From Saint-Hilaire-du-Bois to La Martinière

The car park is situated in the square behind the church and the Town Hall of Saint-Hilaire-du-Bois.

(S/E) Head west to cross the Rochette via a small footbridge. Join Rue de l’Étang to walk past the old dairy. At the end of the street, turn right into Rue de la Laiterie and, about a hundred metres further on, turn right again to take the downhill Rue Principale. Pass the ^first street on the right and continue to a junction.

(1) Pass the Route des Grosses Pierres on your left – you’ll take this on the way back – and carry on straight ahead along Rue Principale (D252), which leads out of Saint-Hilaire-du-Bois and runs alongside the Rochette. At the junction, turn right onto the D699 and cross it with care.

(2) Take the track opposite, which gradually turns eastwards. Carry on straight ahead until you reach the D253. Cross it carefully and take the small road opposite, known as Chemin de Mont Garnier. Pass through the hamlet of the same name and continue to the crossroads.

.(3) Turn right onto a street which turns into a track as soon as you pass the last house. Continue straight on along this track, which winds its way between fields and vineyards before passing through a small wood and emerging onto a minor road. Follow it to the right, passing the hamlet known as Chez Boulinaud, until you reach the left-hand bend.

(4) Immediately after a house, take the grassy track on the right heading east towards a woodland. Enter the woodland and you’ll come to a clearing (a vineyard plot) and a junction. Then take the track on the left, which crosses through the woodland before running along its edge. You’ll arrive at the corner of a vineyard plot.

(5) Take the path branching off to the left and follow it alongside this vineyard plot (on your right) before entering the Bois Grelet. At the end of the path, you’ll reach the D699. Cross it carefully and continue straight ahead along a path. You’ll soon come out onto a road; follow it to the right.

(6) At a place called La Garde, turn left. Just as the road bends to the left, continue straight ahead along a track. You’ll come to a T-junction and turn left. Then turn right and walk alongside a vineyard on your right. Just before the end of the vineyard, at a junction, turn left. Then turn right and you’ll reach the D252. Turn left and walk carefully alongside the road for about 150 m.

(7) Then turn right onto a path that crosses the Bois des Genêts. At the junction (marker 65), go straight on. After leaving the woods, take the^first path on the right. Walk alongside a vineyard on your left until you reach La Martinière. On arrival, the path becomes a road. Walk straight on through the hamlet of La Martinière along Rue du Château d’Eau until you reach the junction with Rue des Vignes.

(8) Leave Rue des Vignes on your left and leave the hamlet via Route de la Martinière opposite. Pass La Chaume on your left and arrive at Route de Saint-Hilaire (D253) south of Guitinières.

(9) Cross the road carefully and continue almost directly opposite along a track which, shortly afterwards, turns left and runs parallel to the D253. At the next junction, turn right.

(10) Take the^first path on the left and pass through the hamlet of Grave du Pré Robin. Join the D253E4 and cross it carefully. Continue along the path straight ahead. Carry on straight ahead, south-east, until you reach the Route de Picoulade. Follow it straight on for about a hundred metres until you reach a right-hand bend.

(11) Leave the road and take the track on the left. Follow it to the Route de Chez Giraudeau. Walk carefully along it, turning left, then right onto the Route des Grosses Pierres (D252). You’ll come back to the junction you passed on the way there in Saint-Hilaire-du-Bois.

(1) Turn right and then immediately left into the town hall square to return to the car park (S/E).

This hike covers varied terrain and requires suitable footwear.

This route is not marked in sections. It is therefore advisable to follow the directions in the description and on the map, while also paying close attention to the landscape. The waypoints (with their GPS coordinates and distance from the starting point) are helpful for hikers who are new to the route.

There are toilets in a small building that can be reached by crossing the La Rochette river via a small bridge and turning left (south of the dairy).

Hike completed by the author on 29 November 2022.

Saint-Hilaire du Bois
The village is crossed by the Maine, a tributary of the Charente via the Seugne.
Founded in the Carolingian period, it is named after one of the first bishops (303–367) of the Diocese of Poitiers, to which it belonged. In the 11th century, the building consisted of a single, wide nave (the large dimensions characteristic of the Angevin Romanesque style), a flat chevet and east-facing chapels with passages opening onto the chancel. In the 18th century, the vaults of the bay beneath the bell tower were restored. After being destroyed by fire in 1794, the church was repaired in 1800 and, shortly afterwards, a sacristy and a transept were added. The last phase of works was carried out in 1864 by Simon, an architect from Meslay. Two bays were added to the nave and two chapels to the new transept.
During the restoration of the plasterwork in the church’s chancel, ancient frescoes dating from the 14th and 17th centuries were discovered. These were restored in 1993. The church has been listed as a historic monument since 2000.
Sources: Wikipedia (excerpts) and Heritage Days