A glimpse of Lac de la Touche-Poupard from Lachereau

(S/E) Leave the car park and turn left onto the dead-end road. Pass through the wooden gate and, about a hundred metres further on, you’ll reach the hamlet of Lachereau. At the end of the road, turn left and take the path heading south-east along the shores of Lac de la Touche-Poupard.

The path soon enters a wooded area. Further on, it runs along the edge of the woods on the right and circles a large clearing until it reaches the road leading to the hamlet of Lachereau (start of the route).

(1) Turn right and follow the road carefully. Continue straight on, passing the hamlets of La Fortranche and La Bisière on your left. Carry on, cross a seasonal stream and reach a junction with a path on the left.

(2) Turn left onto this shaded path. Further on, it passes under the high-voltage power line before joining the Clavé road.

(3) Turn left and carefully follow the road heading north to the crossroads at the entrance to the hamlet of Le Pommier, which is on the left.

(4) Turn left onto the farm track, which further on becomes a road and crosses Le Pommier.
Continue to the next crossroads at the edge of the hamlet. Turn left and follow the road downwards with care: the route is now on the^GR® de Pays des Marches de Gâtine.
Head to the junction with the first path on the left.

(5) Turn left onto the downhill path which then follows the valley of an intermittent stream. The path crosses the stream several times, which you will wade across. Continue to the lakeside. From there, the path winds along the lakeside. It goes round a rounded hillock-shaped spur, then passes below the Bois de la Vergne.
Further on, the path comes to a junction with a steeply ascending path on the left leading towards the hamlet of Le Ritre.

(6) Continue straight on along the lakeside path to go round a final hill before reaching the hamlet of Lachereau.

At Lachereau, after passing the house, take the dead-end road on the left that serves the hamlet. Once past the wooden gate, about a hundred metres further up, turn right to reach the car park marking the end of the route (S/E).

The car park is located just before the hamlet of Lachereau, on the shores of Lac de la Roche-Poupard (at the end of the road). The dead-end road is blocked by a wooden barrier. Just before this, there is a large car park on the left

This route across varied terrain requires suitable footwear, particularly for the path along the lake.

This walk is only partially signposted: from the start to the hamlet of La Fortranche, and from just before the point (5) to the finish (^GR® de Pays des Marches de Gâtine). Consequently, it is advisable to follow the directions in the description and on the map, whilst keeping a close eye on the landscape. The waypoints (with their GPS coordinates and the distance from the starting point) serve as aids for hikers exploring the route for the first time.

The route includes two sections on minor roads: one of 1.2 km on a dead-end road between point (1) and point (2), and the second between point (3) and point (4), making up a total of one-third of the distance. The quality of the other paths makes this a hike suitable for all weather conditions, provided you are wearing suitable footwear.

Hike completed by the author on 7 February 2020

THE TOUCHE-POUPARD DAM (79)

The Touche-Poupard Dam was built and commissioned in 1995 on the Chambon, a tributary of the Sèvre Niortaise.
Its capacity of 15 million cubic metres provides support, particularly during low-water periods, for the supply of drinking water.
It is managed by the Compagnie d’aménagement des eaux des Deux-Sèvres (CAEDS):

Monitor the reservoir’s fill levels via the R.P.D.E. hydrological monitoring service:

The Touche Poupard dam is situated on the Chambon, within the boundaries of four municipalities: Saivres, Éxireuil, Saint-Georges de Noisne and Clave.
This dam is operated by the Compagnie d’Aménagement des Eaux des Deux-Sèvres (CAEDS)
The Touche Poupard dam is a structure with a maximum height of 36 metres, a length of 200 metres and a storage capacity of 15 million m³.

Uses of the dam

This dam is a reservoir designed to store water in winter for use in summer. The total volume of 15 million m³ will be allocated as follows:
● 7 million m³/year for drinking water supply,
● 3 million m³/year for irrigation (to compensate for current withdrawals from the Sèvre and its alluvial aquifer),
● 5 million m³/year for low-water flow support (to increase the natural flow of the Sèvre Niortaise in summer).

Avançon Castle

The former fief of Avançon fell under the castellany of Saint-Maixent. This seigneury belonged to the families of Nuchèze, Laval, de la Jaille, de Saint-Georges, Albin de Valzergues and de Rechignevoisin. In 1698, the Avançon estate belonged to the Sieur de Castellane, a dragoon captain residing in Poitiers. At the time of the Revolution, it was owned by the Marquis Marie de Castellane. He emigrated in 1791 and died in London in 1799. The château was sold as national property and acquired on 6 Messidor Year II by Gabriel Perrineau, a merchant, but he quickly sold it on to Charles de Raity, Marquis de Vitré, who transferred the property on 19 Pluviôse Year XI to Mlle Marie Zénobie Leclerc de Vezins, the daughter of an émigré who had been imprisoned for over two years. In 1801, she married Louis Aymer de la Chevalerie, whose children sold it in the mid-19th century to the Taunay family. Presenting itself as a vast fortified square, the château certainly dates from the 16th century. On the courtyard side, in the older section, the windows on corbels and the entrance door surmounted by a pediment are of high quality.
As it is privately owned, the château is not open to visitors.
Source: Châteaux de France website