Country Walk from Nancras to Balanzac

The entire route is marked with a yellow line. Parking: Place de la Fontaine in Nancras; GPS 45°44'41.5"N 0°52'58.2"W

(S/E) At the far end of Place de la Fontaine, find a passage between the houses on the left (Impasse du Mérard) and cross the stream of the same name, which leads back onto Rue de la Berthinière. Follow this road to the right until you reach the village boundary.

(1) Then turn left onto the D 243 E1. Cross a small road and head towards Triboulet. At the next junction, turn left towards the hamlet.

(2) Follow the grassy Pons track to the right. Turn left onto a road and cross the D 142 with care.

(3) Carry on straight ahead until you reach the edge of the Bois des Joux. Follow it to the right, then turn left and then right to rejoin the road.

(4) Follow it to the left until you reach Balanzac church, surrounded by its cemetery. At the junction, keep left.

(5) Continue to the D 728. Cross it carefully at the pedestrian crossing. Walk past the village hall and the town hall.

(6) You can start the walk here. Otherwise, carry on along the street, then take the second right to reach a Fork in the road.

(7) Continue north-west, to the left, towards Maine Grolier. At the first Fork in the road, take the left-hand branch and go straight on to the end. Then turn right towards Maine Grolier until you reach the third Fork in the road.

(8) Pass the turn-off on the left and carry on straight ahead. Then turn left onto the road towards the Piphanes farm.

(9) The road becomes a dirt track. Cut across another dirt track to reach a Fork in the road at Fief du Chagnon.

(10) Turn right and head for the old Croix Marchand mill. Cross the D 117 with care and continue straight ahead onto another track leading into a wooded area.

(11) Turn left onto a track at the edge of the small Bois des Mottes. Turn right onto the road and pass through the hamlet of Feuilloux.

(12) Between the houses, find a path and, at the junction, turn left onto another path that leads into a wooded area until you reach a crossroads.

(13) Turn left at the edge of the Bois de la Casse. Head due east, cross the D 117 with care and then turn right, heading due south, towards Nancras.

(14) Back in the village centre, turn right onto Rue de Saintonge (D728) and pass the church on your left. Continue; at the junction with the D117, head straight on towards Oléron and pass the wash house below on your left to return to the starting point (S/E).

Possible starting point at (6) Balanzac Town Hall; GPS 45°44'29.0"N 0°50'11.2"W

Balanzac Castle, a private property, was built in the^16thcentury. You can explore an imposing polygonal tower and a domed well.

The Church of Sainte-Madeleine is the castle’s former chapel; it still features a Romanesque window with diamond-point decoration. The present bell tower was erected after 1840.

The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin is a Gothic building. With a very simple rectangular plan and rather austere architecture, it was built around the middle of the^13th century.