The Essarts circular route from the Maison Forestière du Pas Trop Fort

(S/E) Leave the car park by taking the forest track (closed to traffic) which heads south and away from the Forest House.
Further on, pass a crossroads where four forest tracks meet.

(1) Shortly afterwards, take the path on the right that heads west into the woods. In fact, the forest track climbs slightly, and the path on the right is about two hundred metres before the highest point of the forest track.
Alternatively, a little further on, take the forest track on the right and, at the T-junction, turn right onto the forest track to rejoin the route.
When you reach a junction with a north-south forest track (elevation 92), continue straight ahead along a heavily overgrown forest track.
This path approaches the edge of the woodland and, a little further on, begins to curve to the right whilst following the clearing within the woodland.
It comes out onto a forest track. Head slightly to the left towards the road known as Chemin du Chêne Papinot.
Turn right and head for the Chêne Papinot junction, less than fifty metres to the north (D119 road).

(2) Cross the junction carefully and continue straight ahead along the road.
Just as the road reaches the edge of the woodland, turn onto a forest track on the left which heads straight west, and immediately turn right onto the small forest track that runs alongside the road through the woodland (on your right). The track is overgrown with grass.
When the track reaches a ‘T’-junction of forest tracks, take the left-hand track which winds through the woods.
Further on, this track leads onto a wide grassy path heading to the left, with the road about twenty metres to the right. Turn left and follow this wide grassy path until it joins a north-south forest track. This track forms part of the^GR®®36route.

(3) Turn right heading north and continue along the track, even when it turns sharply left just before joining a stony track leading to the fields.

(4) This stony track runs along the edge of the woods and heads towards the hamlet of Les Essarts.
Further on, the forest track joins the road leading to Les Essarts. Turn right onto the road and continue along it, leaving the hamlet to your right.

(5) At the gate that blocks the road to traffic as it enters the woodland, take the forest path on the right at the edge of the woodland: pass through a gate covered in lichen via the footpath on the right (the gate is not in use). The path here is very overgrown and poorly maintained as the access points are closed off. It runs alongside the Essarts clearing. Further on, pass a small ‘barricade’ of branches.
It continues as a path leading into the woods, where there is a stockpile of sawn timber and various agricultural machinery.

(6) About fifty metres further on, look out for a lovely sunken path on the left between two embankments and follow it. It winds pleasantly through the woodland. The path forms a circular shape.

(7) The path joins a forest track and heads broadly north-east. The track approaches a large clearing on the right-hand side. At a hedge that extends into the clearing, join the path closest to the edge of the woodland. After skirting the clearing on your right, the path turns into a wider, grassy track heading north-east through the Essarts area.

(8) The grassy track passes a junction of straight forest tracks, consisting of an east-west path and a track coming from the south.
The path eventually reaches a small road, just as it joins the^GR®®36, which follows a forest track to the left.

(9) Turn right and head for the nearby crossroads. At the crossroads, take the left-hand road leading towards the village of Péré en Forêt.

(10) After passing the Nouelles farmland, and at a bend in the road to the left, take the path leading into a strip of woodland at La Chagnasse Longue on the right.
The path runs alongside a clearing on the right-hand side. Turn right onto a grassy track as soon as the clearing ends and follow this track through the woods, which leads out onto a forest track near the junction with the small road leading to Le Puy des Fosses to the south-east.
Take this track to the left and, further on, leave the hamlet of Puy des Fosses on your left as you continue along the edge of the Bois de la Croix Boutrie.

(11) Just as the road takes a right-angled bend to the left, take the forest track leading into the woods opposite, heading south. Follow it straight on until you reach the clearing at the Maison Forestière du Pas Trop Fort on your right. Go through the barrier closing the forest track to traffic, cross the Route de la Forêt (D119) with care, and you’ll find the car park opposite, which marks the end of this walk (S/E).

The car park is opposite the Maison Forestière du Pas Trop Fort, on the left-hand side of the Route de la Forêt (D119) when coming from Vaubalier.

This walk takes place over varied terrain and requires suitable footwear.

This walk is only very partially signposted: the route follows the GR®36 for a short while and crosses it again at another point on the route. Consequently, it is advisable to follow the directions 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) are helpful for walkers exploring the route for the first time.
Using a (hiking) GPS device or the Visorando app on a smartphone can provide reassurance for walkers, allowing them to check that they are not straying from the intended route. Indeed, everything looks much the same in forests, and even more so in state-owned forests.

At point (1), if in doubt, walk a little further to find a forest track of a higher standard (see the route description).

Walk completed by the author on 27 May 2020

Les Fosses
The church at Les Fosses
The first task is to find this church: it is closer to the built-up area of Vauballier than to the village of Les Fosses itself, a name which replaced that of Beltronum in 1043. It is easy to overlook, visible amidst the fields from the D.106, and brings to mind a hermitage rather than a parish centre, despite its rich tradition. Its parish was appointed by the Abbess of Saint-Croix de Poitiers, founded by Saint Radegonde. This remained the case until the Revolution.
It has the low profile of a roof of hollow tiles, with a simple slate pyramid on the bell tower. The façade is unadorned, featuring a Romanesque portal, a heavy cornice and a window in the pediment, as is often the case in the small churches of the Mellois region. At the apse, one can see some fine modillions.
Inside, it has retained the classic layout of small Romanesque churches: a nave with engaged columns supporting a vault that collapsed in 1857, and again in 1879. Note the remarkable thickness of the walls in the window reveals. Next comes the chancel, with a short straight bay and an even narrower apse vaulted with a pointed arch. A unique feature is the triumphal arch at the entrance to the chancel, which effectively acts as an internal buttress to support the bell tower, lending a sense of intimacy to the chancel. To the right, it is flanked by a narrow spiral staircase and two engaged columns built at the same time as the nave, suggesting that this arch was already in place. Within this setting, the modern altar has managed to strike just the right balance.
The walls were stripped back around 1970, revealing numerous stonemasons’ marks: secant arcs, as at Saint-Romans-lès-Melle and Mazières-sur-Béronne, †, A, J.
A wooden gallery seeks to compensate for the cramped space. The atmosphere is quite bright despite the single
window in the apse and the blocked-up windows on the north side.
Source: Extract from Jacques Lefebvre’s book, *Les églises du Mellois*, Poitiers, published by Gilbert de La Porrée, 2008, p. 19. © PARVIS – 2019 Poitiers Theological Centre; website

Péré en Forêt, Marigny
Péré-en-Forêt Castle
The castle, part of the seigneury of Marigny, belonged to the Rajol family in the 14th century until 1506. It then passed to the Goullard d’Arsay family. In 1635, it belonged to M. de la Fontenelle, who was married to a descendant of that line. In 1944, the castle passed to the de la Roche-Saint-André family, who also own Puy-Jourdain Castle in the Bocage region.
A massive structure comprising two wings joined at right angles, it retains two 15th-century towers at each corner, one of which features a bretèche at its summit. A turret connects the two buildings, whilst another, elongated turret houses the staircase in the inner corner of the building, on the courtyard side. In the 19th century, the Lauzon family altered the complex: a long building was added extending as far as the eastern corner tower, and the south-western end was transformed into a gable flanked by two watchtowers. This residence, with its large mullioned windows, is distinguished by a door surmounted by a pediment, in the classical style, decorated with triglyphs and fleurons. (1)
Péré-en-Forêt Castle, 79360 Marigny, is privately owned and not open to the public.
Source: Châteaux de France website

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