Walking - Le sentier de la Vinette

This trail is offered by the Eure-et-Loir Nature association.

It is not waymarked on the ground.

This route offers the particularity of crossing sandy soils
around the hamlet of La Vinette, then calcareous soils, as you
descend towards Saint-Hilaire-des-Noyers.

 Features to observe along the way:

Each of these two soil types supports distinct characteristic vegetation:
- in sandy soils, you will find chestnut, birch, gorse, heather, bracken fern...

- in calcareous soils: oregano, buckthorn, blood-twig dogwood, the
May orchids (Purple Orchid and Early-purple Orchid) and the autumn crocus in autumn.

Also look for the tiny and curious three-fingered saxifrage
on embankments and walls, between the hamlet of La
Vinette and Le Grand Giraumont.

In the hamlet of La Vinette, some old houses are characteristic of the traditional Perche habitat:
flat tile roofs, white chalk cornices,
sandstone wall reinforcements, yellow mortar made from Perche sands.

Near the Giraumont farm, the trail is sunken and bordered by hedges of highly varied species: field maple
, hornbeam, hazel, holly, dog rose…

The hedge is home to numerous passerines from April to August, including
several species of warblers.

This route is also favourable for observing raptors,
such as the common buzzard or the European honey buzzard.

Finally, at night, the trail is frequented by numerous mammals whose tracks reveal their passage (fox, stone marten, wild boar, roe deer, or even badger).