Around Auchay-sur-Vendée

Coming from Chaix, about 200 m after the small bridge at the exit of the village towards Auzay, park after the new bridge running parallel to the metal bridge.

(S/E) Without crossing the bridge, head along the small road towards Les Vallées - La Batellerie.

(1) At a place called La Chaume, turn sharply left towards La Garenne au Jard and stay on this tarmac road.

(2) When you reach the spring, turn onto the shaded path on the left and continue to the junction after a house on the right.

(3) Turn right onto the road that climbs the hillside and, after a farm on the left, joins the D65. Take this road carefully to the left. Pass the crossroads, keeping to the left until the top of the hill.

(4) Turn left onto the dirt track that climbs the embankment and continue across the plateau. At the Fork in the road, keep left until you reach the tarmac road (panoramic view over the Vendée plain).

(5) Turn left onto the road towards Moulin de la Boissière. Walk past the mill, which has been converted into a lodge, and arrive at the village of Coubaron. Turn right at the end of the road, then turn left to cross the village and continue along a dirt track which joins a tarmac road.

(6) Turn left and walk 750 m along the road, then turn right towards the Massigny dam bridge.

(7) Turn left after the dam and stay on the road, which becomes a cycle path and runs alongside the Vendée river to the village of Brillac.

(8) Ignore the road leading off to the right towards the village and continue straight on, still following the riverbank; pass under the two bridges to reach the picnic area, then turn right to cross the Vendée via the footbridge to return to the point (S/E).

Picnic area on the banks of the Vendée (path leading under the Eiffel Bridge from the car park (S/E)).

- The metal bridge over the Vendée was designed by Gustave Eiffel. It was built in 1882 following the realignment of the river. This structure will make travel easier for residents of the riverside villages and bring the villages of Auzay and Chaix closer together. It has recently been restored and is now reserved for cyclists and pedestrians, as it has been replaced by a new road bridge.

- The Moulin de la Boissière, a private property in the commune of Le Poiré-sur-Velluire, has been converted into a rural lodge.

- The Massigny dam was built in 1960. It holds 3 million cubic metres of water.
The gates are operated automatically from the Mervent dam under the supervision of a computer installed in 1997. They are fitted with a passage for elvers and eels.

- After the checkpoint (8). We saw a stork perched on its nest, built at the top of a dead poplar tree.
Storks love nesting in the southern Vendée. They find the climate there extremely favourable for nesting. The abundance of Louisiana crayfish in the Marais Poitevin has become their main food source, which helps to limit their proliferation.
They remain, however, very sensitive to disturbance. If you stay too long near a nest, the adults may abandon it, and the survival of the chicks may depend on it.