On the hillside in the Bois de Maurepas

Park in the car park at the École de la Marnière (marked by the large coloured pencils in the flowerbed at the side of the school).

(S/E) Cross the road (Rue de Paris) and take the path opposite that leads down into the woods. Stay on the wide main path, which turns right. Cross a stream, then immediately turn into the path on the right.

(1) About 50m further on, take a small path on the left that climbs steeply (opposite the orange triangular marker for the underground gas pipeline that you can see on the right). You will soon reach a junction: take the path on the left, which follows the contour line. Follow it for quite a while; it passes first through oak and chestnut trees, then much later through pine trees. At this point, you can see the Bassin de la Courance below, between the trees. Stay on the path as it winds along the hillside; never go down or up the slope.

(2) The path eventually joins a fairly wide track which you follow downhill to the left. You’ll come to a gate and, as soon as you’ve passed it, turn left onto a sandy path that runs alongside a riding school. Follow it until you can see where it ends. Then find a path branching off to the left; it veers slightly to the right after crossing another path. You will soon have a bird’s-eye view of the Bassin de la Courance and the sea wall. Head down the path that circles the Bassin and take it on your left.

(3) Here, you have two options, both of which lead to the same point on the route:
- either stay on the path;
- or you go straight up behind two benches immediately on your left to take a small path running parallel to the slope and overlooking the path by a few metres (the option marked on the map, less busy than the path below).
In both cases, you can stop at the small beach, which you’ll reach quickly, to enjoy the magnificent view of Saint-Sauveur Church and the keep of Old Maurepas, situated on the other side of the basin.
Continue along the path (or lane) to a small wooden bridge. If you are on the path, look out for it below. Cross the bridge.

(4) A few dozen metres further on, take a small path branching off to the left at the bend in the lane. Follow it to the orange triangular marker for the gas pipeline, where the path turns left.

(5) About fifty metres further on, turn right onto a narrow path that enters the forest and widens as it climbs. At the junction with another path, turn left. Pass beneath a large oak tree and rejoin the path you took at the start of the route: follow it to the right. Cross the junction and continue straight ahead on the road, next to which you’ll find the pencils and the car park (S/E).

From the small beach on the shores of the Bassin de la Courance, there is a beautiful view of the Church of Saint-Sauveur, rebuilt in the early 16th century, as well as the medieval keep.