From Tourouvre to Mortagne-au-Perche

(S) From Tourouvre, Saint-Aubin Church, go down Rue du 13 Août 1944. 100 m further on, take the D290 on the right towards Autheuil. Go through a roundabout and follow this road for 2 km until you pass under the RN12 at a place called La Briqueterie.

(1) Immediately afterwards, turn left onto the small road along the four-lane road, then right towards the Bellegarde manor house.

(2) After the manor house, the path is gravel and leads to La Forge. The path crosses and runs alongside the streams, then climbs back up to the D290 behind the forge/fish farm buildings.

(3) On the road, turn left for 50 metres and then right onto the path that goes uphill. At the first house, the path becomes tarmac. Follow it through the hamlet and then to the D290. Turn left onto it and continue to the village of Autheuil. In the village, take the road on the left, pass the D290 behind the forge/fish farm buildings and the Romanesque church.

(4) 100 m further on, turn left onto the path that climbs uphill, which is first gravel and then grassy. On the plateau, turn right onto the tarmac road.
(5) Pass in front of the water tower. At the crossroads, continue straight on towards La Tessonnière. At the next bend, 100 m further on, take the grassy path opposite. Join a small road.

(6) Cross it and continue towards Commeauche along a 1.3 km path that is mostly straight and always clear. Follow the^GR®®22.

(7) At the road, turn right and then immediately right onto a path that crosses a stream 250 m away and then runs alongside a very wet area (bog on the left). Further on, the poorly marked and difficult path runs along the bottom of the slope and the edge of the forest (the path goes up and down).

(8) It joins the dyke of the Courraierie pond, which it follows to a small road. Cross it and follow the path that runs alongside the Valdieu pond. After 350 m, at the bottom of a large uphill path, turn right and follow the pond towards the ruins of the Valdieu Charterhouse.

(9) Stop following the^GR®®22. With your back to the charterhouse, take the tarmac path for 250 m. Turn left onto a winding dirt track at the edge of the forest.

(10) At the Gabriel pond, climb the path on the right between plots 5 and 6. After 400 m, on the plateau, follow a path on the left that runs along the edge of the forest again. When you reach the tarmac road, turn left until you reach the next crossroads. Then take the road on the right for 200 m, passing in front of the Maison Forestière de la Guincendière.

(11) Further on, turn left onto the forest path that winds its way to a stony road. Follow it to the next crossroads. Take the path that climbs to the right between plots 27 and 48 to the end of the lane at the top of the plateau, after hill 241.

(12) At the storage area, turn left onto the path that starts between plots 50 and 52. It runs along the edge of the forest plateau and then begins to descend. At the first crossroads, take the path on the right that descends between plots 52 and 53. At the bottom of the slope, near the Hôtel au Feu, at the sign "Réservé à l'exploitation et au service" (Reserved for farming and service), turn left then right down the slope and cross the bridge over the Villette.

(13) The path becomes tarmac at Grand Mesnil and leads to the D5. Watch out for traffic. Turn right onto the road and continue for 1.1 km.

(14) Turn left towards Le Mafoi for 300 m. The path is tarmac at first, then becomes stony in the hamlet. When you see La Bréhonnière, take the grassy path on the right between the meadows, which leads
left onto a very long dirt track through woods and meadows for 1.8 km. At Château de la Galardière, this track becomes tarmac and leads to the hamlet of Nonant after 1.3 km. Then follow the D282 to the right to reach Villiers-sous-Mortagne.

(15) At the roundabout at the entrance to the village, take the road on the left (towards the N12). Follow it for 600 m until you reach a right-hand bend. Take the grassy path opposite, which is 1.5 km long and becomes stony at the end. At the road, turn right and continue for 150 m.

(16) At the first crossroads, turn left towards Beauvais. After about 150 m, leave Beauvais on your left and continue straight ahead along the small tarmac road.

(17) After 150 m, take the first grassy path on the right that descends into the valley.

(18) A little further on, this path appears to be blocked by a fence. As you approach, you will see a wooden chicane on the left followed by an iron gate. Go through them to enter a sunken path lined with trees. After a long descent, this path climbs up the other side of the valley between meadows and cultivated fields and leads to a crossroads near a large green shed.

(19) Cross the small road and take the tarmac path opposite, which becomes a dirt track 40 metres further on. After passing under a metal footbridge, the path becomes tarmac again.

(20) When you arrive in Le Val, at the end of Chemin du Val St Jean, take the street on the right until you reach the next crossroads.

(21) Turn left onto Rue du Val over a small stone bridge and 130 m further on, at the fork, take Rue des Buis (dead end) which climbs towards the chapel and the hospital cloister (worth visiting).

(22) At the foot of the stairs, take the gravel path on the right which descends towards the old Paris road. Turn left for 10 metres and then immediately right up the 9 steps which lead to a right-hand alleyway which, after a few steps, opens onto the (new) Rue de Paris.

(23) Cross over and climb up Ruelle Saint Jean (slope and steps). When you reach Rue du Mail, take Rue des Tailles almost opposite, then 100 metres further up, turn left onto Rue de Toussaint (no entry) which leads to Place du Tribunal. Turn right towards the square and Notre Dame Church. (E)

Before setting off on your hike, print or download a recent version of the route. In case of changes, always follow the markings on the ground.
All shops are in Tourouvre. After that, there are no villages with shops until Mortagne-au-Perche.
You must bring your own food for the hike.

The Romanesque church of Saint Aubin in Tourouvre, rebuilt in the 16th century.
The Bellegarde manor house, rebuilt in the early 18th century.
La Forge, a former mill dedicated to metallurgy, which later became a fish farm.
The Church of Notre-Dame d'Autheuil, a jewel of Romanesque art in the Perche region, is a must-see.
The Commeauche peat bog, a sensitive natural area on the edge of the Réno-Valdieu national forest.
The ruins of the Chartreuse du Valdieu, founded in 1170 by Rotrou IV, Count of Perche, destroyed three times during its history.
The Old Trees of the canton of La Gautrie. The plot suffered from the storm of 1999, but the remarkable trees survived. They date back to Colbert's Great Forest Reform of 1665.
The Château de La Galardière. This is one of the places where the writer Jean De La Varende (1887-1959) set the action of his "Nez-de-Cuir, gentilhomme d'amour", a fictionalised account of the life of a great-great-uncle.
Le Val à Mortagne, part of the medieval town of Mortagne on the edge of the old royal road.