A short detour via the Moulin de la Rochette

Park in the car park at the town hall and stadium.

(S/E) Leave the car park heading east and take the path that goes around the football pitch. Walk to the Saint-Hilaire road, cross it carefully and continue opposite into Impasse de l'Église and almost immediately straight on into Rue du 8 Mai 1945 to join the Jonzac road. Turn left and return to the crossroads with a street on the right.

(1) Turn right onto Route des Gros Chênes. Continue straight ahead towards the edge of the village, pass the cemetery and continue to the junction with a farm track on the right.

(2) Turn right and then right again just before a small wood. The track is now on the left-hand side of the wood. It winds its way along the edge of the wood until it crosses a short stretch of woodland and heads towards a place called Charpreau. The track joins the road known as Chemin du Charpreau.

(3) Turn left and carefully follow the road northwards. At the next crossroads, continue straight ahead along a path. Continue straight ahead, without passing under the high-voltage power line. The path eventually reaches a road south of Chez Blandin. Continue straight ahead on the road called Chemin de Chez Blandin heading west until you reach a four-way crossroads near Chez Baillarge. Turn right and follow the road carefully to the four-way crossroads near La Rochette.

(4) Turn left onto the road called Chemin des Moulins. Pass in front of the Moulin de la Rochette, cross the La Rochette stream and continue carefully straight ahead on the road until you reach a junction with a path crossing the road.

(5) Turn left onto a farm track called Chemin des Fosses, which runs through the Les Pistous area. Follow it to Les Fosses and continue along the small road to the Saint-Sigismond D253 road. When you reach it, turn right and follow the D253 road very carefully until you reach the junction with a farm track on the left.

(6) Turn left onto the track at the edge of the Bois du Plantis. Then cross a small section of woodland before returning to the edge of the wood at Carré de chez Sandeau. Just before entering the wood again, turn left onto a track at the edge of the wood and join the D148 road. When you reach it, turn left again and follow the road carefully. A little further on, turn right onto a small road called Chemin du Virouil, which leads to Bel-Air and La Pilletrie.

(7) Shortly after the junction with the Route de la Pilletrie (private road), turn left onto a path. Continue along the path that follows the Route de la Pilletrie. The path goes around a vineyard on the left. Follow it until it meets the D50 road. When you get there, turn right and follow the road very carefully for about 200 metres.

(8) Turn left onto the road called Chemin du Moulin Tintin towards La Font. Cross La Font, then a little further on, cross the Maine and pass through Le Moulin. When you reach the D148 road, turn right and follow it very carefully towards the village of Guitinières. Pass in front of the town hall and head for the town hall and stadium car park (S/E).

The car park is located between the Town Hall and the stadium on a large car park on the side of the D148 road.

This hike covers varied terrain and requires suitable footwear.

This route is not marked. It is therefore advisable to follow the directions in the description and on the map, combined with a good reading of the landscape. The waypoints (with their GPS coordinates and distance from the starting point) are helpful for hikers who are discovering the route.

Hike completed by the author on 9 December 2021.

Guitinières

The Church of Saint-Romain, built in the 12th century in the Romanesque style, was fortified in the 17th century.
Built on a Latin cross plan with a bell tower over the choir and a semicircular apse, it was transformed into a fortress in the 16th century, as evidenced by its side walls crowned with a continuous series of high merlons, with large battlements between them. Crenellations and bretèches abound on the churches of Saintonge, but none of them have such a characteristic layout.
The façade, with its elegant lines, is squeezed between two powerful buttresses and topped by a high gable that was added or rebuilt. On the ground floor, it features a large portal with three arches and, above it, a semi-circular window with two roll mouldings.
Each of the portal's arches is accompanied by a carved cord with arabesques, checkerboards or diamond points. The top of the arches bears traces of fires from the Middle Ages. Each jamb is adorned with four columns (some of which are ringed) decorated with beautiful Romanesque capitals. One of these on the right (unique in its kind) is covered with a latticework of small four-pointed stars. All the capitals are carved.
On the north wall, narrow blocked-up windows can still be seen. The choir and apse on the north side have been rebuilt.
The bell tower, which is badly damaged and has been partially rebuilt at the top, is covered with a pyramidal roof of flat tiles and slates and has retained its engaged columns, chevron bands and flat pilasters on the sides of its cut-off corners. Its tall base and the adjoining apse form (to the south) a remarkable example of Romanesque architecture with their two storeys of arcades, varied columns and accompanying capitals, modillions, etc.
.../...
The church of Guitinières is dedicated to Saint Romain.
The old cemetery that surrounded the church until a few years ago no longer exists.
To find out more and see photos
or
''Sources: Belle Saintonge website article: The Romanesque church of Guitinières in Saintonge Full text
by Charles Connouë (excerpts) and Wikipedia (excerpts)''

Notable figures linked to the commune
Geoffroy d'Aydie (15th century), Viscount of Castillon, was the first lord of Guitinières.
Jeanne Eyquem de Montaigne (died in 1614), wife of Antoine d'Aydie, lord of Guitinières, was the first cousin of Michel de Montaigne.