From the castle to the Trou de Pampin in Nieul-lès-Saintes to Soulignonnes

The entire route is signposted with a yellow line.

Starting point: car park at the village hall in Nieul-lès-Saintes; GPS 45°45'35.0"N 0°44'08.8"W

(S/E) Leave the car park and turn right onto the GR®4 (Rue du Château) along a path that curves to the left. Approach the medieval castle on the right.

(1) Turn left. At the end, turn right and then immediately left until you reach a Fork in the road.

(2) Head right. Walk through woods and fields. You’ll reach another path. Follow it to the left. Cross the road carefully and you’ll arrive opposite the hamlet of Les Touches.

(3) Walk through the hamlet and take the second stony track on the right. Turn right onto another stony track, passing a local landmark: the Trou de Pampin (to the left of the path).

(4) Continue along this path until you come out onto the D236E1 near the hamlet of Leuzois.

(5) Cross the roadcarefully, walk along it on the left and turn right into the Bois de Leuzois. Walk through the woodland, staying on the same path throughout. Emerge from the woods and head for the Moulin d’Anecuit.

(6) Continue straight on to Anecuit along the D119, then turn right and then left. Turn left, crossing the road to the leftwith care, and follow this road until you reach an old tower, which is now the Soulignonne library.

(7) You can start here at the Soulignonne library. Walk on to the nearby church. Just after that, turn right and cross the D119 with care.

(8) Walk on to the hamlet of Brasseau. Turn left to walk alongside it, heading towards Chez Chaillou.

(9) Just past the first house, turn right onto a small road. Head towards the woods, then up to the Fribeau Castle.

(10) Keep going in the same direction along a road, then carry on straight ahead at the bend onto a forest track. Leave the woods and walk a short distance along a tarmac road.

(11) Keep going in this direction to join a stony track. You’ll reach a housing estate on the edge of the D237 E2.

(12) Cross itcarefully and take the small road opposite, which veers slightly to the left. You’ll come to the Bois du Coudra. Follow it on the right and head down towards the village of Nieul-lès-Saintes. Pass in front of the cemetery.

(13) Carry on and, at the end, first turn left then right onto Rue du Levant. Then keep right onto Rue des Marronniers as you approach the church at Nieul-lès-Saintes.

(14) Turn right, then immediately left onto Rue Saint-Martin to reach the car park (S/E).

Possible starting point at (8): Soulignonnes Library; GPS 45°46'39.0"N 0°47'14.6"W

The castle was probably built at the end of the^14th century. Since 1972, its owners have been patiently restoring it from its ruins. (Visits available on request).

This former watchtower, probably built in^{the 15th} century, was completely renovated at the end of the^20th century and has since become the municipal library.

The Church of Sainte-Geneviève dates from^{the 11th} and late^19th centuries. The church’s portal, which had been damaged during the Revolution, was restored towards the end of the^19th century. The nave comprises three unequal bays.

Saint-Martin’s Church (^{12th–15th–19th} centuries): it is the church’s western façade that contributes to the reputation of this Romanesque church, even though additions and alterations were made to it in the^15th century.