Along the Dive between Moncontour and Sauzeau

Departure from the car park located in the centre of Moncontour, opposite the town hall and next to the church. To get there, once you arrive in the village, follow the signs for "Parking du Sentier des Lavoirs".

The route is fully signposted with dedicated wooden signs at the main intersections (no signposts outside intersections). The signposts are one-sided, in the direction of this description.

Blue signposts Sente des Eaux Vives

(S/E) Go to the back of the car park (away from the town hall) and go down the steps to a hiking sign. Cross diagonally across the lawn of the municipal park, go around a pond on the right and cross a stream over a small wooden bridge. Turn left, go through a stone gate and cross the Dive river over a wooden footbridge.

Yellow signposts Sente divine
In some places, you will follow or cross blue or orange signs: stick to the yellow signs.

(1) At the end of the footbridge, turn right towards Sauzeau and walk along the river on your right. Cross the street at the pedestrian crossing and continue straight ahead on a path along the river. Walk along the left side of a building and then some tennis courts, ignoring a footbridge with green railings on your right.

(2) At the end of the path, at the entrance to a leisure park, turn right and cross the river. Immediately take a small road on the left. Then turn right onto the road marked "no entry" and go uphill. At the top, at a crossroads, turn left towards the ski lift (sic). When the road turns left, continue straight ahead on a smaller road towards a farmhouse. Leave the farmhouse on your right and cross the Dive river again.

(3) Immediately turn right onto a wide grassy path towards Sauzeau. Walk between cultivated fields on your left and the river behind a curtain of trees on your right.

(4) At the next crossroads, turn right and cross the river. Shortly afterwards, before an uphill stretch, turn left onto a grassy path bordering a hedge on the left and a field on the right. Continue straight ahead until you reach a tarmac road at a place called Nuau. Then follow the road to the left (Rue de la Dive). Stay on the tarmac and wind your way through the village of Sauzeau. At the stop sign, follow the D44 to the left and cross the Dive again at the old Sauzeau mill.

(5) Immediately take a path on the left and walk along the river on your left. Ignore a footbridge not shown on the IGN map (roughly under the "^PR®®" sign) and continue along the Dive, which winds its way through the shade of the poplar trees. About 1.5 km after Sauzeau, cross a stream and come out onto a track.

(6) Follow the track to the left for a few metres and then turn right onto a grassy path towards Moncontour. Now walk along the Dive on your right. Further on, walk along a field on your left and pass at the foot of the Mont Jean hill.

(7) At the antenna and water treatment plant, turn right towards Moncontour. Veer left to pass at the foot of the antenna, leaving it on your left, and take a path that is not very marked at first. After about 100 metres, turn right onto a footbridge over the Dive. Immediately turn left and walk along the river on your left. The grassy path turns right, away from the river, becomes less marked, runs alongside a young poplar grove and then crosses an older poplar grove.

(8) Come out onto a good path and follow it to the left towards Moncontour. Just before a bridge over the Dive du Sud, take a path on the left. Follow the river on your right along this path, which is overgrown in places. Further on, you will come to a good path (not shown on the map) and follow it to the right as it continues.

(9) At the crossroads that you will soon come to, go straight ahead (on the right, there is a beautiful view of an old windmill and the church of Saint-Jouin-de-Marnes). After about 100 metres, at the entrance to a field that is a dead end, turn right and take a path that stays close to the river. This leads to a grassy track, which you follow straight ahead.

(10) At the intersection, continue straight ahead on a track and walk alongside the houses on your right. Continue along the tarmac road and pass an old watermill. At the stop sign, cross the road and follow the D19 to the right towards Marnes and Mirebeau. Cross the road immediately at the pedestrian crossing and continue along it. Just before a bridge, turn left and walk alongside the walls of the houses on your left. Then cross the D165 and follow it to the left for about 20 metres.

(11) Take a grassy path on the right, towards Marnes, between a stream on the left and the Dive du Sud on the right. Ignore a path on the left and walk along a fenced pond on your left. Join a wide path and follow it to the left, leaving a bridge on your right. After about 50 metres, when the main path turns left, continue straight ahead on a grassy path along the river.

Blue signposting Sente des Eaux Vives

(12) At the end of a left-hand bend, there are two options:
- Continue straight ahead on the wide grassy path and you will quickly rejoin the main route.
- As shown on the map, take a path on the right and follow the signs. You will soon reach a footbridge over the Dive du Sud. Turn left onto a path and follow the river on your right (ignore the yellow signs leading to the footbridge). You will soon rejoin the wide grassy path you left earlier.
In both cases, continue along the wide grassy path and follow the river on your right. You will reach the point where the river and a weir (footbridges) separate.

(13) Take a narrow footbridge over the weir, made of bricks and two wooden beams (do not take the larger footbridge over the main river). Continue along a grassy path and follow the river on your right. Ignore a path on the left that is not shown on the map.

Yellow + Blue signposts

(14) When the main path turns left (which is not shown on the map), continue straight ahead on a path along the river. Ignore a blocked footbridge on the right and come out onto the D165. Cross the road carefully and follow it to the left on its wide hard shoulder on the right. After a small brown shed, leave the road and turn right onto a path closest to the river. Ignore all footbridges on the right and walk past an old water mill. Cross a street and continue straight ahead along the river (ignore the arrows indicating a left turn). Ignore all the footbridges on the right until you reach the one you took on the way there.

(1) Take the footbridge and go through the stone gate again. Turn right, go around the pond on the right and climb the stairs to the car park (S/E).

Hiking boots are recommended.

No water sources identified along the route. Picnic tables in the municipal park (S/E) and in Suzeau (5).

A 1:25,000 map is useful (at least the one accompanying this description).

Shortcuts:
- At Pont de la Girardière (3), you can reach point (7) by continuing along the farm track after crossing the Dive.
- At point (4), you can reach point (6) by turning left.
- At Poitou (10), you can go directly to Moncontour (1) by turning left onto a path and then following Rue de la Barre to the left.

Hike completed by the author on 14 October 2021.

Numerous information boards and question/answer signs mark this bucolic route.