Campandré-Valcongrain: Forest, Hiking Trails and History

Campandré-Valcongrain combines prominent high points, forest trails and historic memorial sites. This gives you several options when planning your trip: you can focus on a longer hike through the Forêt de Valcongrain or explore the history of the church, château and memorial stele.

A landscape of forest and high points

Mont d’Ancre lies north of the village centre, in the Valcongrain forest. At 334 metres, it is the highest point in the area. At the other end of the elevation range is the outflow of the Ruisseau de Vingt Bec in the northeast: at 123 metres, it marks the lowest point. These two figures refer to different locations and give a concrete sense of the elevation differences in the area.

The Forêt domaniale de Valcongrain covers 375 hectares. Its tree cover consists of deciduous woodland with oaks and beeches, as well as coniferous woodland with Scots pines. The combination of forest and high points makes the landscape a defining consideration when planning your trip. The Forêt domaniale lies on the road between Aunay-sur-Odon and Thury-Harcourt.

Hiking trails and planning your time

The “Sous le Mont d’Ancre” hiking route passes through the Forêt de Valcongrain. It is 13.2 kilometres long, rated moderate, and listed as taking 3 hours and 45 minutes. These three details answer different planning questions: the distance describes the length, the rating indicates the stated level of difficulty, and the duration provides a guide to the time required. This makes it easy to plan the route as a standalone activity lasting several hours.

The Tour Suisse Normande is also one of the routes in the Forêt domaniale de Valcongrain. This gives you two named hiking options in the forest landscape, although the same route details are not available for both. When planning your time in the area, you can use the stated distance and duration of the “Sous le Mont d’Ancre” route as a guide. Here, only the Tour Suisse Normande’s place among the forest trails is noted.

A stele in the forest commemorates a plane crash in 1944. The aircraft was flown by a French pilot. This memorial site adds a historical dimension to the landscape and gives the forest a further significance, distinct from its hiking trails.

The church and château in local history

The Church of Saint-Pierre dates from the 19th century. At the time, it replaced both the former church of Campandré and the Church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste in Valcongrain, after the two parishes were merged. The construction date and the church’s earlier history are connected: the present-day church is part of a history of unification that had previously involved two separate churches.

The Château de Campandré is also associated with a clear historical turning point. After the fire of 1938, the 17th-century hunting pavilion survived. These dates refer to two different periods: the century in which the pavilion was built and the year of the fire after which it remained standing. Together with the church and the stele, these sites offer a historical perspective alongside your hiking plans.

Tailor your stay

If you are looking for a hotel for a trip to Campandré-Valcongrain, you can start by deciding what you would like to focus on: the “Sous le Mont d’Ancre” route has a stated duration and distance to help you plan your time, while the historical sites include the church, hunting pavilion and memorial stele. This lets you shape your stay around either the forest and hiking or local history, without combining the different themes into a single itinerary.

Discover more destinations: Le Tronquay, Noron-la-Poterie, Coudray-Rabut, La Vespière, Beaumont-En-Auge, Isigny-Sur-Mer, Lisores, Saint-Julien-le-Faucon.

For the broader travel guide: Calvados.