Circuit du Père By

The commune is marked by the presence of the forest. In the early 17th century, its owner, the Marquis de Vibraye, set up forges on the River Braye at Champrond, where charcoal from the forest was used to fire furnaces producing cast iron and iron until 1913. The trail partly follows the route taken by the convoys loaded with heavy iron bars to the workshop in the hamlet of La Fenderie, on the pond of the same name. In La Bouverie, another hamlet that has disappeared, eight houses housed the forge drivers, while the coalmen and miners lived in makeshift huts. Now silent once more, all that remains of the forest from this past activity is the network of paths, often paved with slag, bluish stones, the impurities melted in the blast furnace when the ore was smelted. Part of the forest is now a Natura 2000 site.

Map and full description of the route available in the Guide Rando du Perche Sarthois (46 routes).
On sale at tourist offices in the Perche Sarthois for €6.

Show less