route without getting "shot"! :!(!)!:

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