CIRCUIT "DANS LES PAS DE ROUGET LE BRACONNIER" A DAUMERAY

Hiking circuit with a flat profile mainly on paths More than half of the circuit is on forest roads. Suitable for occasional walkers. Starting from the parking lot of the Daumeray sports hall, cross the D859 to immerse yourself in the historical streets of the village. Discover the Saint-Martin church and the old imperial gendarmerie of the 19th century. Then follow the direction of Morannes and drive around the property of the former Prieuré Saint-Martin, also called the abbey. See the Renaissance façade founded in the 10th century by the monks of Marmoutier. Drive along the wood, then the fruit fields, the orchards. In the direction of Notre-Dame-du-Pé, a new panorama stretches out before you with the Grip wood as far as the eye can see, then take a sunken path to reach the Gilotière. On the edge of the path, at the place called La Demenerie, you can see the well covered by the vegetation as well as the old foundations of Louis Rouget's house. The small shaded path that follows was often used by Rouget fleeing from the gendarmes who were after him, and it crosses a peaceful undergrowth that bears witness to the frequent passage of wild animals by its numerous footprints on this long dirt road. We are on the edge of the Sarthe department, on the border of the communes of Daumeray, Notre-Dame-du-Pé and Durtal. Take this wide forest road, go along the stream Le Rodiveau and cross the Grip wood. At the place called "Le Plessis", you will notice a bourgeois building dating from the 18th century, then join the village of Saint-Germain. It is here that Rouget got married in 1848. In this village, nothing seems to have changed since the completion of the nave of the church before the Revolution. Toilets in Daumeray, to the left of the town hall, at 25 rue de la Fraternité Picnic tables in Daumeray : Park of the village hall and at the gas station All food shops and the Fraternity restaurant in the center of Daumeray Public transportation : - Train station in Morannes (6 km) - Buses : information about the bus station in Angers (02 41 36 29 46) Every year in January-February, attend the famous THEATRICAL SHOW of " ROUGET LE BRACONNIER " Since 1971, the theatrical troupe formed by amateur and voluntary actors of the commune of Daumeray interprets every winter a play relating the tumultuous life of Louis Rouget known as " Rouget the Poacher ". For about fifty years, the actors have been performing in front of a conquered audience, filling up every performance. Daumeray, its village, proud of a long theatrical tradition, takes care to perpetuate, in the collective memory, the true face of its hero, Rouget the Poacher.