A day in the "Mancelles Alps"
GUIDED WALK ON THE THEME OF GEOLOGY THROUGH THE "MANCELLES ALPS"
Description: By carving its way through bars of schist and sandstone, the Sarthe river has sculpted "alpine" reliefs in this little corner of the Normandy-Maine Regional Nature Park and Geopark: the "Mancelle Alps" in other words, the "Alps of Le Mans"...
Itinerary:
Duration: 1 hour return trip from Alençon railway station or the House of Woods (2 hours from Surdon railway station), 4 to 6 hours hiking through the Mancelles Alps depending on your fitness level.
Rating according to the French Hiking Federation scale:
Price: €40 for the first adult, €20 thereafter, €10 per child, transport not included*
* transfer possible from the House of Woods or Alençon railway station with links to Le Mans or Caen (1/2 hour trip, €40 return, max. 3 people) or from Surdon railway station with a direct link to Paris-Montparnasse (3/4 hour trip, €60 return, max. 3 people); meals and/or accommodation can be arranged (camping at home, hotel-restaurant nearby).
Description: By carving its way through bars of schist and sandstone, the Sarthe river has sculpted "alpine" reliefs in this little corner of the Normandy-Maine Regional Nature Park and Geopark: the "Mancelle Alps" in other words, the "Alps of Le Mans"...
Itinerary:
- Departure from the House of Woods* or from a railway station* or directly from Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei
- Visit to Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei, one of the "Most Beautiful Villages in France", its church with its splendid 14th-century frescoes, its 15th-century chapel built in a loop of the Sarthe river, and its famous 19th-century painters' inns
- Transfer by car to Saint-Léonard-des-Bois (1/4 h) via the Belvedere of Toyères, overlooking the Sarthe canyon (really!)
- Picnic or restaurant meal (not included, but can be arranged)
- In Saint-Léonard-des-Bois, guided ascent to the Butte de Narbonne (2-hour hike, 200 m ascent) and, if you wish, to the Haut-Fourché (same characteristics but on the other side of the valley)
- Return to the starting point.
Duration: 1 hour return trip from Alençon railway station or the House of Woods (2 hours from Surdon railway station), 4 to 6 hours hiking through the Mancelles Alps depending on your fitness level.
Rating according to the French Hiking Federation scale:
- EFFORT: level 1 "Easy" (circuit with no particular difficulty)
- TECHNICITY: level 2 "Fairly easy" (obstacles up to ankle height) with short sections of level 3 (obstacles up to knee height)
- RISK: level 2 "Fairly Low" (risk of minor injury: dislocation, sprain, etc.)
Price: €40 for the first adult, €20 thereafter, €10 per child, transport not included*
* transfer possible from the House of Woods or Alençon railway station with links to Le Mans or Caen (1/2 hour trip, €40 return, max. 3 people) or from Surdon railway station with a direct link to Paris-Montparnasse (3/4 hour trip, €60 return, max. 3 people); meals and/or accommodation can be arranged (camping at home, hotel-restaurant nearby).