The Soleil Levant lake from Clavé

(S/E) Walk westwards past the church. Cross the road known as Chemin du Bas Bourg at the start of the bend to take a path opposite leading south-west. This leads to a ‘landscape information board’ with a view over the Touche-Poupard lake and the hillside opposite, and descends towards the lake.

Off the route, about a hundred metres further along the path, you’ll see the Gros Chêne fountain (spring) below. The path turns right, enters a wooded area with a pond and runs along the lake’s shore. Continue to the junction with a path on the left.

(1) Continue along the path on the left, which runs along the edge of the lake and eventually joins the Route du Soleil Levant (D329). Follow it carefully to the left until you reach a junction with the D142 on the right, just before the dam bridge that crosses Lac de la Touche-Poupard and forms the “Plan d’eau du Soleil Levant”.

(2) Continue along the D329 and cross the lake until you reach the junction with a path on the left. Opposite, on the right-hand side of the road, take a path across the meadow at a small car park for two or three cars or a hikers’ rest area with picnic tables. The path soon joins a small road serving the hamlets of La Morlière and La Malardière. Turn right to follow the lakeshore and continue to the right-angled bend to the left. You can take a short path on the right which runs alongside the small road for a while.

(3) At the bend, carry on straight ahead along the path that runs alongside the lake. Continue to a T-junction. Turn left onto a path lined with hazel trees to climb up to the old hamlet of La Bourgogne.

(4) When you reach the road serving the hamlet, cross it and take the tarmac path opposite. Walk through the hamlet and back down to lake level. Cross the stream and continue towards the hamlet known as La Folie. Just before you reach it, turn left and follow the lake’s edge on your right.

Just as the path veers away from the lake, take the narrower path on the right which runs alongside the water. The route now follows the^GR®®364–^GR®® de Pays. A little further on, the steep path passes a hundred-year-old chestnut tree. The Chambon stream, which flows across the lake, feeds natural waterfalls in a schist bed dotted with a few milky quartz inclusions.

(5) At the far end of the lake, the route crosses the Chambon via a footbridge not far from the ruins of a watermill, the Moulin des Isles. In spring, the lush vegetation features numerous columbines, endless carpets of chickweed and bluebells. Follow the lakeshore until you reach a wide path that climbs to the left.

(6) Take this path uphill until you reach the path on the right. Here, the route leaves the^GR®®364.
Carry on, turning right at the start of the wide path onto the one that leads back towards the lake and runs alongside it on the right-hand side. Pass below the Soleil Levant farm and arrive at a small road leading from the D142.

(7) Continue along the path beside the lake until it joins the D142.
Turn right __with care until you reach the junction with the D329.

(2) Turn left and follow the road for about 150 metres. Turn onto the path on the right which runs alongside the lake, the same one you took on the way out.

(1) Turn left onto the path and follow a clearly marked uphill section to join the D329. Turn right and follow the road carefully for about twenty metres before turning right onto a small road leading into the village towards the Jardin Clavéen, a leisure area with plants, a shelter and a fountain. When you reach Chemin du Bas Bourg, turn right onto it and head back to Notre-Dame Church (S/E).

The car park is situated on the square next to Notre-Dame Church, in the south of the village, just past the cemetery (on the other side of the road).

This walk, which covers varied terrain, requires sturdy footwear.

This route is signposted as it follows the “Le plan d’eau du Soleil Levant” route published by the Deux-Sèvres Departmental Hiking Committee. It is marked in yellow. Part of the route follows a section of^{the GR®®364}–^GR®® de Pays, marked in red and white. Nevertheless, it is advisable to follow the directions in this description and on the map, whilst also paying attention to the landscapes you pass through. Distance markers from the starting point, or even the GPS coordinates of key points along the route (including the start), can also help hikers find their way.

Hike completed by the author on 24 and 28 July 2020.

Clavé
The commune of Clavé is part of the “Pays Sud Gâtine” community of communes.
The 329 inhabitants of the village of Clavé live across a total area of 20 km², with a population density of 16 inhabitants per km² and an average altitude of 169 m.

The Church of Notre-Dame
The church in Clavé is situated at the top of the village, overlooking the valley of the artificial lake of La Touche-Poupard.
Dedicated to Notre-Dame, the church, like Saint-Georges-de-Noisné, was confirmed by Pope Paschal II as falling under the jurisdiction of the Abbey of Saint-Maixent in 1110. It subsequently came under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Poitiers.
Viewed from the outside, the building as a whole presents a contrast between, on the one hand, the elevated section – with cornices supported by modillions – consisting of the semi-circular chevet which extends the choir bay, topped by the small bell tower; and, on the other hand, the lower nave, which has no cornice. The apse and bell tower were listed as ‘Historic Monuments’ on 9 January 1932.
The Romanesque semi-circular apse is flanked on the outside by column-like buttresses which separate the three windows and the blind arcades. Both the windows and the blind arcades have semicircular arches supported by small columns. The small Romanesque bell tower, above the chancel, consists of a short hexagonal tower, each face of which features a narrow window, almost as high as the tower itself, with a semi-circular arch. Its short spire is also hexagonal. The south entrance, sheltered by a porch, is Romanesque. Its arch, composed of voussoirs, rests on two columns topped with capitals featuring plant motifs, and is finished with a concentric moulding, the lower part of which, on the left (restored?), is finely decorated with geometric motifs.
Source and for further information: website

The Touche Poupard site
The Chambon Valley, wooded, narrow and winding, cuts across the southern ridge of the Gâtine near the village of Clavé. It forms a hollowed-out landscape with a height difference of up to 70 m in places.
The dam, which began holding water in 1995, creates a reservoir covering 143 ha – 7.5 km long – with a maximum water level of 130 m at the start of the dry season and its lowest level in autumn. The reservoir supplies drinking water to numerous towns and villages, meets economic and irrigation needs, and helps maintain low-water levels in the Sèvre Niortaise via the Chambon
''Source: route guide ‘Le plan d’eau du Soleil Levant’ published by the Deux-Sèvres Departmental Hiking Committee’".