Cycling The Mayenne by Motorhome

The section of the river we were going to cycle was effectively the navigable part from Mayenne to Angers.The river is joined by the Oudon south of Lion D’Angers before it forms a confluence with the Sarthe north of Angers and then takes the name of Maine, before it joins the Loire,shortly afterwards.

The river is naturally navigable up to Chateau Gontier. In the 17^th an 18^th centuries artificial navigation was extended to Laval and beyond to Mayenne though as a commercial waterway, this was abandoned after the Second World War. North of the Oudon the river flow is very irregular, witnessed by the low river levels in the locks, which in many places were effectively dry docks.

There was a plan to extend a canal to the Orne river at Caen but then the railways came. If this hadn’t been the case it would have been possible to cycle along flat waterways all the way from Caen to Angers, though the railway from Caen to Laval.has now gone as well. Nowadays the Mayenne forms a small part, but gloriously scenic cycling part, of the long distance cycleway, La Vélo Francette, which runs from the Channel at Ouistreham to La Rochelle on the Atlantic coast. Though a lot of the route follows rivers, it is not all plain sailing, the section through Suisse Normande is challenging. Our aim was to follow the easy section from Ambrières Les Vallées to Angers, for the vast majority of the route, following the scenic Mayenne river.

It was on another trip that we tackled most of the section from Domfront to Caen and consequently this blog has been updated to include that.

Ouistreham to Caen

This section follows the canal from Sword Beach of D Day fame,passing the iconic Pegasus Bridge before entering William the Conqueror’s Caen architect of another invasion in the opposite direction in 1066.

The original bridge was replaced in 1994 and is now  a star attraction at the Memorial Pegasus Museum at Ranville

I include this section here because I do not want people to make the same mistake that I had made. As a frequent visitor to Normandy I had avoided visiting Caen on the basis that it had been obliterated in World War Two and visions were conjured in my mind of another post war development epitomised by Coventry, which suffered the same fate in the war. How wrong could I have been. The city has been sympathetically rebuilt in stone and the main cathedrals, L’Abbaye aux Hommes and L’Abbaye aux Dames have been restored, though the RAF made attempts to avoid bombing these abbeys as they were used to house French civilians and served as a medical centre.

The Abbaye aux Hommes or Sainte Etienne abbey together with the Abbaye aux Dames or the Abbey of Sainte Trinité are outstanding examples of Norman romanesque architecture and apparently were built as a penance by William the Conqueror and his wife Matilda of Flanders as they had upset the pope, who had not approved their marriage. The church was big business in these days so to ensure compliance with papal doctrine and approval of the marriage, that was eventually given at the cost to both of them of two enormous cathedrals.

Caen is also the site of a magnificent castle again built by William the Conqueror and during WW2 was used as a barracks by the German army and suffered extensive damage but recently has undergone restoration of the ramparts.

You can really stay anywhere on the coast, there are numerous campsites. We stayed at the Camping Normandy Sea Oasis, Merville Franceville The big plus was that you could park your motorhome at the top, with superb sea views. There was nothing else but it suited us to the ground .

If you turn out of the site and go into Merville Franceville, you pick up a greenway which takes you to the Orne river. You then take the road to pick up the Orne Canal at Pegasus Bridge and then follow the canal into Caen. It is a very easy day cycle and a very civilised way of entering the city..It is about a 20 mile round trip.

In 2023 we revisited this section of the coast and we couldn't fail to cycle into Caen again, the big difference was the cycleway from Pegasus Bridge was paved all the way from Ouistreham to Caen. We also used this trip to complete the section of La Velo Francette from Domfront to Caen, well almost all of it. I have added these sections at the end of this post.

Mayenne

We based ourselves at Camping Gué St Léonard, which is an excellent site right on the banks of the Mayenne,less than a mile from the town, with free wi fi, motorhome service point, perfectly acceptable if somewhat dated sanitary facilities, a riverside pitch for less than 13 euros and a brilliant reception.

An interesting feature of the campsite are the already erected tents/pods which have a space below for your bike and a table. These were to be found on other sites.

Mayenne is a short walk or bike ride from the site and the majestic Chateau, dating from the 10^th century, rises from the Mayenne river and is well worth a visit. There is also an excellent market on Saturday.

The main reason we came here, however, was that it was the start of our cycling trip down the river to Angers. As well as the cycle route down the Mayenne, the Chemin de Halage, or towpath, there are numerous cycleways radiating from the river, which were once old railway lines, now converted to cycleways. The link below has a downloadable map.

Mayenne to St Jean Sur Mayenne 40 mile return trip

This follows the river south and the ride starts from the left hand side of the river at Mayenne and as is the whole ride along the river, totally idyllic and primarily traffic free. In our minds we thought possibly that we might reach Laval but 40 miles in one day was enough and in any case we discovered a small aire in St Jean, which was ideal for a trip into Laval.

Mayenne to Ambrières Les Vallées 25 Miles Return

It was Sunday and what better way to celebrate the French way of life than to enjoy that French tradition of Sunday lunch. I have said before on this website, if a Frenchman has a choice between going shopping on a Sunday or going for lunch then there is no choice. We had a very pleasant lunch at the Relais de la Varenne on the patio overlooking the Varenne river.

Ambrières is like many a French town, pleasant enough but not really a lot to be seen. The most amusing part of the day was there was a fête in full swing and the highlight was a zip wire high above the river and that was really as good as it got.

To arrive at the town we had to take one of the old railway greenways by turning right out of the site before you take a right again to pick up the old railway track from Mayenne to Ambrières. You cross the Mayenne river before taking the branch up to Ambrières. If you turn right then you end up in Mayenne. Though you are still in the Mayenne valley, this is the only time you see the river before you cross it again at the Viaduc de La Rosserie just before entering Ambrières.

The ride is pleasant enough but it is like any other cycle ride that follows an old railway line and will not in any way compare with the scenic route along the Mayenne river. One of the highlights was the Vélo Rail just outside of St Loup du Gast, where you can take a handcranked wagon along a 2 mile section of rail track still in place. There is a small cafe and toilets here. There is also a small motorhome aire just off the railway path.

On the way back we took a trip round the back lanes to the confluence of the Varenne and Mayenne, before heading to the village of St Loup de Gast and onward to pick up the rail track again. It is basically a follow your nose route but google maps will help to reassure you.

St Jean Sur Mayenne to Laval 14 miles

The aire, which resembles a small campsite, was our base for a trip into Laval and for scenic beauty, far surpasses the car park motorhome aire just outside of Laval, even though it cost 10 euros but for that you had EHU, toilets and showers and if you wanted to forsake the electric hook up, you good get a river view. Your fees were collected in the evening.

Before arriving we made a detour to Jublains and Sainte Suzanne.

Jublains

The attraction here are the Roman remains, not the Colosseum but nevertheless still worth a visit. THe main attractions are the theatre, the fortress and the baths. Attached to the fortress there is a museum and this is the only attraction that you have to pay for. The baths are situated in the church. Parking is easy outside the fortress.

Sainte Suzanne rightly deserves its accolade as one of the most beautiful villages in France, complete with its medieval walls, chateau and narrow streets it is a delight to wander around and has plenty of restaurants for a menu de jour.

Just outside of the village is the Beugy Camp,which were earthen ramparts and a base for a siege of Sainte Suzanne by William the Conqueror, who failed to take the fortress though it finally fell to the English in the Hundred Years War in 1425. By then it was cannons that led to its downfall.

Parking is easy, at the bottom of the hill there is a large free car park with plenty of room for motorhomes.

At Montreuil sur Maine we met a young motorhomer, who had tucked himself into a brilliant spot below the church and just off the river, now this is what I would call wild camping.

To Angers 17 miles roundtrip

On the way you pass the ferry to the island of Saint Aubin, an area of marshland surrounded by the Mayenne and Sarthe rivers. On the other side of the river was the restaurant Le Port de L’ille, which looked quite interesting but we had bigger fish to fry.

You continue on until you reach the confluence of the Mayenne and Sarthe, where the river changes its name to the Maine, which then continues to the Loire and opens up all the possibilities of the Loire au Velo. For us the destination was Angers and though you will eventually have to cross the river, there is no hurry, just enjoy the imposing edifice of the Château as you get nearer and nearer.

Though we had had a fleeting visit to Angers before, we had not visited the Chateau before and this had to be remedied, given the shared history of the Counts of Anjou and the Plantagenet Kings Of England. What was even better was that when we arrived it was European Patrimonie Day, so all the main sights were free to visit. So after an extensive visit to the Château, this was followed by the cathedral and the Musées de Beaux Arts. The latter is situated in some imposing buildings, the oldest of which dated to the 15^th century,with a nice garden courtyard with some excellent artwork and history of Angers.

The Mayenne cycle route is an easy incredibly scenic ride along a beautiful river with numerous points of interest on the way, staying at some idyllic very economic campsites, coupled with friendly receptions and finally concluding with a visit to the ancient city of Angers.

In May 2023 on a trip to Normandy Fougères and Rennes, which was totally unplanned, we took the opportunity on our return to Calais to tackle another part of the La Vélo Francette, the section from Domfront to Caen. The original plan was to go to the Brenne Region, south of the Loire but in May 2023 it seemed a yellow weather warning covered every part of our planned itinerary. So we stayed north fully demonstrating the flexibility and advantages of the motorhome. Also in France in off peak periods there is no problem in just rocking up to a campsite and no silly rules generally about arriving after 1.00pm. Though be aware there are two public holidays in France in May, Ascension & Whit Monday so campsites and aires get very busy, particularly on the coast. Ascension appeared to be the busier of the two and as it was glorious weather, people tend to flock to the coast. We just hunkered down at an excellent municipal site at Courseulles Sur Mer.

As far as the cycling was concerned our aversion to hills, however continued, as we avoided some of the road sections in Suisse Normande, perhaps it is time to go over to the dark side and invest in electric bikes. We took the easy option of the Voie Vertes. Boringly I continue to eulogise about the generally excellent condition of these routes in France, which would put to shame the potholed routes in the UK or in many cases the absence of such facilities. What is proven in France is that if you invest in the cycle network, it gets used.

DOMFRONT

Domfront to Flers 25 miles return

As far as the chronology of the cycling is concerned regarding La Vélo Francette, we are now heading north, Domfront is north of Mayenne and we follow the voie Verte out of Domfront towards Flers, again following the Varenne river, that we picked up in Ambrières Les Vallées. The voie verte somewhat ignominiously ends at Fumeçon just outside of Flers and with due respect to Flers tourist board there is not a lot to recommend Flers.

Highlights of the trip other than it is very scenic was the cafe at Messei. Sadly it is only open on Sundays and Bank Holidays, here we had the most delicious apricot tart and a couple of beers for a ridiculously low price. I think that it is a communal business run by volunteers. It was an extremely pleasant stop.

The other highlight was the Parc des Forges de Varenne which was an iron foundry operating from the 16^th to 19^th century which utilised hydraulic power from the Varenne river and furnaces powered by charcoal. There appears to be guided tours, for which a small charge is made but when we arrived there was no one around so we just wandered around the site. It is adjacent to the voie verte.

Domfront

The highlight has to be the 11^th century chateau and though in ruins it is a very pretty and evocative place commanding excellent views over the surrounding countryside. Legend boards provide a detailed history of the site.

The town was also fortified and there is still evidence of the fortifications and associated towers and there are numerous medieval houses and buildings together with some pretty squares within these walls, despite suffering damage in WW2. With the narrow cobbled streets you could easily envisage yourself in the past.

Clecy Le Vey

Towards Caen Voie Verte de La Suisse Normande

Approx 50miles round trip

We stayed at the campsite, Camping des Rochers des Parcs on the recommendaation of a couple that we met at Domfront and they suggested we booked the site as it was busy, as it was Whit Monday. Dutifully I booked online but when we arrived on site we learned that it was not a live system and he had not looked at his bookings but no problem, as he found us a pitch overlooking the Orne river. The site is a mixture of statics and camping pitches and we were behind a static, fortunately it was not occupied. The site was busy in May and I guess that in the summer it is absolutely rammed. The site was pleasant enough, the owners were very helpful and you can order bread etc. It also has a restaurant and bar attached for breakfast etc which seems ok but in May it was not in full swing.

The village of Clecy is a short walk from the site and has an excellent bakers in the square together with a well equipped small supermarket. There are a number of restaurants in town and along the Orne opposite the campsite there are also a number of restaurants. We tried the Restaurant Aux Rochers which was ok, there was plenty of food but presentation left a lot to be desired but it was not expensive. When we first started coming to France in the early 1980's the restaurants were a breath of fresh air compared with what was on offer back home. Nowadays one gets the impression that some of them have not moved forward, whereas in the UK we have definitely upped our game.

The main attraction of the site for us was that it was on the voie verte Suisse Normande, literally 5 minutes away for our journey from here to Caen, where we started our cycle ride on the Velo Francette. This must be one of the prettiest voie verte's that we have ever cycled. For a large part of its route it follows the Orne river and also as it is in Suisse Normande, there is some dramatic scenery with the added advantage that you are cycling along the flat old railway track. Though it is dubbed 'Little Switzerland' you should be under no illusion that this is dramatic alpine scenery but nevertheless it is still stunning in an unassuming way. The cycleway is relatively recent and in true indomitable style it was in pristine condition. In what country would resources be directed to cutting the verges on a cycle path, though to some extent I wish they were not quite so zealous, as they scythe through the wild flowers. The other unique feature of this cycle way is that for large sections the rail track is still in place. The reason for this I understand is that it gives the French railway company SNCF the option to reclaim the track for a rail line if they so wish. The other interesting facet of this railway are the old industrial buildings along the track such as the bandage factory and the steelworks as reminders of the industrial heritage of this line.

The original plan was to cycle to Thury Harcourt on day one and then move onto the municipal site and complete the secction from Thury Harcourt to Caen. We did complete the ride to Thury on day one but since it took next to no time to get there and back we thought we would tackle the whole section to Caen on day 2. The station is not the original station but importantly there is a bar serving drinks and I am pleased to say not the bland 1664 beer. They had some very nice artisan beers which proved a well deserved rest stop and celebration on our return.

Caen is an historical city with charm and friendly locals and it was a pleasure to revisit the city on a bright sunny day. Highlights of the city are the two cathedrals, the port area and the historical quarter and of course William the Conqueror's castle. The latter was extensively damaged in World War Two, as was the rest of the city but the French are not adverse to rebuilding ancient monuments where practical.

Rochers des Parcs

No visit to the area is complete without a climb to the breathtaking views of the Rochers des Parcs along the Orne valley and in the other direction towards the railway viaduct across the river. It is not a difficult or very long walk from the campsite and though it is a bit of a climb, the path is well marked and the effort is well rewarded. You can extend the walk by crossing the viaduct and then descending to the road below and follow the Orne back to the campsite.

To Pont d'Ouilly approx 13 mile round trip

When you reach the end of the viaduct, the greenway finishes and though you can see the route of the old railway opposite, you are now required to take the road. Hardly surprising is that this is somewhat hilly as indicated by the fact that you start high above the Orne at the top of the viaduct and you have to reach the village of Pont D'Ouilly, which is on the banks of the Orne. It is a fairly attractive location albeit small. 

There is an attractive aire on the D167 on the outskirts of the village, which would be a good base for doing the somewhat demanding section to Flers but readers of this blog will know well, we are somewhat adverse to hills and this section is hilly.