Vieux Brulain circular in Availle

The car park is on Rue Baptiste Paul Grimaud, near the town hall and the post office. Alternatively, there is a car park opposite the cemetery on the same street.

(S/E) Turn left (south) onto Rue Baptiste Louis Grimaud (D104) and walk alongside the cemetery on your right. At the roundabout, take Rue des Marronniers straight ahead, between the D101 on the right and the D104 on the left. After just under a hundred metres, turn left onto a path. Then cross a small road carefully and continue along the path opposite.

(1) About 200 metres further on, turn left onto a path between two small hedges. Carefully cross a small road and continue along the path straight ahead. At a junction by the side of the D104, turn left to join the road.

(2) Carefully cross the D104 and continue straight ahead along Impasse des Tilleuls. At the Fork in the road, take the right-hand track heading towards a large farm building. Turn left, walk past the building and you’ll reach Chemin des Trois Fermes. Then turn right (east).

(3) At the end, turn left and carefully follow the road known as Chemin de la Motte Féodale. Ignore a turn-off on the left. When you reach the T-junction in Vieux Brulain, veer to the right and you’ll immediately come out onto a road.

(4) Turn right and leave Vieux Brulain. Stay on the road, ignoring any side tracks.

(5) At a bend to the left, ignore the road on the right and, immediately afterwards, turn left onto a grassy track lined with a hedge. At the end, follow the D101 to the left for about a hundred metres and turn onto the first track on the right. Cross the Pré Rousseau area (puddles after heavy rain) and join a small road.

(6) Carry on straight ahead and pass the hamlet of La Motte le Roux. When the road bends left towards the hamlet of La Salle, turn right onto a track. At the next junction (marker 50), turn left and follow an intermittent stream on your left-hand side. At the T-junction, turn left and continue to the next junction.

(7) Turn left onto Rue des Chaumes. Pass the hamlet of Le Lineau and turn right. At the next junction, turn right onto Rue du Charpentier. At the end of this road, turn right onto Rue du Maréchal Ferrant. At the last farm building on the left-hand side, turn left onto Rue des Ouches. Turn right onto this street, ignore a road coming from the left and you’ll reach Rue du Château.

(8) Turn right and, after about 50 metres, turn left onto a path. Head north, ignoring a turn-off to the left and then one to the right.

(9) At the end, follow a small road to the left. Cross the D104, continue straight ahead and pass through Availle via Rue de l’Ancien Lavoir (pond and covered wash house).

(10) When the road bends to the right, turn left onto the path known as the ‘Ouche Carrée’. Head west. At a crossroads, take the path on the right which leads uphill. At the next crossroads, turn right.

(11) Shortly afterwards, turn left onto a track and walk alongside a vineyard on your left. The track climbs onto a small plateau, which it follows until it reaches the D104 road. Follow the road to the right (take care).

(12) At the crossroads (with a farm on the right), turn left onto a track. At the Fork in the road that appears immediately, turn left (south-west). At the end of the track, turn left.

(13) At the junction near the hamlet of Bouquétienne, go straight on and, at the next junction, straight on again. Turn right onto the track (south-west) and ignore the side paths.

(14) At the junction with a rectangular water reservoir, turn left and pass between the farm buildings. Join the D104 and follow it to the right to quickly return to the starting point (S/E).

This walk across varied terrain requires suitable footwear.

This walk is not signposted. 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, serve as aids for walkers exploring the route for the first time.

Hike completed by the author on 12 May 2020

Brûlain
Situated at an altitude of 65 metres, the River Courance is the main watercourse running through the village of Brûlain. The municipality covers an area of 24.7 km².
In 1986, at La Chagnée de Brûlain, an archaeological survey carried out by Marie-Claude Lagarde on land surveyed by^Mr Pierre revealed evidence of a settlement dating from the Late Neolithic period.
Remains from the Gallo-Roman period have been discovered on several occasions at a place known as Le Benchereau. The oldest published finds, dating from 1868, are tombs unearthed near the path leading from Brûlain to Les Fosses. Further remains were discovered during the 1970s by Messrs Jacques Jarry and Maurice Marsac.
NotableFigures
Baptiste-Paul Grimaud, creator of Grimaud playing cards, was born in Brûlain on 6 May 1817.
Roger Baillon, who built up the famous collection of prestigious vintage cars sold at auction in 2015, was born in Brûlain on 9 March 1914.
Source: Wikipedia (excerpts)

Saint-Martin Church
Of the original church, built in the 12th century with donations from the Lords of Lusignan who ruled the region, only a few traces remain in the nave and the old west façade.
In 1829, the chancel, which was vaulted and topped by the bell tower, collapsed. In 1830, the chancel was moved to the west, and the main door of the western façade was bricked up; the Lusignan coat of arms (mounted upside down) can still be seen there. A door was opened on the east side, leading onto the village square, and a new bell tower was built above the entrance under the supervision of the architect Segretain. There were plans to build another chancel, and the budget had even been approved, but the Revolution of 1830 brought about a change in the political climate; the mayor was dismissed and the project abandoned.
In 1872, a semi-circular brick vault replaced the exposed timber framework that had been rebuilt in 1823. A transept was constructed in front of the western bay, where the chancel had stood since 1830; windows were opened up, and buttresses were added to reinforce the nave under the supervision of the architect Bontemps. The church now has its current layout. It is situated between Impasse Saint-Martin, which separates it from the cemetery, and Impasse du Clos du Prêtre, where reused elements from the old church can be found. To the east, it features a tall doorway, a semi-oval window, a cornice, the bell tower with a belfry having one window on each side, and a small pyramidal roof. Further to the east, the Romanesque stone archway from the original sanctuary has been preserved. The nave, comprising two bays, is lit by four windows. A door opens to the left in the second bay. This is followed by the square transept, which extends from the nave. The sanctuary consists of a short bay separated from the nave by two steps. It ends in a straight chevet, which is in fact the reverse side of the original west façade.
Source: Poitiers Theological Centre

The Château de la Mothe-du-Bois
Until the 18th century, the manor of La Mothe-du-Bois was known as La Mothe-Fayolle, named after a neighbouring village. The first lord to be mentioned was Jean Gourjault in 1432. At the end of the 16th century, Pierre Gourjault sold the estate to Aaron Mesmin, a councillor of Niort. In 1669, upon the marriage of Renée Mesmin to Alexandre de Blair, the property passed to the de Blairs, a family originally from Scotland. In 1748, Catherine Henriette de Blair brought it as a dowry to her husband Pierre de Goulard d’Arsay (or d’Arçay), a member of a family that had held important offices in Poitou. Until a few years ago, La Mothe du Bois belonged to the de Brémond d’Ars family. Two monumental wrought-iron gates, originally from the Château de Vénérand, each pillar topped with a carved lion, lead onto a long tree-lined avenue providing access to the château. The present building replaced the former seigneurial residence in 1805. Its construction is attributed to Louis Jean de Goulard d’Arsay. It is a vast residence with a rectangular layout, flanked by two small square pavilions. The simple yet elegant façade is embellished with decorative features. A chapel was built in 1895 on the site of the former barn, to the west of the château. Its stained-glass windows are the work of the master glassmaker Lubin. The complex is situated in the heart of a vast wooded estate.
Château de la Mothe du Bois, 79230 Brulain, is privately owned and not open to the public.
Source: ‘Châteaux de France’ website