A circular walk around the Étangs de la Terre à Pots, starting from Bosgouet

In the Grand-Bourgtheroulde area, in the Londe Forest near Bosc-Bénard-Commin, lies the locality known as the Étangs de la Terre à Pots. These are former quarries dug to extract clay, a clay of exceptional quality.

Details

1945753
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 9.29 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 40 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 449 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 459 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 443 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 289 ft
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ City: Bosgouet (27310)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 49.357053° / E 0.851072°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 1911OT, 1912SB
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the car park at Bosgouet Town Hall.

(S/E) With your back to the town hall and the church opposite you, turn right and head towards the Y-junction.

(1) Continue to the right along the Route des Grands Fonds. At the next junction, turn left to stay on this road. Head for the crossroads between La Goussinière and Les Gobelins.

(2) Carry on straight ahead onto Route de la Londe. Ignore all turnings to the right and left. Pass the Mesnil farm on your left, then enter the forest via Route Forestière de la Louvetière. Continue to the crossroads at the Bosgouet Forest House and the Mesnil crossroads.
Carry on along the road to the right and reach the first bend.

(3) Leave the road and take the path on the right. Go through the gate and carry on straight ahead. The path becomes a track. Follow it as it descends gently.

(4) Turn left, then turn left again to take the footpath that leads to the junction of the Pré Bouronné and Argillières forest tracks.

(5) Take the Argillières forest track opposite. At Neubourg, leave the forest, continue straight on and you’ll reach Rue du Camp Heroult.

(6) Follow it for a few metres to the right, then turn left onto Rue de l’Église. Walk up this street, pass under the bridge and past the church, then take the first right onto Rue Hector Malot.

(7) Follow the road to the right, Rue Hector Mallot, as far as the town hall, then turn right onto Chemin du Froc. At the end, after the last house on the right, take the grassy path that branches off to the right and joins Rue de l’Église. Turn left back onto the previous route to return to the junction with Rue du Camp Héroult.

(6) Head straight on along this street. Pass under a second bridge, turn left and follow the road for a few metres.

(8) Turn left, go through the gate and, immediately afterwards, turn onto the path on the right. Begin a fairly steep climb for a short distance. At the top, you’ll reach the Route Forestière de la Louvèterie. Follow it for a few steps until you reach the junction with the Route Forestière des Jouveaux. Turn left onto the latter, go through the gate and continue until you quickly reach another path junction.

(9) Take this path by turning left. Soon after, turn left again at a 90° angle to rejoin the Route Forestière de la Louveterie. Turn right onto this road.
Head slightly downhill and pass under the Pont du Ruissel.

(10) Turn right immediately, following the road.
Head for the junction just before the Bosgouet Forest House, which you passed on the way out.

(3) Turn right and follow the route you took on the way there until you reach the Gobelins crossroads.

(2) Turn right onto Rue Raphaël Longuemare, which leads to the hamlet of Les Landriers.

(11) Turn 90° and head north along the road to reach the original crossroads.

(1) Return via the same route as on the way out to the Bosgouet town hall car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 400 ft - Car park at Bosgouet Town Hall
  2. 1 : mi 0.09 - alt. 374 ft - Crossroads at the circular loop
  3. 2 : mi 1.07 - alt. 430 ft - Crossroads near Les Gobelins
  4. 3 : mi 2.03 - alt. 390 ft - Bois du Mesnil crossroads
  5. 4 : mi 2.63 - alt. 371 ft - Turn left at the fork
  6. 5 : mi 3.08 - alt. 305 ft - The junction of Pré Bourdonné and Argillières
  7. 6 : mi 3.84 - alt. 341 ft - Junction: circular loop
  8. 7 : mi 4.24 - alt. 413 ft - On the right: Rue Hector Mallot.
  9. 8 : mi 5.36 - alt. 305 ft - Junction of road and track after the bridge
  10. 9 : mi 5.97 - alt. 397 ft - Jouveaux Forest Road
  11. 10 : mi 6.51 - alt. 295 ft - Road on the right after the bridge
  12. 11 : mi 8.54 - alt. 400 ft - Les Landriers
  13. S/E : mi 9.29 - alt. 400 ft - Car park at Bosgouet Town Hall

Worth a visit

The commune of Bosgouet has several buildings listed in the General Inventory of Cultural Heritage.
Saint-Martin’s Church (14th,16th and17th centuries).
The cross in the cemetery of Saint-Martin Church (16th and 17th centuries).
Autonne Castle (17th and18th centuries). A19th -century castle.
Three houses dating from the 17th and18th centuries. Three farmhouses dating from the 17th and19th centuries.
It should be noted that this inventory also includes a leper colony, which has since been destroyed.

In the forest, the Étang de la Terre in Pots

Bosc-Bénard-Commin parish:
Saint-Ouen Church.
Bosc-Bénard-Commin Castle, listed as a Historic Monument (1935), and its well.
Camp-Héroult Castle.

Reviews and comments

3.6 / 5
Based on 6 reviews

Reliability of the description
3.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4 / 5
Route interest
3 / 5
papi marcheur 76
papi marcheur 76

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 18, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk. The route is clearly described. A third of the walk is in full sun. A lovely picnic spot near St Ouen’s Church.
As usual, you need to read the description carefully. THANK YOU

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Agnfranco
Agnfranco

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 19, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

A route that follows far too many tarmac roads and major forest tracks.
Hikers particularly enjoy paths in the heart of the countryside
During this walk, I only came across cyclists, but not a single hiker

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FLEURPATOU
FLEURPATOU

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 25, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

It allows you to explore the charming village of Bosc Benard Commin and the ponds, but there are so many tarmac roads – albeit not very busy ones!!

In my opinion, the circular route 1 2 13 1 is pointless and of no interest – why not start before point 3, at the junction with the Mesnil forest road, where there’s plenty of parking?

It’s not easy to find the path leading to the two ponds, but with the map you can get there without too much trouble

I think it’s a shame there aren’t any information boards explaining the origin of these ponds, their purpose, and so on.

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mamy yoyo
mamy yoyo

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 06, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Hello
Lots of roads and few paths
The signposting for the section around the ponds is confusing – you’ll need to use the app to find the right path. The same applies to point 6: if you go past the large branch blocking three-quarters of the path, turn back and use your GPS location to find the path on your right – which isn’t obvious, as nature has practically wiped out all the paths.

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viduva
viduva

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 01, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

Plenty of roads and few paths
The signposting for the section around the ponds is confusing

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manu7612
manu7612

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 24, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A lovely walk in glorious sunshine!! We had our picnic by the pond – a brilliant, peaceful spot!!

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