Discover Berfay: Hiking and Heritage

Berfay lies in the Boutry Valley and offers two distinct starting points for planning a trip: hiking routes and heritage. The GR235 long-distance hiking trail passes through the village, and the Le Vallon du Boutry hiking route starts here. Other attractions include Saint-Pierre Church, a spring-fed washhouse and memorial sites commemorating the 1906 Grand Prix. You can therefore consider Berfay as a stage on a long-distance hike or get to know the village through its landscape and history.

Hiking between valley and forest

The GR235 long-distance hiking trail runs from Vibraye to Saint-Calais via Berfay; the village is stage 2. If you use this route for planning, follow the current trail markers when you are out on the trail. Le Vallon du Boutry offers a different starting point: this hiking route begins in Berfay and runs between the Boutry Valley and the Vibraye Forest. The distinction is clear when choosing a route: on the GR235, Berfay is one stage on the route from Vibraye to Saint-Calais, while Le Vallon du Boutry starts here.

Church and local heritage

Among Berfay’s attractions is Saint-Pierre Church. It includes building phases dating from the 11th or 12th, 16th and 19th centuries. This sequence makes the time span clear: the earliest period mentioned is followed by further phases in the 16th and 19th centuries. Saint-Pierre thus offers a tangible point of reference for architectural history across several centuries. A spring-fed washhouse is also among the attractions. These are two distinct aspects of local heritage: the church illustrates a sequence of building phases, while the washhouse is notable for being fed by a spring.

Remembering the 1906 Grand Prix

In Berfay, the totem and the “Espace Grégoire” commemorative plaque recall the 1906 Grand Prix. Berfay is also located at kilometre 51 of the cultural route dedicated to the Automobile Club de France’s first Grand Prix, held in 1906. The local memorial installation and Berfay’s place on the cultural route therefore offer two distinct ways to remember the race.

Landscape and local history

The landscape also has a historical dimension. One historical interpretation considers the Boutry stream, the nearby Vibraye Forest and the iron-rich subsoil to have been factors that favoured Gallo-Roman settlement in Berfay. In this interpretation, the watercourse, forest and soil conditions are all linked to early settlement. The landscape perspective thus complements the hiking route’s connection to the Boutry Valley and Vibraye Forest with a historical view of early settlement. Forestry is also important to the village’s history: for a long time, village occupations in Berfay were connected with forestry, apart from agriculture. The Gallo-Roman interpretation concerns early settlement, while forestry relates to the long history of village occupations.

Discover more destinations: Montbizot, Savigné-L'evêque, Saint-Calez-En-Saosnois, Domfront-En-Champagne, Asnières-sur-Vègre, La Chapelle-Saint-Aubin, Bazouges-sur-le-Loir, Épineu-le-Chevreuil.

For the regional travel overview: Sarthe.