Discover Campeaux: Bocage, trails and history

Campeaux brings together a bocage landscape, trails for a range of activities and historical connections. The meanders of the Vire cross the area, and numerous hills shape its terrain. Panoramic views across the Norman bocage, sunken lanes and diverse flora are also among its landscape features. During your stay, you can consider these themes separately: the landscape, how to get around and the history.

Bocage landscape and terrain

The pronounced terrain, with its numerous hills, is a distinctive feature of Campeaux. Sunken lanes, panoramic views and diverse flora add routes, vistas and plant life to the picture. The meanders of the Vire cross Campeaux, while panoramic views open out across the Norman bocage. These features describe different aspects of the landscape: the terrain, the river’s course, the views and the vegetation. This lets you focus on different aspects when exploring the area, rather than equating the bocage landscape with a single viewpoint.

Hiking trails and outdoor activities

Campeaux has an extensive network of footpaths, as well as opportunities for hiking, mountain biking and horse riding. Three named routes can be distinguished by their activity and endpoints. The PR 102 hiking trail runs from the Moulin de Campeaux to La Huberdière. The VTT 1 mountain biking route runs from La Ménardière to the RD 674. The Rando des Haras is a route from the church of Campeaux to the Bessardières washhouse. These names and endpoints provide specific guidance if you want to distinguish between the routes. For comparison, start with the activity: PR 102 is a hiking trail, VTT 1 is a mountain biking route, and Rando des Haras names a route between a church and a washhouse. This lets you choose a route based on the activity that is a priority for your trip, while keeping the respective locations in mind.

A canoe trip by reservation

There is also a named option on the water: Base des Gorges de la Vire offers a 15 km red-rated canoe trip from Campeaux to Pont-Farcy. The trip is available by reservation. Its length, rating, starting point and destination, as well as the reservation requirement, give you specific details for planning. Keep the reservation requirement in mind if you include this activity in your stay. Unlike the land routes, this canoe trip—with its explicitly stated length and booking requirement—makes a suitable separate activity.

Church and medieval history

The church of Campeaux is dedicated to Saint Martin and existed before the 9th century. In the 12th century, Philippe de Harcourt, Bishop of Bayeux from 1142 to 1163, bequeathed the church to the canons of Plessis-Grimoult. Separately, a 1133 survey of the Diocese of Bayeux lists the fief of Campeaux associated with the Lacy family; it was solely responsible for providing the service of two knights. The history of the church and the history of the fief form two distinct historical threads. Their dates also differ: the church existed before the 9th century, the fief is mentioned in 1133, and the donation of the church took place in the 12th century. These historical connections add a timeline for Campeaux to the landscape and activity themes.

Discover more destinations: Giberville, Goustranville, Reviers, Lantheuil, Les Loges-Saulces, Champ-Du-Boult, La Pommeraye, La Folie.

Back to the wider travel guide: Calvados.