Start from the car park at the swimming area, Rue des Ponts.
(S/E) With your back to the car park, go through the barrier and walk along the Charente, following the path that gradually moves away from the riverbank. At the end, turn left to reach La Méronne.
(1) Cross the Puits Marot ford and follow the road to the right for about 300 metres.
(2) Take the path on the right, then make a quick left/right turn and go straight ahead into the poplar grove to reach the banks of the Charente.
(3) Turn left and reach the Coursac bridge (see chapter: During the hike or nearby).
(4) Pass under the bridge. On the other side, you will see the Coursac mill. Depending on the season, especially in spring, you can admire snake's head fritillaries, marsh marigolds and cuckoo flowers, or birds nesting, such as corncrakes, swans and ducks... a real site to discover while respecting it.
(5) When you arrive at the port of Guissalle, you can relax and have a picnic. The name of the village comes from Gué sal, the Salt Ford, a place where salt was smuggled between Guissalle and Chapelot to avoid the Gabelle (salt tax). This is why the road to Guissalle is called the Route des Saulniers.
Go back up, turn right onto Passage des Calicobas, then follow the road towards Marsac.
(6) After the Guissalle mill, turn left then immediately right and cross the hamlet of Les Gélinards.
(7) Just before the exit, turn right onto the path. Continue straight ahead, go downhill and follow the woods. Go back up into the fields, turn right then left to rejoin the road further on.
(8) Turn left, then immediately right.
(9) Turn right at thesecond white path and at the end, descend to the left to quickly reach an intersection.
(10) Turn left, then immediately right, continue along the woods and rejoin the Vindelle road (D37).
Follow this road for about 800 metres, observing the usual safety precautions.
(11) Turn right onto the white road, then right again.
(12) Turn left and take the stone path that crosses the Méronne.
(13) Take the path on the right and then follow the Charente on the left. Admire the pretty waterfall below the village of La Chapelle (Balzac) as you pass. Continue to the starting point (S/E).