La Motte Feuilly - Chateaumeillant

Signposting Red and white^GR®®654signs shared with the^GRP®® Pas des Maître Sonneurs

(S) At the Motte-Feuilly lodge, return towards the castle, take the D36a on the right, and turn onto the small road on the right near a calvary.

(1) At the Croix Jolie, turn left onto the D36, immediately leave the road on the left and continue. At the entrance to the village of Champillet, turn right onto Rue du Moulin (note the inscription on the façade of the former inn). Cross the dam of the pond (just before the church, a signpost refers to the Way of St James) and arrive at the church of Champillet. Leave the church of Champillet on your left and leave the village.

(2) Turn right towards La Combette. Once you have crossed the old railway line, the path goes under a canopy of chestnut and acacia trees. You will come to a road (D26a).

(3) Cross the D26a and continue straight ahead. Cross the D26 and turn right then left to head towards Le Breuil for about 300 metres. Just at the corner of the first building on the left, take a path that leads to the hamlet of La Bierge. Leave two roads on your left as you cross La Bierge and continue to a crossroads.

(4) Turn left (south-east) towards Meillaie (view of the Urciers bell tower). Pass an old wash house lined with poplar trees. Cross the D71 and continue along the road opposite.

(5) Cross the Igneraie. Turn left to pass under an old railway bridge and turn right onto a wide track. Pass Malterre and cross a small road. At the intersection, take a road on the right. Leave the next one on the left to reach Le Magnoux. Take the next road on the left to cross the hamlet towards the east and continue for about 500 metres.

(6) At a three-way junction, turn right and then take a path. At the road, turn left and follow it. Ignore the next two roads on the left. Leave the^GR®®654here.

(7) At the next crossroads, leave the road and turn left to rejoin the^GR®®654on a sunken path between two thick hedges; this leads to La Bidoire, which is the entrance to the Cher department. At the first crossroads, follow the left-hand path.

(8) In the hamlet of La Bidoire, at a cross, turn right onto a semi-tarmac road for about 150m. Leave it on your right and continue straight ahead on a grassy path which then becomes more stony. Continue for about 600m.

(9) Continue straight ahead, then turn left to cross a small bridge (the Sinaise river). The road climbs towards the north-west. Cross the D70 and take the road opposite through the vineyards of Châteaumeillant. Continue to a crossroads.

(10) Turn right. After a long straight stretch, turn left onto a small road to cross the D943. About 100m after the bridge, turn right onto a path that descends to the D70; follow it to the left (small bridge) and continue on the left to reach the first houses of Châteaumeillant. When you reach Place du Docteur Guyot, turn right. Cross the square and take Rue de la Petite Promenade on the opposite corner. Separation from the GR® 654 trail. Arrive at Châteaumeillant Town Hall (E).

Accommodation La Motte Feuilly, Chateaumeillant (Group lodge at the Merlin pond) See websitewww.sentiermaitressonneur.com Accommodation: to be arranged
Refreshments: Champillet, Chateaumeillant
Water points: La Motte Feuilly, Champillet, Chateaumeillant

La Motte-Feuilly: the commune preserves the memory of Charlotte d'Albret, wife of César Borgia. Charlotte died very young at the château in 1514 after spending 15 years of her life there. Her daughter had a marble tomb erected in the small village church to house her mother's heart.
Desecrated during the Revolution, the tomb was restored in 1892 and now stands next to the tombs of the local lords.
Built in the 12th century, the private castle can be visited by appointment.

Champillet: 12th-century St Pierre Church

We follow paths used for grazing sheep, goats, cattle and even flocks of geese. Majestic rows of pollarded oaks raise their large heads bristling with young shoots, which were once pruned for domestic use. Here and there are old orchards where fruit grows as it once did. In the meadows, one or two large black Berry donkeys, sturdy animals used for working in the fields. We pass Urciers and its old lead mines. Further on, the first vineyards of Châteaumeillant appear, occupying the stony sandstone of the Cher and Indre rivers, from which stone vineyard huts emerge. The vineyard dates back to around the 5th century.

Châteaumeillant is famous for its "gris" wine and its AOC designation, which is celebrated on Easter weekend. The 12th-century Romanesque church of St Genest and the E. Chenon archaeological museum are well worth a visit. After Beaumerle, the houses give way to the Maritet forest with its oak, ash and chestnut trees. Gradually, the hills rise again, the valleys become more steep-sided and form gorges. "We were in the Marité woods at midday when Huriel led us down a small ravine where a narrow river flows, called Portefeuille because it is covered with water lilies."