Les villages de Clavé

A walk through a small village in the Gâtine region. The route follows small roads and paths, passing through several villages in the area, takes a section of^{the GR®®} 364 and ends by skirting the Soleil Levant lake.

Details

n°16465021

Creation:
29 Oct 2021

Last update:
24 Aug 2026

Last review:
25 Aug 2026

Activity: Walking
Distance: 6.66 mi
Average duration: 3h 15
Difficulty: Moderate
Back to start: Yes
Ascent: + 243 ft
Descent: - 253 ft
Highest point: 663 ft
Lowest point: 430 ft

Country: France
City: Clavé (79420)
Start/End: N 46.49274° / W 0.222642°
IGN map(s): Ref. 1627SB
Hour-by-hour weather

Avalanche risk assessment bulletin

Discover Visorando Premium

Downloads

Open in the mobile app

Download GPX GPX

Download PDF PDF

Photos

Description of the walk

The walk starts at the small car park near the bridge on the Clavé side.

(Start/End) Carefully take the road that climbs up to the village of Clavé. Turn right onto Rue du Bas Bourg and follow it to Place Fiée Janon, near the water pump. Turn right and head towards the church.

(1) Cross the road to join the path, passing behind the factory until you reach the D 329. Turn right onto this road and follow it for 400 m until you reach L’Épinaie.

(2) Turn left to continue on the^GR®® 364 until you reach the road. Leave the^GR®® on the right and head along the road to Le Cormenier.

(3) As you come out of the bend, turn left onto the track until you reach another road. Turn left onto this small road until you reach the next junction. Leave the road and take the track branching off to the right, skirting a wood on your right until you reach another small road.

(4) Turn left, walk through the hamlet of Culpelé and continue to a crossroads. Turn left and walk 700 m to the crossroads at La Lande.

(5) Take the hairpin bend towards this hamlet, pass through it and continue to a crossroads.

(6) Take the path on the left, which leads down to another small road. Turn left. Pass La Pierrière, ignore the Allée de la Molière and carry on to the next crossroads.

(7) Carry on straight ahead until you reach a junction with a path on the right. Follow this path and join a road on the right. Cross La Rousselière.

(8) Join the^GR®®364and follow it to the right until you reach the cross on the right.

(9) Continue along the^GR®® to the left. Cross the road with care and head towards the Touche Poupard lake.

(10) Leave the^GR®® to the left, taking the path that runs along the shore of the lake until you reach the old road at a place called Soleil Levant.

(11) Continue along the path, following the road and passing behind the safety barrier, to return to the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

S/E : mi 0 - alt. 443 ft - Car park by the lake
1 : mi 0.52 - alt. 558 ft - Église Notre-Dame (Clavé)
2 : mi 1.05 - alt. 623 ft - L’Épinaie
3 : mi 1.69 - alt. 627 ft - Le Cormenier
4 : mi 2.72 - alt. 633 ft - Crossroads near Culpelé
5 : mi 3.62 - alt. 636 ft - Hairpin bend
6 : mi 4.05 - alt. 633 ft - Crossroads
7 : mi 4.7 - alt. 554 ft - Crossroads near La Molière
8 : mi 5.38 - alt. 528 ft - Crossroads (GR)
9 : mi 5.5 - alt. 545 ft - Stone cross
10 : mi 5.83 - alt. 433 ft - Lake at the - Chambon (rivière)
11 : mi 6.13 - alt. 430 ft - Rising Sun
S/E : mi 6.66 - alt. 443 ft - car park

Notes

This walk requires sturdy footwear in winter, as some paths may be damp.
This walk is not signposted, except on the^GR®®364and the return route, which is signposted in yellow from the lake.
Hike completed in October 2021.

Worth a visit

The Touche Poupard reservoir has existed since the dam of the same name was commissioned in 1995 on the Chambon stream.
The purpose of the reservoir is to maintain a water level for the supply of drinking water.
The small village of Clavé has a population of just 360.
The apse and bell tower of Notre Dame Church were listed as Historic Monuments on 9 January 1932.

Reviews and comments

3.7 / 5

Based on 3 reviews

Reliability of the description
3.5 / 5

Ease of following the route
4 / 5

Route interest
3.5 / 5

lemarcheur65

25 Aug 2026 at 08:24 7200

Hello User 1828875
Thank you for bringing this to our attention

In the description, I read:

(6) Take the path on the left which leads down to another small road. Turn left. Walk past La Pierrière, ignore the Allée de la Molière and continue to the next junction.

(7) Carry on straight ahead until you reach a junction with a path on the right. Follow this path and join a road on the right. Cross La Rousselière.

The author of the walk does not go via the hamlet of La Giltière because at (7) you should carry on straight ahead (implying => leaving the hamlet of La Giltière on your right, obviously!).

Machine-translated

User 1828875

24 Aug 2026 at 11:49 7200

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 22, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Hello,
I would like to point out that the area known as La Giltière is private property. The owners have kindly allowed us to pass through, but the route will need to be altered.
Kind regards.

Machine-translated

POULIN Gérard

22 Dec 2023 at 08:06 3600

Hello,
Indeed, according to the land registry, the path runs across private land through the farm. However, the public section is blocked by one of the farm buildings. It is urgent that we consult the local land registry at the town hall to check that it is up to date. Thank you to the author for providing us with further details.

Machine-translated

claude7911

21 Dec 2023 at 21:12 3600

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 21, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant route, despite the very muddy paths; however, I would like to point out a problem between points 7 and 8: the walk passes through a farm; we were ‘chased off’ by a short-tempered person who claimed we were on private property. Not wanting any trouble, we turned back, adding an extra kilometre to the route to get back onto the original path. What exactly is the situation here? It would be better to alter the route to avoid any ‘unpleasant encounters’.

Machine-translated

philouis

10 Dec 2021 at 14:08 3600

There’s tarmac on the very narrow country lanes. The walk is called ‘The Villages of Clavé’, so to get to these villages, you need roads.
Apart from the starting stretch, which is a bit rough, the rest are quiet.
It’s up to you.

Machine-translated

rvforcas

10 Dec 2021 at 11:41 3600

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 10, 2021
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : Not used / Not applicable
Very busy route : Yes

Hello everyone… I’d like to know if this walk involves a lot of tarmac… For me, a proper walk is one where there’s very little tarmac, or none at all… I might have one or two routes to suggest – I often walk around Safrelle… In Chambrille, there’s about thirty metres of tarmac at most.

Machine-translated

JC79

04 Dec 2021 at 18:07 3600

Thank you for taking my comments on board – that’s perfect!

Machine-translated

philouis

04 Dec 2021 at 18:04 3600

Thank you. That’s more in line with reality.

Machine-translated

philouis

04 Dec 2021 at 18:04 3600

Hi. The walk is indeed listed as starting from Clavé. The change was made by people more knowledgeable than me.

Machine-translated

TINO1779

04 Dec 2021 at 10:44 3600

Hello

Oh, but I understand perfectly well.

I’ll pop back from time to time to see if it’s working. Thank you all for this website – it’s a brilliant tool....

Machine-translated

POULIN Gérard

03 Dec 2021 at 20:09 3600

Hello,
To philouis: The route has been adjusted to ensure that the town of Clavé is correctly indicated. This error was caused by the proximity of the boundary between the two towns.
To TINO1779: We are currently investigating this download issue; it occurs from time to time, and Louis is looking into it. Thank you for your understanding.

Machine-translated

TINO1779

03 Dec 2021 at 15:07 3600

Hello
It seems the link to download the GPX file isn’t working; I’ve been trying for several days now… to no avail.
Thank you

Machine-translated

philouis

30 Nov 2021 at 10:08 3600

Hi.
Thanks for the info.
I hadn’t spotted the spelling mistake; I’ll correct it. I think I saw it written on signs with a ‘t’.
As for the location, I didn’t place it in St Georges de Noisné myself; I’m not sure what to do about it. I’ll ask the moderator.

Machine-translated

JC79

29 Nov 2021 at 20:55 3600

Clavé is a commune, and the entire proposed route is within that commune (and not in St Georges de Noismé).
The ‘Poupard’ key (with a ‘D’ at the end, not a ‘T’).
Thank you in advance for taking these two points into account.

Machine-translated