18. Pollarded Trees Trail – Starting point: Le Perrey (Church of Fourmetot)

This route pays tribute to one of the most characteristic features of the Norman landscape: the bocage and its pollarded trees. Present throughout the walk, they form both the soul of the landscape and the guiding thread of the route.

Sunken lanes make up nearly a third of the trail, often enclosed between two embankments lined with ancient hedgerows of hornbeam, ash and oak pollards, creating striking green tunnels. In the more open sections, a pollarded hedgerow frequently borders one side of the path, offering a discreet reminder of this bocage landscape shaped by generations of Norman farmers.

The starting point provides an elegant introduction to the walk. A rustic stone gateway marks the entrance to a half-timbered manor house, accompanied by a magnificent cedar tree and thatched outbuildings, forming a remarkably harmonious architectural and natural ensemble.

Halfway along the route, the Croisée Educational Pond invites visitors to take a nature break. Designed to encourage observation and understanding of aquatic life, it is accessible to all ages and audiences.

Between rolling bocage countryside, open farmland and quiet woodland, this walk beautifully reveals the deep identity of a region located close to the Seine Valley.