Country:
District:
Park in the car park of the village hall on Route de Niort on the right when coming from Niort. ''Island with a bench under a pine tree
(You can also park in the car park of the church located on the hiking trail)
(S/E) Return to Route de Niort and turn right towards the centre of Sciecq (water tower).
After a right-hand bend, leave the road (now Rue des Trois Moulins) and turn into the second street on the left (Rue de l'Église).
Go around the church on the left. At the bend, go straight down the steps to the fountain-wash house. (Concrete path but slippery in wet weather) At the bottom, at the wash house, turn right and you will arrive at the boat shelter. Walk along the Sèvre to the chain boat 50 m away.
(1) Carefully cross the Sèvre Niortaise using the chain boat (6 people max). Continue along the path (view of the château on the right) to reach the small road that leads to the Château de Mursay. Go up the hill and continue to the right along Rue de Mursay. Further on, ignore the road that branches off to the left. A dead end on the right (off the route) leads to a wash house that has been converted into a boat shelter. After the bend, turn right onto Rue du Perrot, onto theGR®36.
(2) After the last house, the street becomes a grassy path overlooking the Sèvre, hidden by dense vegetation for over 1 km with fields of grain on the left.
(3) Turn right onto the road. Walk carefully along the road. After the Petit Chauveux farm, take the short cycle path on the left of the road.
(4) Cross the road carefully and continue straight ahead on the Chemin de la Chauveux cycle path.
This path overlooks the Sèvre river, which can be glimpsed through the vegetation. Pass under the two high-voltage power lines before arriving at the village of Surimeau.
(5) Turn left at the Rue de la Berlandière crossroads, then right onto Rue Claude Debussy and a little further on, left into Impasse Arthur Henneger. At the end, continue for 50 metres along the path that joins Chemin de la Berlandière. Take it to the right, then left onto the road closed to traffic, to descend to Rue du Bas Surimeau. Note the wash house on the right and continue straight up to Moulin d'Âne.
(6) Turn right onto Rue du Moulin d'Âne and descend towards the river. Cross the bridge (view of the Moulin d'Âne and magnificent bald cypress trees at the end of the bridge).
(7) Turn right onto Chemin des Pêcheurs, lined on the right by a few fishing huts, most of which are abandoned. Note the lush vegetation of the steep Bois des Touches on the left.
The path leads to the ruined Moulin de Compéré, which is fenced off and closed to the public due to safety concerns. Turn left and climb up a recently paved lane to reach Chemin de Compèré.
(8) Turn right. Here, you can continue straight ahead, off route, to reach Le Château de Chantemerle higher up on the left. When you reach Chemin de la Plaine, continue straight ahead, passing under the two high-voltage power lines. At Sciecq, ignore the street that branches off to the left and take Rue de Salboeuf towards the centre. Continue for 200 metres.
(9) Turn left onto the tree-lined pedestrian path for 50 metres, then turn left and immediately right onto the path that runs alongside a house. At the end, turn right to arrive behind the village hall, go around it to return to the starting point (S/E).
Association / Club / Walk leader
Moderate 
Visorando member
