On the edge of the Gâtine region in Coulonges-sur-l'Aurize

Park in the town hall car park on Place du Château.

(S/E) With your back to the town hall, cross the square towards the north corner. Cross Rue de Fontenay and take Rue du Couvent. Turn left into Rue Basse, then right into Impasse de l'Abreuvoir, which leads through a pretty park to Rue de la Maladrerie (yellow markings).

(1) Walk up this street to the right until you reach the second crossroads.

(2) Turn left and follow the small tarmac road that leaves the town towards the east-south-east.

(3) At elevation 73, take a slightly uphill dirt track on the right: view of the hamlet of Pairé on the left. Continue along the track through farmland until you reach a junction with another slightly uphill track lined with fruit trees.

(4) Turn right heading due north; you are now on the border between Deux Sèvres and Vendée. Cross a road and then a track to reach a crossroads on the edge of the Bois des Moulins.

(5) A signpost indicates the name of the path, "Entre Plaine et Gâtine", as well as two directions. You are now entering Gâtine. Take the path on the left, which makes a first turn left then right and follows the edge of the forest to a crossroads.

(6) Take a left-hand lane that is closed to all vehicle traffic. This joins a tarmac road near a pretty house. Follow this road to the right and descend towards the hamlet of La Bazinière. At the entrance to the hamlet is a picturesque heptagonal wash house, fed by a hand pump. Cross the hamlet. At the exit, turn right onto a tarmac road until you see a large sign indicating the La Bazinière educational farm.

(7) Turn left towards the farm and cross it. The road turns into a path that climbs steeply. At the top, in a right-hand bend, there is a lovely view of the surrounding hills. Continue along this path, which is now level, until you reach the next crossroads where there is a picnic area.

(8) Take the road on the right and follow it downhill to the entrance of the Château de la Roussière (private), which is barely visible. Leave the tarmac road that branches off to the right and continue straight ahead, along the edge of the Bois des Moulins, until you reach the path you followed earlier.

(6) Continue along the edge of the woods until you reach the signpost marked "Entre Plaine et Gâtine".

(5) Continue straight ahead towards Coulonges-sur-Autize, still along the edge of the woods.

(9) When you see the hamlet of Les Fontenelles, go around it on the right via several bends until you reach the cultivated plain. Follow the farm track that crosses it in a straight line towards the south. At the end, turn left (south-east) until you reach the crossroads in the La Grue district.
Continue straight ahead along Route de Cougou until you reach Saint-Étienne Church (12th-15th century). Go around it on the right via Rue de l'Épargne and follow it to Place du Château (S/E).

No parking on Tuesdays on Place du Château due to the market.
There is a description of this route, published by the CRDP79, but it is impractical, lacks detail and the map extract is unclear.

In the town and hamlets, there are many pretty stone houses and several small castles.
Saint-Étienne Church.
Heptagonal wash house dug out at La Bazinière.