In the footsteps of Hélène de Fonsèque in Surgères

Park on Avenue Saint-Pierre, before the entrance to the west gate of the ramparts (opposite the supermarket).
You can also come by train; from the station, bus no. 143 goes to Place du Château.

(S/E) Head towards the West Gate.Take the steps and gothrough the gate. Immediately after this, turn left to climb up onto the ramparts; there are several flights of steps, which cannot be negotiated by bike. Continue to the drawbridge.

Head right to cross the drawbridge (in front of the gate leading to the Château square). Walk past the church, then go through a small gate on the left behind a building directly opposite you. You will enter the Jardin des Poèmes. Poems are displayed amongst the rose bushes. Walk to the back wall then turn right onto the Voie des Poètes. On either side of this wide path, further poems—both old and contemporary—are displayed.

(1) Leave the castle grounds, head towards the Gères and follow it along. Pass the Espace Georges Pompidou, turn left following the Gères, then walk up the grassy slope behind a "ganivelle" (a wooden fence) to enter the Verger des Naissances. Walk across the grass to reach Rue Denfert Rochereau.

(2) Take the bridge on the right to cross the Gères. At the end of the street, turn left onto Rue de l’Abbaye, then about fifty metres further on, turn right onto Rue Jean-Paul Bernard. At the end, turn left onto Rue de Chervettes and continue straight on to reach the junction with a busy road.

(3) Cross with great care and continue straight ahead on a quiet tarmac road. You will reach a junction where three tarmac roads meet a dirt track; continue straight on the tarmac road, which climbs slightly before descending gently as it winds through the fields. You will reach a fork in the road approximately 500 metres after the previous junction.

(4) Take a straight, stony track on the right that heads towards a wooded area and joins the D114.

(5) Cross carefully and continue straight ahead on a farm track that is half-gravel, half-tarmac. Walk for about 800 m until you reach a gravel track. Turn left, then about 100 metres further on, turn right onto a wide dirt track that climbs slightly towards the wind turbines in the distance. You will come out onto the D911, the road from Rochefort to Surgères (a very busy road).

(6) Cross very carefully and continue along the tarmac farm track opposite. At a fork, take the left-hand branch then turn right onto a tarmac farm track heading towards a poplar grove. Cross the bridge over the Mounet and continue straight on to reach another bridge, this time over the Gères.

(7) Take the path on the right immediately after the bridge. It crosses a wooden footbridge over a ditch and then another wooden bridge, which crosses the Gères once more. Turn left after the bridge and follow the path which runs along the riverbank for a while before veering off to the right. Carry on straight ahead and pass between two blocks of stone blocking the way to vehicles. Cross the Gères again, come out onto a tarmac road, follow it to the right to reach a sewage treatment plant. You cannot turn right; it’s a shame as the path is now private, the route would have been more scenic.

(8) Continue left along the wide, quiet tarmac road. After about 600 m, you’ll come to the Surgères bypass; cross with care.

(9) Continue straight on along the road opposite, Avenue Martin Luther King. Pass close to the buildings housing the headquarters of the Aunis Sud Community of Communes and continue along the wide pavements of the avenue. Reach the junction with Rue du 19 Mars 1962.

(10) Turn right, then take a left about 50 metres further on to follow Rue Case à Montfort. At the end, turn right onto Rue de Barabin, keep right at the next junction and you will come out onto Rue de la Binetterie.

(11) First turn left then right whilst staying on Rue de Barabin, pass the "Les Printanières" retirement home and turn left. Continue straight on until you reach Avenue Saint-Pierre, opposite the ramparts surrounding the castle. Turn left to return to the car park (or bus stop) (S/E).

The route is suitable for mountain bikes. You’ll just need to get off your bike to cross two dry ditches. At the end of the route, it’s not possible to pass through the ramparts.

Surgères is now known for its butter. But it was also known for Hélène de Fonsèque, known as Hélène de Surgères. Born in Surgères in 1545 and died in the same town in 1618. She was a lady-in-waiting to Catherine de Médicis. Ronsard dedicated the famous sonnet “Quand vous serez bien vieille” to her:

When you are very old, in the evening, by candlelight,
Seated by the fire, chatting and spinning,
You will sing my verses, marvelling:
Ronsard sang of me when I was fair....

This poem was published in the collection “Sonnets for Hélène”, commissioned by Marie de Médicis in 1578, when Ronsard was 34 and Hélène 23.