Saint-Mars-la-Brière walks

The present-day commune, formed by the merger of two former major market towns, stretches out parallel to the Huisne valley across uneven terrain. The old Pont de Gennes is at the lowest point (60 m), whilst the highest point (100 m) is at Montfort-le-Rotrou. The former is a crossroads village situated at the mouth of an old crossing point over the Huisne. The latter, situated on a strategic defensive site, is a linear settlement built under the protection of the castle. The two were joined by a gradual urban expansion in the 19th century. The walk takes you past the starting point of the first major motor race organised by the Automobile Club de France (ACF) in 1906, the forerunner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Parigné-Lévêque is a very large and heavily wooded commune: northern pines with sand dunes, and southern chestnut and birch trees. The route allows you to discover the charm of numerous woodlands, vast moors and ponds. The Loudon Stream is crossed in several places.

This circular walk allows you to discover a site not far from Le Mans that is rich in natural beauty. Ponds, peat bogs, wet and dry heathland, and marshy woods... all form a mosaic of landscapes that are home to species rare in the region: harriers, hobby falcons, goshawks, purple herons (among the birds); and royal ferns, marsh marigolds and sundews (among the plants).

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.

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.

Although local tradition places the first village at Bresteau, the Church of Saint-Martin, rebuilt by the monks of Saint-Vincent in the early 12th century, provides clear evidence of the antiquity of the village of Lombron. This beautiful church, open during the day, is well worth a visit both for the quality of its architecture (Romanesque choir and lantern tower, nave and chapels remodelled in the 14th and 15th centuries on their original foundations) and for its furnishings (16th-century statues including the Crucified Christ, the seigneurial bench of the Montmorency family, lords of Bresteau, terracotta bas-reliefs by Lebrun, circa 1760, 18th-century nave pews, etc.).

An easy walk, 50% of which follows a path around the Auvours hill, which witnessed the War of 1870, where a tragic battle claimed 617 lives on 10 and 11 January 1871. Many mementoes of this war are housed in the church at Yvre, where one chapel is dedicated to the Papal Zouaves.

During this hike, you will have the opportunity to admire the Yvré countryside, its Roman bridge, the Gérence fountain and catch a glimpse of the beautiful Château de Vaux as you walk along the trails and part of the "Boulevard Nature".

A region once densely populated along the ancient road from Le Mans to Évreux, and an important market town under the Ancien Régime, Savigné has long been favoured, due to its proximity to Le Mans, by the city’s notables, who have built or restored bourgeois houses and châteaux, sometimes on medieval seigneurial sites. Thus, as you follow the route, you will see Nuyet, dating from the late18th century, or, from the19th century, the châteaux of Le Rocher (now the town hall), Mortrie and Le Mesnil, where a major stud farm is located.

Le Breil and Nuillé are two villages of ancient origin. In the Middle Ages, Le Breil, or Breuil, was a seigneurial hunting ground. Nuillé, first mentioned in the9th century, still has a small Romanesque church.

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.

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 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.

This walk allows you to discover the forests and heritage of the commune of Ruaudin. It is accessible to people with reduced mobility using a three-wheeled wheelchair, and to families with three-wheeled pushchairs as well.

The name Val-de-la-Hune, adopted at the time of the merger, refers to the location of the two villages situated in the valley at the confluence of the Ruisseau de l’Arche and the Hune. The area has been inhabited since ancient times, as evidenced by the dolmen on the border with Tresson, dating from the Neolithic period, and the ancient road, the Via Turniacensis, linking Le Mans to Blois; passing through Volnay and Saint-Mars-de-Locquenay before heading towards the Loir Valley. This facilitated the development of large agricultural estates, explaining the presence of numerous fiefdoms in medieval times, of which few remains are left (Champion, Pois, Le Grand Yvay, Mélève, Sargilet), with the exception of La Chesnaye, which incorporated most of them during the Modern Era (16th–18th centuries).

The name adopted at the time of the merger refers to the location of the two villages situated in the valley at the confluence of the Arche and Hune streams. The area has been inhabited since ancient times, as evidenced by the dolmen on the border with Tresson, dating from the Neolithic period, and the ancient road – the Via Turniacensis – linking Le Mans to Blois; passing through Volnay and Saint-Mars-de-Locquenay before heading towards the Loir Valley. This facilitated the development of large agricultural estates, explaining the presence of numerous fiefdoms in medieval times, of which few traces remain (Champion, Pois, Le Grand Yvay, Mèleve, Sargilet), with the exception of La Chesnaye, which incorporated most of them during the Modern Era (16th–18th centuries).