“Les Mottes”–“Le Marais” in Saint-Georges-de-Rex

Park on the Place de l’Église in Saint-Georges-de-Rex.

(S/E) With the church on your left, walk down to Rue de la Panification and turn right onto this street. (Don’t miss the Lavoir de la Panification)
Continue to the T-junction with Rue de Rimonbœuf and turn left.
Stay on this street until you reach the Stop sign.

(1) Cross over to continue along Place du Champ de Foire, then at the end of this, turn left into Impasse Lombarde. Turn right immediately after the state school, then turn left straight away just before the children’s playground and, just after the low boundary wall, continue straight on between the houses until you reach Impasse des Coquelicots.

(2) Turn right towards the field and continue along the narrow path running alongside it. At the junction with Impasse Pounivelle, turn left and stay on this cul-de-sac until you reach the T-junction. Continue straight ahead.

(3) At the next Y-junction, turn left; then, at the following junction, turn right onto the dirt track and continue along this track.

(4) At the bend, leave the white track and turn left onto the grassy path between the fields and hedges. This is a long, straight path that crosses ‘le Marais’ and joins a white track, where you should turn left.

(5) Ignore the track branching off to the right and carry on for about 300 m until you reach the next junction, where you should take the track on the left. Carry on along this track.

(6) Turn right onto the very narrow road and carry on, staying on it all the way, until you reach a grassy track on the left which starts at the edge of the field and runs alongside the small ditch and the hedge.

(7) “We wanted to take this path on the left, as shown on the maps, but after a few metres it had practically disappeared. We still managed to reach the road, but it’s certain that in a few months’ time and/or during the warmer months, when the vegetation is in full growth, this will be impossible.”
- So carry on straight ahead until you reach the junction with the D180 and turn left, walking carefully along the verge for 330 m.

(8) Just after passing under the power line, leave the departmental road and turn left onto the road leading to the next junction at a bridge.

(9) Without crossing it, head down to the right towards the Port of Saint-Georges-de-Rex, then turn right onto Rue du Château and continue to the next junction.
Turn right onto Rue Grande Fontaine (don’t miss the Grande Fontaine washhouse) and carry on to the car park at Place de l’Église (S/E).

The village of Saint-Georges-de-Rex and its built heritage.

Saint-Georges Church, built in 1882.

The Panification washhouse: its name derives from a former dairy co-operative located nearby (the use of milk in bread-making instead of water enriches the products, colours the crust whilst making it melt-in-the-mouth, contributes to the softness of the crumb and aids fermentation thanks to the sugars it contains). It is fed by a spring and consists of an open-air basin. It was restored in 1993.

Port of Saint-Georges-de-Rex: it comprises a gently sloping cobbled slipway, quays built of cut stone with two access points, and a high masonry weir which helps to maintain the water level in the harbour.

La Grande Fontaine washhouse: it is situated in the village, on the street of the same name. It is fed by a spring with a hand-operated pump and is located alongside the road. Its open-air basin is quadrangular and has one corner cut away to fit the plot and the road.

Marais: in the area known as ‘Les Mottes’, small boundary ditches demarcate irregularly divided plots that are accessible only by boat.
In the area known as Le Marais, straight water channels, lined with pollarded ash trees, alternate with grassy paths leading to the meadows. A biotope conservation order protects this natural environment, characteristic of the wet marshes of the Deux-Sèvres.