Distance: 17.7 km
Departure: LA FERRIERE
Loop
Blue (A7)
Type of terrain: Walking and hiking trail (PR)
Loop to the Moulin Papon. Note, on the way, the old granite quarry then along the lake the Boches bridge. On the way back, take the shaded paths that border the Riot du Plessis.
Points of interest
1. Trailhead
Departure from the Fosse Jaune car park.
2. Guitton Bridge
Pont Guitton crosses the Riot du Plessis. The term riot, or riau, common name, designates a stream. It bears as other names: stream of Plessis or stream of Astiers. It has its source at Plessis-Bergeret in the town of La Ferrière and will flow into the Yon at Créancière in Dompierre, after a 9 km course.
3. Gorse Aerodrome
In the 1930s, it was just a meadow covered with gorse, then in 1936 the municipal council decided to install a municipal airfield there. This was finalized and inaugurated in 1939. It was bombed the following year and then occupied by occupation troops.
4. New Mill
End of Moulin Papon lake, ideal place for fishing with species: roach or bream, but predator fishing is also possible. Beautiful specimens exist in the lake such as pike, zander or perch.
5. Former Moulin Neuf granite quarry
The exploitation of the quarry, which formerly provided crushed aggregate, is now abandoned.
6. Boches Bridge
This vestige of the beginning of the last century and heritage of the town of La Ferrière made it possible via a railway line to transport iron ore from the Thermelières quarry.
7. Yon-Riot Confluence
Go along the lake of Moulin Papon and observe the confluence between the Yon and the riot du Plessis.
8. Gilbretière Quarry
The Gilbretière quarry has been exploiting a porphyroid granite deposit since the 1950s. At that time, the quarry represented an area of approximately 1 ha and supplied only local construction sites. It took on an industrial dimension in the 1970s and the mining area extended over 5 ha to supply the Vendée market. Today, the quarry belongs to the company Carrières et Matériaux du Grand Ouest and has an area of more than 30 ha for 15 ha dedicated to extraction. Under the terms of its deposit and its administrative authorization in 2032, the quarry will become a site for the recovery and recycling of materials from the (de)construction of nearby sites.
9. Wood of the Girondins
The municipal forest of the Girondins is a public forest present on the territory of the municipality of La Ferrière. It is managed by the ONF (National Forestry Office) in application of the Forest Code. This forest was first owned by the De Tinguy de Nesmy (a branch of the Girondin family, hence its current name) then it was ceded in 1890 to Louis Febvre, a Yonnais. Finally, the city of La Roche-sur-Yon acquired it in 1971.