Nuillé-le-Jalais walks

Nuillé-le-Jalais, first mentioned in the9th century , still has a small Romanesque church. Surprisingly, many of the local place-names refer to birds: La Pie qui Couette, La Grande Oiselerie and Le Chardonneret. The route’s signposting is a nod to this unique feature.

This route owes its name to the shape of its route, which evokes the silhouette of a leprechaun for dreamers. It offers a path between Jalais, a bocage plain on the Soulitré side, and the Huisne valley.

Situated in the Huisne valley, inhabited since prehistoric times, Connerré developed in the Middle Ages around a religious centre comprising the Church of Saint-Symphorien and a priory. The town, enclosed by a wall at the end of the 16th century, opened up at the end of the Ancien Régime thanks to the construction of bridges replacing fords and the expansion of transport links: the construction of the Paris–Nantes royal road around 1780, followed by the opening of a station on the Le Mans–Paris line in 1854. These developments fuelled the economic boom of the 19th century through fairs and markets and the growth of industry. The market town modernised and expanded gradually, then more rapidly from the 1970s onwards. Today, Connerré is an attractive small town, situated halfway between Le Mans and La Ferté-Bernard.

The parish underwent a re-demarcation in 1836: certain farms such as La Bardouillère and houses in the village were part of Volnay. Since then, the south-eastern boundary has been formed by the Ruisseau la Sourice. Under the Ancien Régime, the parish seigneury was annexed to the Château du Coudray, which you will see to the right of the hill as you head towards La Bardouillère. The village still has traditional houses near the church; it has gradually expanded towards the crossing point over the Sourice, where the roads from Surfonds to Bouloire and from Le Breil to Volnay used to meet, later transformed inthe 19th century into the main road from Tuffé to Le Grand-Lucé.

The village of Duneau is located in a dominant position on the left bank of the Huisne, on a route that has been highly sought-after since prehistoric times. The Pierre Fiche menhir and the Pierre Couverte dolmen, dating from the Neolithic period (around 4000 BC), bear witness to this. These are the only visible archaeological remains among many others covering the periods of Antiquity and the Middle Ages.

This walk follows the Huisne Valley and crosses the meadow where an American airfield was set up following the liberation of France in August 1944. A sign on site recounts the history of this temporary airfield.

Bouloire is nestled in the heart of a vast, hilly agricultural region crossed by the Dué and Tortue rivers. Human presence along the ancient road between Le Mans and Orléans is attested to by a coin dating back to the Merovingian period. Its name comes either from a Celtic place name meaning "fortification" or from an etymology meaning "between two coasts ". The town centre is rich in ancient architectural heritage. The Church of Saint-Georges, destroyed by a fire that ravaged the village in 1680, bears the coat of arms of Marshal Guillaume Testu de Balincourt, who enabled its reconstruction. The town's coat of arms is also linked to this figure.

Parigné-Lévêque is a very large and wooded commune: northern pines with sand dunes, chestnut trees and birches in the south. The route allows you to discover the charm of numerous undergrowths, vast moors and ponds. The Narais stream is crossed in several places.

This circular route allows you to discover a site not far from Le Mans that is rich in natural beauty. Ponds, peat bogs, wet and dry moors, marshy woods... make up a mosaic of landscapes that are home to species that are rare in the region: harriers, hobby falcons, goshawks, purple herons, for the winged creatures; royal fern, marsh hottonia and sundew, for the plant world.

The present-day commune of Coudrecieux consists of the former parish of the same name, which was merged with that of Les Loges in 1808. Their place names reflect the wooded environment of these villages, which are still 50% forest today. Coudrecieux refers to the hazel wood known locally as ‘coudre’, and Les Loges to the light dwellings, made of branches and heather, temporarily occupied by charcoal burners and other forest workers. The Coudrecieux route will allow you to discover the rich architectural and landscape heritage of this commune. This is evidenced by the Manoir de la Cour, the Château des Loges, and the church of Les Loges (with its renowned stone bell tower dating from the year 1000)… These features are highlighted by information panels.

The route through the countryside around Tuffé takes us to the Château de Chéronne and the church of Saint-Denis-des-Coudrais. The Chéronne, which feeds the Tuffé lake, crosses and recrosses the sunken paths several times. This route is best enjoyed in good weather as the dirt tracks can be quite wet.

The village of Maisoncelles, described as a ‘street village’, has developed linearly along the road linking Bouloire to Tresson and Écorpain, running perpendicular to the Ruisseau de l’Étangsort. Although difficult to date precisely, the imposing Church of Notre-Dame, possibly dating back to the Romanesque period, is undoubtedly the oldest building in the village. You can, however, see typical rural features from theThird Republic, such as the public pump at the foot of the church. Heading towards the cemetery, you will see on the right the old communal washhouse, recently converted to welcome walkers, and further up, a former school recognisable by its two-storey structure and brick window frames.

The first mention of the parish under the name “Siliaco Philippi” dates back to the years 1145–1187. From the Middle Ages onwards, the parish seigneury was annexed to the Château de Passais, which itself fell under the barony of Touvoie, owned by the bishops of Le Mans, situated on the border between Savigné-L’Evêque and Saint-Corneille. Sillé-le-Philippe gave rise to the creation of a linear village; long remaining modest in size, it is now expanding due to its proximity to the Le Mans conurbation. This development also benefits the hamlet of Chanteloup (situated on the old royal road from Le Mans to Paris via Mortagne, now the RD 301), which once boasted several cafés and inns.

Known successively as Ecclesia de Torciaco, then Torcey and Notre Dame de Torcé, the former parish has been called Torcé-en-Vallée since 1926. The documents first mentioning it relate to the construction of the priory and the church. However, it is clear that Torcé’s history predates this, as evidenced by the megalith located at the western entrance to the village, known as the ‘Dolmen de Torcé’ or ‘Palet de Gargantua’. Human occupation may date back to the Middle Neolithic period.

This route through valleys and bocage will allow you to explore the countryside around Boëssé le Sec. You’ll discover a beautiful avenue of pollarded trees.

Bordering the Huisne valley to the west and the Vibraye forest to the east, Saint-Maixent is first mentioned in the13th century. Although the settlement is largely scattered (27 farms and 59 cottages in 1841), there are large hamlets such as Les Blousières, whose houses, clustered around a now-vanished pond, once housed up to 40 people, likely hemp workers. The village, crossed by the medieval road known as the “Chemin aux Bœufs” leading to Paris via Châteaudun, grew considerably in the 19th century thanks to the trade generated by this route.

The village of Villaines, situated near the ancient Le Mans–Chartres road, developed in the Middle Ages around the church, on the hillside. You will appreciate its rural charm and the well-preserved architecture of the village houses and the old farmhouses scattered across the countryside. Their materials – terracotta for the tiles and bricks, limestone rubble and lime plaster coloured with local sand – blend beautifully with this scenic setting, offering fine views over the Huisne valley.

A good twenty kilometres of peaceful walking through the countryside along sunken lanes, with almost 100% of the route on footpaths (less than 1.5 km of tarmac!!!) in the Beaufay countryside.

The route runs across agricultural land south of the Rhonne valley and ends by crossing an area of moorland adjacent to the Bercé Forest.