Around Brie-sous-Archiac

Park in the car park next to the church at the top of the hill.

(S/E) Leave the car park and carefully take the Route de Saint-Ciers (D251E3) north-eastwards, moving away from the church until you reach the junction with the D25OE1. Take the road to the left and follow it until the bend in the road to the left. On the right is a wayside cross flanked by two farm tracks. Take the track to the left of the wayside cross, a grassy path running between plots of vines. Continue straight on until you reach the Route de Fontaines. Follow this road carefully, keeping to the left, until you reach the first farm track on the right.

(1) Turn right to follow the Impasse du Château d’Eau, which branches off to the right as you enter the Bois de Brie. Continue straight on until you reach the road known as the Chemin de l’Alambic in Le Maine-au-Bois.

(2) Turn left carefully onto the Chemin de l’Alambic. Pass the factory on your left and continue to the hamlet known as Chez Boileau, where the road gives way to a farm track heading north-west.

(3) When the track joins the D251E3 road, turn left and continue to the next junction, where you turn right onto the road leading to the hamlet of La Moure.

(4) Just before this hamlet, turn left onto the La Moure farm track. Continue straight on southwards until you reach the Route de Fontaines. Cross it carefully and continue straight ahead along the farm track heading south-west, then south, running alongside vineyards on your left. The track skirts wide around the hamlet of Chez Dagneau. Continue straight on, passing the Impasse de la Noue.

(5) Further on, cross the D250E1 road with care and continue straight ahead along the farm track between the vineyards. Further on, the track passes to the left of a small copse where there is a spring (Fontaine Gervier on the map). Proceed to the junction with a farm track immediately after on the left.

(6) Turn left onto the track heading east and continue straight on until you reach the hamlet of Chez Paraise.

(7) When you reach it, take the road to the left and cross the hamlet. Just as the road curves to the right on leaving the hamlet, take the Chemin des Acacias on the left. The vineyard track joins a small road next to Chez Borde. Follow it to the right until you reach the nearby junction with the Route de Saint-Ciers (D251E3).

(8) Carefully follow the Route de Saint-Ciers to the left. Further on, pass the Route du Côteau on your right – which serves, amongst others, the hamlets of La Raillerie and Chez Valade – and continue straight on towards Brie-sous-Archiac. The road winds its way past the cemetery before reaching the Church of Notre-Dame and arriving at the car park (S/E).

The car park is located next to the church at the top of the hill.

This walk across varied terrain requires suitable footwear.

This route is not signposted but does not present any real difficulties. Consequently, it is advisable to follow the instructions in the description and on the map, whilst also paying close attention to the landscape. The waypoints (with their GPS coordinates and the distance from the starting point) serve as aids for walkers exploring the route for the first time.

Hike completed by the author on 10 December 2021

Brie-sous-Archiac
Wine-growing is a major economic resource for the commune, which is situated in Petite Champagne, within the Cognac AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) area

The Church of Notre-Dame
At the top of the hill, at the far end of the village, stands the modest church of Brie-sous-Archiac, built in the 13th century.
The gable façade features three pointed windows with delicate mouldings adorned with small capitals. The two blind side windows are framed by a stone bench.
Centred above the central doorway, a rose window pierces the upper section. In 1891, a bell tower was added to the gable.
The south side wall, rebuilt in rubble stone in the 17th century, retains the remains of a pointed-arch doorway as well as a cornice resting on small corbels.
Set back on the north-west corner, the 19th-century bell tower replaced the old one, which collapsed in 1670. This church is therefore unique in having two bell towers. Adjacent to it, a sanctuary formed of a rock-hewn grotto has been added.
Inside, each bay of the nave, which was rebuilt in the 19th century, is separated by groups of columns with plain capitals or those adorned with human figures.
The square chancel no longer has any openings to the east. It is lit by a flamboyant window with a central mullion on the right-hand side and by a pointed arch window on the left.

Baptismal font: a stone basin on a pedestal.
Pulpit with bas-relief.
Oculus rose window with stained-glass panes.
Source: Eglises-en-Charente-Maritime.fr.cr website