A cycling, walking and running break in France’s best area for trails

Kévin Raimond was teaching me how to walk. I thought I already knew, but this tall, bearded, laid-back Frenchman had fresh wisdom to impart. “Inhale for three steps, hold your breath for one,” he said, hands pressed to his inflating belly. “Then exhale for three steps and hold for one. And repeat.”

Afghan walking is a technique used by nomads in Afghanistan. It is supposed to reduce stress, improve circulation and increase stamina, enabling them to cover vast distances with minimal effort. As Kévin and I were exploring the Andaines Forest, in south-west Normandy – part of what has become the largest waymarked area in France – I thought some stamina might prove useful.

The spa town of Bagnoles de l’Orne, in the middle of the forest, has long been a place for wellness and recreation. A healing spring was discovered here in the middle ages and, from the late 19th century, politician Albert Christophle helped transform Bagnoles into a resort where affluent folks could take the country air and medicinal waters, stay in fine villas and amuse themselves at the casino, racecourse and high-end boutiques.

That clientele has moved on. Some French visitors still come to the town’s spa for “the cure”, but Bagnoles is reinventing itself for a new type of wellness-seeker. In 2022, it became the first place in France to receive a Green Destinations label – for its commitment to environmental preservation and sustainable tourism. This has included the creation of new walking, running and cycling routes, for which trail maker Kévin is partly responsible. Now there are 70 routes to choose from (ranging from easy Green to more challenging Black), covering more than 800 miles (1,300km). It’s the biggest collection of routes of any destination in the nationwide On Piste network.

This appealed, particularly because the journey to Bagnoles could be made part of the adventure. It’s about 74 miles (120km) from the ferry port of Ouistreham to the medieval town of Domfront via the Vélo Francette cycle trail; it’s then 13 miles east along the Paris-bound Véloscénie trail from Domfront to Bagnoles. Both signed and scenic routes use traffic-free bike paths and traffic-lite backroads to follow the Orne River, slice through hilly Suisse Normande and weave between the Andaines’ oak, pine and beech trees. If you catch an overnight ferry from Portsmouth, arrange bike hire from Roulez Jeunesse Loisirs (one day from €20; five days from €78) and don’t pack more than you can fit in a couple of panniers, you can be pedalling south by sunrise. This was surely the most fitting way to arrive in a town that’s all about activity in nature.

To begin, the Vélo Francette glides along the Canal de l’Orne, through Caen (William the Conqueror’s city) and along a disused railway. I broke my ride at Camping de la Rouvre, a sylvan riverside site amid the Suisse Normande’s steep cliffs and deep gorges. (It closes at the end of September but in Clécy Le Site Normande is a good alternative, open until mid-December). I pushed on to Bagnoles the following day, pausing to picnic on fresh-from-the-farm camembert in the grounds of Domfront’s ruined 11th-century chateau.

Luckily, Château du Gué aux Biches was in a better state of repair. This would be my home on the outskirts of Bagnoles, a fact I found astonishing. Former home of the aforementioned Albert Christophle, and recently restored to full belle époque glory by Danish couple Soren Rasmussen and Klaus Bentin, Gué aux Biches is remarkably homely and affordable for such a grand address. I thumbed old volumes of Dumas in my elegant suite (the author stayed here several times), drank crémant sparkling wine in the plush salon and ate an indulgent amount of beneath the dining room’s chandelier. Plus, Soren and Klaus were the perfect hosts: among many other hospitable things, they will pick up car-free guests from the station (in Briouze), and have bikes to lend if you haven’t brought your own.

I had my wheels, though, and rode the short distance into the lake-hugging town to try some of Bagnoles’ trails. I started with a short stroll around the town’s belle-époque quarter. This is where Christophle sold plots to wealthy leisure seekers to build their own villas, within certain parameters: a set architectural style had to be followed and only certain colours could be used. The result is a no-two-quite-the-same, but still homogeneous, handsome toast rack of leafy streets.

Next, I followed Trail 3, a six-mile loop into the forest, then out of it, into bocage (patchwork) country, a terrain of high hedges and sunken lanes that made things tricky for the liberating allies during the Battle of Normandy. I took a refreshing stroll through luxuriant green, via the blush-pink Château de Couterne. It was raining lightly, though the trees helped keep me dry and the cuckoos kept me cheerful.

Many of these numbered paths are designated as mountain biking or gravel biking routes, or as trail running or Nordic walking routes. There’s nothing to stop you ordinary walking them, of course, but the idea is to cater to all sorts. Kévin is a keen ultra-runner and has devised a 62-mile route and race (held in September) for those feeling extra energetic.

For my part, I enjoyed mixing things up. One day I ran Trail 1 with Kévin, a three-mile loop via the Saint-Ortaire Priory, dedicated to a sixth-century hermit renowned for his miracle. The sick still place pebbles hereabouts, at the height of their ailment; it’s said when the pebble falls, they will be cured. I didn’t feel the need – I managed my run without injury – though as we passed Hippolyte, one of the forest’s oldest oaks, I stretched my arms around its five-metre girth for a big, healing hug.

I cycled too. One afternoon I followed the old railway that runs north to Briouze, recently made into a traffic-free bike path. I peeled off a little out of town to follow country roads to the farm of Michel Breton. His orchards were beginning to bloom and a travelling distiller was outside, manning a steampunk-like contraption that was turning Michel’s cidre into calvados. Madame Breton was in the farm shop, offering generous samples; I left, panniers chinking with bottles of poirineau, a delicious mix of pear juice and brandy.

And I walked. On my last day I chose Trail 2, which led deep into the forest. At one point a runner bounded by, but otherwise I didn’t see anyone. It was a realm of bluebells and stitchwort, chaffinches and chiffchaffs, deer hoof-prints and moss-fluffy trees. I rounded a lake, hopped across a stream and followed a narrow path lit by dappled sunlight. Which seemed just the spot … I channelled Kévin and those Afghani nomads, trying to breathe in slow sync with my steps, nostrils, lungs, bones filling with oxygen. Bagnoles wellness, 21st-century style.

The trip was provided by bagnolesdelorne.co.uk and orne-normandy-travel.co.uk. Brittany Ferries offers Portsmouth-Caen/Ouistreham returns from £98 for foot passengers or cyclists. Camping de la Rouvre has pitches from €11, cabins for two from €40. Château du Gué aux Biches has B&B doubles from €175. Bike/ebike hire costs from €20/€34 a day, with lower rates for longer rentals from roulezjeunesse.bike. For routes, see veloscenic.com, cycling.lavelofrancette.com, onpiste.com