Prehistory route in Sers

Departure from the fairground car park.

(S/E) Pass the Rue du Champ de Foire motorhome area, then take the small path on the left after the pétanque court. Turn left at the bottom, pass in front of the Nanteuillet wash house and, further on, go up into the woods on the left.

(1) At the intersection, turn left onto a small path. After the old farm building, go down to the right and immediately take the path on the left that goes down to the village of Roche: beautiful views of the Échelle valley.

(2) At the village exit, follow the road to the left, taking the time to admire the landscape from the promontory of the cross. Carefully follow the RD 73 to the right to quickly reach the entrance to the Fontenelles site on the left. Go through the gate. At the next fork, ignore the path on the left that leads to Fontenelles, which the route will cross on the way back.

(3) Climb up the hillside on the right and continue straight ahead for 800 m, ignoring the paths on the right and left. At the edge of the woods, walk along the houses on the left and then down the road towards the village of Coussadeau.

(4) Take the Route des Fondeurs de Cloches on the left and descend to the Fontaine du Coussadeau. Continue along the small path on the left, turn right into the woods and then right again, coming out onto the Chemin du Roc de Sers – off the route, make a return trip to discover the freely accessible prehistoric site 250 m to the left.

(5) Cross the RD87 to take the Route du Ganit opposite – admire the cliffs. At the top of the hill, in the bend, turn left into the undergrowth. Continue on the single track to the hamlet of Fonchain: beautiful view of the Château Charbontière on the other side of the valley. Follow the small road down to the RD87 and take a look at the old railway bridge.

(6) Carefully follow the road to the left, climb up into the village on the right and continue on the right at the top. Enter the forest path on the left before the castle gate. Continue straight ahead for 1 km, ignoring all paths on the right and left.

(7) Go up to the left after the pond and continue straight ahead at the intersection.

(8) Turn right at the road, then take the white path on the left. Follow it down to the village of Chez Bibot, which you will bypass on the left.

(9) Follow the path on the left, then go through the gate on the right to enter the Fontenelles site, which is classified as a Natura 2000 site. Turn left, cross the small wooden footbridge and walk along the pond to go up to Christophe Gonnet's artwork "Affleurement" (Outcrop) on the right, on the other side of the stream.

(10) Go up the white path, turn left at the top: see the cliffs on the right. After a large rock, turn right down the slope. Continue for 300 m on the white path.

(11) Leave this path at the bottom and turn right. Walk past the wash house (private) and follow the path straight ahead, which climbs back up towards the village.
Take the protected path at the corner of the house, cross over to follow the pavement, ignore the Route du Chauffour and go up towards the roundabout.

(12) Continue left onto Rue du Champ de Foire, which takes you back to the starting point (S/E).

Yellow marked route
Hunting days in the Fontenelles area from September to February: Monday, Wednesday morning, Saturday, Sunday morning.

Contact: Pays d'Angoulême Tourist Office +33 (0)5 45 95 16 84

Off the trail, the right-hand lane leads to the Logis de Nanteuil (private property).

(5) Old railway bridge: the Angoulême/Ribérac line ran here from April 1875 to 1939 for passengers and until 1951 for goods.

(9) Art in nature: "Affleurement" by Christophe Gonnet https://www.angouleme-rando.com/itinerai...

(11) See the seesaw on the square, the blacksmith carved with a chainsaw into a sequoia tree and the "work" that was used to hold animals in place for shoeing.