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Park at the entrance to Chemin des Bègues, near the recycling bins, heading towards Benon, after the Courçon exit, on the Route de Niort.
==> From the D116 towards Courçon, park at the carpool area at the Benon junction before the N11.
(S/E) Follow this road to the end and turn left into the Relais de la Forêt car park to join the D116 (Benon – Courçon).
(1) Take the D116 on the right, go under the four-lane motorway (La Rochelle – Niort) and take thefirst small road on the right, into the forest.
(2) Take thefirst forest track on the left, just before the bend. Continue northwards until you reach the edge of the woods, ignoring the other tracks.
Just before the edge of the woods, on the right, are the Champ Châlon burial mounds; on the left is the sewage treatment plant.
(3) At the edge of the forest, ignore the tarmac roads to the west and north. Follow the stony track to the right towards the east, along the edge of the woods, towards the D114 (La Laigne – Courçon).
Shortly after leaving the edge of the woods, you’ll reach a spot known as “Pas du Gros Chêne”, about 80 metres before the D114.
(4) Turn right, along a field, onto a small path that veers left then right to join a forest track.
(5) Take the track on the right, heading south-west. It crosses the forest from one end to the other. Continue along the path in the same direction, ignoring all the paths on either side, until you reach a small tarmac road running alongside the four-lane motorway (Niort – La Rochelle) towards the west. Turn right and follow this road to reach a junction you passed on the way out.
(2) At the right-hand bend, you rejoin the outbound route, which you follow to the car park (S/E) and on to the Benon carpool area (1).
Visorando Member
Association / Club / Walk leader
Moderate 
