Forêt domaniale de Cinglais

A beautiful walk awaits you. You will discover a forest universe away from the world. Then, along the small paths, you will find through the old stones, the traces of its history by admiring its laundries, its houses, its castle, its chapel and its church. Boulon invites you to savor the history of its rural heritage.
Situated on the borders of the dry plains and the watered bocage, this forest covering 1475 hectares is an example of a forest classified ZNIEFF. Belonging in the IXth century to the lordship of Thuit, the first known owner was Raoul d'Anjou. His descendant, his eldest son, Raoul Tesson de Cinglais, was said to own the third part of the land in Normandy.
During the battle of Val-Es-Dunes, he passed with his hundred knights, in the ranks of Duke William and won. The Tesson family played a major role in the Conquest of England by William the Conqueror, hence the numerous rewards from him. Declared a national asset in 1793, the forest was returned to its former owners in 1814. During the XIXth century, it underwent a wave of clearing (less than 320 Ha). In addition to the lily of the valley that it supplied to the city of Caen, the forest produced a lot of wood, in particular that which fed the boiler of the tortillard linking Caen to Falaise, via Bretteville-sur-Laize.