BOUCLE MULTI-RANDONNÉES N°03 – SECTEUR SAULGES, CHAMMES, ST JEAN SUR ERVE, ST PIERRE SUR ERVE ET THORIGNÉ
This large loop is aimed at all (courageous!) hikers who wish to discover the richness of our small heritage.
Route details
Description
Particularly rich in discoveries, this great hike combines both the small local heritage and the best that nature has to offer! Following the marked trails, you will cross 3 Small Towns of Character: Saint-Pierre-sur-Erve, Thorigné en Charnie, and Saulges, and you will plunge between the limestone slopes of a superb canyon.
Two variants (named V1 and V2) allow you to cut your circuit.
A connection is possible to go towards Chammes and is aimed more particularly at teams.
There are many accommodation options on this tour if you want to do it in 2 stages.
Please note: this long loop is not suitable for horseback riders. A 24 km multi-hiking loop (also No. 03) has been specially created.
You can download and print this circuit by clicking on the PDF bubble.
Your itinerary
Step 1
Step 2: CHURCH OF SAINT JEAN SUR ERVE
The church has a patriotic stained-glass window, created in 1920 by Auguste Alleaume. It was restored in 1941 following the bombings of June 1940, and it depicts an angel flying, carrying a crown over a soldier dying in a Christian manner, and below it are two crowns bearing the inscriptions Dieu et Patrie, and RF (for French Republic).
Step 3: SAINT SYLVAIN CHAPEL
In the 6th century, a hermit monk from the Abbey of Micy near Orléans, withdrew to Maine and settled in a sparsely populated town, which later became the village of Saint-Pierre-sur-Erve.
He settled on the hill which today bears his name, near a spring.
The locals call it “Saint-Sylvain” in reference to “Sylvanus”, the Roman god and protector of forests.
In 1431, Jean de Thévalles, Lord of Saint-Pierre, had a chapel built. The building is crowned by a bell tower with small, round-arched windows.
Since the Middle Ages, many pilgrims have come to worship there and have had the custom of engraving graffiti on the walls of the chapel to indicate their passages.
Among the oldest inscriptions are still visible those of 1739 and 1745.
