Saint-Léger-de-la-Martinière – La Bertramière

The starting point is in front of the church at Saint-Léger-de-la-Martinière.

(S/E) Set off from the church car park along Rue de la Mairie (on the north side of the square). Join the main road leading from Melle to Poitiers (Chemin de Saint-Jacques), then turn right. Just before the cemetery, turn left onto Chemin de Parchambault. Pass Rue des Jonchères on your left.

(1) At the next junction, before Haut Parchimbault, take the road on the right. The road gives way to a farm track; carry on straight ahead at the next junction. Near this point is the Fontaine des Places. Follow the track until you reach another farm track and turn left.

(2) Turn right onto the farm track that runs alongside the Bois de l’Artigault.

(3) Turn left onto the track that runs alongside a field on the edge of the woodland. At the junction with the road leading from Chatenay to La Proutée, carry on straight ahead. The track winds its way between fields on either side. Pass a track on your right leading to the D10 road. Further on, at a crossroads, leave the track on your right. At the next fork in the road, take the farm track heading off to the left. At the next junction, go straight ahead.

(4) A good hundred metres further on, near La Groussardière, at the crossroads, take the track that appears on the left and runs alongside the field through the woodland. The track is situated right at the entrance to a private property. The track winds through this small wood until it joins a forest track.

(5) Follow the farm track on the left towards La Bertramière. Further on, pass the first farm track on the left and continue to the right. Afterwards, pass the track leading to a farm on the left and come out onto a road.

(6) Turn left onto the road and cross the Bertramière, continuing straight on. Shortly after leaving the village, the road passes a wayside cross and, further on, reaches a crossroads.

(7) Turn left and then immediately right onto the road that runs through the Bois de Melle. Ignore the path branching off to the right shortly after the crossroads. Similarly, ignore the next path on the right.

(8) About 600 metres after the crossroads, turn right onto the path that crosses the Bois de Melle and then the Bois de l’Artigault. Almost at the end of the forest, ignore the path on the right and carry on straight ahead. Shortly afterwards, the path becomes a forest track which joins a road. Turn left here. At the next junction, turn left towards Haut Parchimbault.

(9) At the junction, turn right onto a forest track towards Bas Parchimbault.

(10) At the sharp bend in the track, turn right onto a short path that runs behind a building and leads out onto Rue des Rainettes. Walk down this street to reach Rue des Jonchères. Turn left onto Rue des Jonchères. About 200 metres further on, take the track on the right. Follow it until it joins Avenue Clément Pineau. Turn left onto the avenue to reach the roundabout on the Route de Melle-Poitiers (D950).

At the roundabout, turn left and immediately cross the road. Head towards the centre of Saint-Léger-de-la-Martinière. Turn right onto Rue de Gachet to reach the village church car park (S/E) from the south.

Park in the car park in front of the church at Saint-Léger-de-la-Martinière.
This route presents no real difficulties for walkers wearing suitable footwear.

Saint-Léger-de-la-Martinière
Part of the commune forms a plateau, with an average altitude of 157 metres. Valleys cut through the other part, through which streams flow, joining to form the Légère.
This landscape forms an integral part of the Poitou Threshold, which links the Paris Basin and the Aquitaine Basin.
In 1973, Saint-Léger-lès-Melle and L’Enclave-de-la-Martinière merged to form Saint-Léger-de-la-Martinière.
In Saint-Léger-de-la-Martinière, certain Neolithic remains bear witness to very ancient settlement, as demonstrated by the defensive structure discovered in the Bois de la Garde.
As early as the Gallic period, prospectors searching for silver-bearing lead dug tunnels to supply the mint at Melle.
Moreover, the road network makes Saint-Léger a transport hub and an essential route for travel. Indeed, at the hamlet known as ‘la Colonne’, the roads from Nantes to Limoges and from Poitiers to Saintes (Paris–Bordeaux) cross.
In the Middle Ages, the latter route saw the passage of the singing – and sometimes pitiful – processions of pilgrims making their way to Santiago de Compostela (a route first mentioned in 1333). Some stayed in the inns, a few of which can still be seen today.
It would therefore appear that Saint-Léger has long been the scene of intense human activity.

Saint-Léger is a priory of Saint-Jean-d’Angély, as indicated by a deed of donation dated around 1088–89.
Archival documents indicate that the church was restored in the 17th century: on 22 July 1682, a document from the Berthommé records records an agreement between the architect François le Duc, known as Toscane, and René de la Varenne de Poix, Baron of Saint-Romans-les-Melle, for the restoration of the church. The work involved repairing “the walls, the vault and the arcade of the said church”.

The church: Restoration work continued into the early 20th century in an effort to save the building. It culminated in the restoration of the gable on the façade under the supervision of the architect Buzy (the date 1901 is engraved on the north bell tower).
The church was listed as a historic monument in 1988.

There is a factory (440 employees) belonging to the Sanofi-Avantis group (formerly Rhône-Poulenc).
Shops, crafts
Agriculture (cereals, livestock, goat’s milk)

For further information, please see this link

In Melle, you can visit three Romanesque churches dating from the 11th and 12th centuries:
- Saint-Hilaire (the most significant of the three churches, both for its architecture and its sculptures. It is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as a stop on the Way of St James.)
- Saint-Pierre (Romanesque chancel)
- Saint-Savinien (the only one to have been built within the walls of the fortified town. Its apse is surrounded by the town’s ancient walls. It served as a prison in the 19th and 20th centuries).
In Melle, there is also the Hôtel du Ménoc (former courthouse)