What to do in La Chanduriere and nearby
In June 2011 a walking centre, La Maison de la Randonnée, was opened in St Paul en Gâtine, half a mile from the gîtes. Our district was chosen because it has so many local walks which crisscross the undulating countryside (a rise and fall of 118 metres) and because the 'Big Walk' (GR364) passes through the village.
The new building has a lovely view from the covered balcony. It has an indoor room with information about all the local routes and a block of toilets. It has just had a hitching rail installed for those on an excursion on horseback. It is meant to provide a gathering point for local walks and a rest-stop for people on longer hikes which pass this way. It is therefore never locked. The new building is the start of four newly marked circular walks (3.5, 8, 11 and 13km) and two bike trails: a blue route of 18km and a black route of 35km. In the county there are 220km of marked-out routes, and there are many more nearby in the Vendee, so once you have sampled the St Paul ones you can try some of the others nearby.
Community walks
The commune has started to organise regular walks of 8-10km, entry €1, with wine/soft drinks and biscuits/cake. (I don't know how they provide the refreshments for €1!) These take place once a month on Sundays and start at 2pm from different places in the locality. In the summer the committee organizes extra walks twice a month on Friday evenings, starting around 7pm and these often hae some special touch: for the last one the walkers were accompanied the last mile by a brilliant New Orleans Band who stayed to serenade us as we drank our aperitifs!
There are eight bikes in the barn, ranging in size from children's to adults. You are welcome to borrow them, but bear in mind that they are not new and you use them at your own risk.
All of the marked walking routes are open to cyclists as well as walkers. Don't forget it is very hilly around the gîtes so you need good leg muscles! For those wanting to work up an appetite for their breakfast by fetching the croissants by bike, it is 3.7km to the supermarket or 3.9km to the boulangerie.
Those of you with cycle racks have a lot of choice of cycle routes in the region. Mervent (about 12km away) has well marked trails through lovely woodlands. The Main family did Faymoreau to Vouvant (39km )"brilliantly signposted all the way" and a circular tour from Vouvant to Mervant and back (31km). Another pleasant set of cycle trails is down in the Marais Poitevin alongside the canals (about 40km away) but people say the signposting is misleading, so watch out!
The Pescalis fishing village near Moncoutant has public ponds for carp fishing and private (fee-paying) ones for more exotic fish. It also has a souvenir shop, fishing tackle shop, restaurant, bar, children's play area, mini golf. It's a pleasant area to walk your dog and there are marked routes. There is a farmers' market there on Sunday mornings in the summer.
Dogs are welcome at La Chandurière and the nice thing about the local walks is that the majority are off-road for much of the time, so your dog can investigate at leisure instead of being on a lead. For the organised commune walks mentioned above, dogs are welcome but usually have to be on a lead.
I will be happy to show you some of the shorter walks but don't expect me to attempt any over 10km. I'm pretty much finished by the 8km mark! Any longer and you will need your maps (laminated maps of many of the walks are in the gîtes).
If your dog is used to jumping on furniture (mine isn't but I know some dogs are) please bring throws to protect the upholstery.
Future project: Families who go out for long days in the summer often need to leave their dogs behind. It is not appropriate to leave a dog in a gîte for hours, so I am planning to put up a small hut and enclosure on the field where dogs can be left with food/water/shelter. Watch this space...
Markets sell an amazing variety of items: local vegetables, fresh fish, cooked and fresh meats, cheeses, honey, pollen and royal jelly, spices, sweets, doughnuts (beignets), flowers, clothes (from modern cheap chic to the still obviously popular shapeless 'housedresses' and big warm knickers), leather goods, tools, knives, African art, sewing notions, handicrafts, chair mending, CDs and DVDs, boules, umbrellas… radiators, furniture, table cloths, double glazing, rugs, lawn mowers, second hand jumble and antiques.
For all of this and more, try:
- Covered market every Saturday in La Rochelle
- Street market every Thursday and Saturday in Niort
- Street market (including small livestock in front of the Halle) every Tuesday in Coulonges
The smaller markets have local produce and some of the other stalls:
- 2nd Monday of each month in Moncoutant
- 4th Monday of each month in La Chataigneraie
- 1st Wednesday of each month in Mauzé
- 2nd Sunday of each month in L'Absie (the one in September is three times the size of normal and includes lots of antiques/bric à brac)
Farmers' Market
Every Sunday in the summer at Pescalis (6 miles away) from 10am to 1pm. Small but all focussed on the same thing: FOOD!! Delicious local produce and some interesting speciality stalls… Ostrich pâté?!
There is a games room in the barn where you can play table tennis, table football or darts. There are also skipping ropes, toys, board games, cards, jigsaws, paper and crayons and a CD player. Upstairs is a small room with a pool table. Even in rainy weather there is always something to do!
The boules pitch is next to the car park. There is a set of boules in a case in each gîte and a sheet explaining the rules. Have a lazy game in the evenings or I can organize my French neighbours to give you a match!
"Boules pitch was great fun" (Rees family)
The natural, chemical-free swimming pool is surrounded by tiles and decking and there are plenty of tables, chairs, loungers and parasols. There is even a hammock. There are games and toys, racquets, bats and balls in the pool hut. There are also various inflatables.
Because the water is fresh (cleaned by the plants in the filtration area), frogs hide in the reeds and waterboatmen skim the surface. If you are quiet, birds come down to drink. If you have allergies to pool chemicals, then this is where to swim! There are two swimjackets and a set of armbands. A lifebelt and a safety pole are at the poolside and there is a pool alarm BUT children must not be allowed in the pool area unaccompanied so you must take care to close and lock the gates when you leave.
"The pool was excellent. My son, who has various allergies, did not have any problems" (Mathias family
"Pool second to none" (Rees family)
Below the pool is a sandy area with swings, extra wide slide, balance beam and somersault bars. The sand was not intended to be anything but a soft landing but enterprising children have spent hours building castles and forts (there are buckets and spades and rakes in the pool hut) The swings can be changed depending on the guests. For example there is a swing seat for very young children that can be swapped for one of the others.
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The field
The rest of the field is good for investigating wildlife (lots of frogs and dragonflies around the tiny pond), running around, kicking a ball about, picking fruit: there are cherry, apricot, peach, sharon fruit, nectarine, plum, apple and quince trees (but don't try eating the quinces!). There are raspberry canes by the pool.
My neighbour's son has two placid old horses, of which he is very proud, and if he brings them round you can give them a stroke or have a ride around the field.
