GITES
WITH POOLS
©copyright
www.gites-with-pools.co.uk 2007-9.
Attraction in the Vendee.
Marais
Poitevin
by Tate
We were out on tour again in the Marais Poitevin, this time we
planned to take a route that neither Trevor nor I had taken before, this was to
follow the Sèvres Noirtaise on the Deux Sèvres side eastward from Maille for as
long as the road stayed next to the river, which we anticipated would take us to
Thaire le Fagnoux This stretch of the Sèvres Noirtaise marks the boundary
between the Pays de la Loire and the Poitou-Charentes so we were on foreign soil
looking across the river at the beloved Vendee. The truth is that Trevor had
travelled a part of this stretch of river before but that had been on the
Vendéen side and the trail had ended abruptly in someone’s garden when the road
simply ran out.
We approached Maille via Doix a pretty little place that had
obviously been affluent in the past, as there are a lot of substantial
properties in and around the village. We arrived in Maille and parked up by the
river, it was raining, it was grey, it was a shame. We were looking for coffee,
but there was nowhere open, there was a beautiful old church, but that wasn’t
open either. All of the barges were tied up, none of the normal tourist places
were open and there was absolutely nobody about. The weather was however
clearing so we lived in hope, but for now we had to live without coffee. We
ploughed on to our next stop which was to check out our proposed lunch
destination L’Auberge du Vieux Batelier at La Croix des Marys. We looked at the
menu and it was a tad expensive and as we had tasked ourselves with searching
out value for money, when Trevor said that it got very busy as it was frequented
by coach parties, I lost my desire to eat there. We decided that we would
continue on our travels and find an alternative. So we turned on to the
riverside road and dawdled along taking in the peace and serenity of the broad
languorous river. We came upon an incredibly pretty little place called Le Fosse
de Loup, there was nothing much there, a couple of weeping willows and a couple
of houses, but it was really attractive and typified this stretch of the river.
Having
reached the point where the road left the river we drove on into Courçon, a
little market town with nothing special in it, except that right next to the car
park was a bar/café and at last we managed to get ourselves a cup of
coffee.
The weather had brightened up considerably and the sun was out, we
went back to La Croix des Marys and took the river road toward Damvix, it was an
equally enchanting road alongside the river. We came across a large fresh water
crayfish in the middle of the road, Trevor got out and I thought he was going to
bag it for a snack but the crayfish was no easy match so Trevor did the humane
thing and using a stick manoeuvred it back into the long grass by the side of
the river, I wish I’d had my camera out as it was a truly humorous scene, the
crayfish really did put up a terrific fight. The rest of the journey to Damvix
was much of the same with small houses dotted along the riverbanks, parcels of
land some with large tents or a camper van setup for the summer and as a
backdrop to it all the indolent river sliding noiselessly by. It was beautiful
and instantly brought Renoir to mind.
We arrived in Damvix and Trevor’s battle with the crayfish had
activated his appetite. Now when Trevor gets the call to eat it’s a must to find
somewhere fairly quickly, I think in future we’ll have to pack some biscuits to
stave off his hunger pangs. It was under these circumstances that we entered
Damvix, a pretty little village on one of the canals, there is a large
restaurant barge which departs from the quay but at 41 euros a head it wasn’t
what we were looking for. I said to Trevor that I would prefer to continue along
the road from Damvix to Arcais in an attempt to find a little restaurant on the
canal with a bit more charm, but Trevor’s hunger won the day and we decided to
eat at one of the restaurants in Damvix. There were 2 restaurants on opposite
corners, we decided on the Deux Saisons solely because they advertised in a limited way
the content of their 12 euro formula, whereas the other restaurant didn’t.
I have posted a separate review of the restaurant on the relevant page. After lunch we got back in the bus and travelled some more familiar roads. Incidentally there were several small restaurants set along the rivers and canals; they looked like just the sort of thing I had wanted to try. Some of them looked good but who knows how good or how pricey they would have been, by the look of the cars parked at one or two of them I think we may well have missed a trick, still hopefully there will be another time.
I have posted a separate review of the restaurant on the relevant page. After lunch we got back in the bus and travelled some more familiar roads. Incidentally there were several small restaurants set along the rivers and canals; they looked like just the sort of thing I had wanted to try. Some of them looked good but who knows how good or how pricey they would have been, by the look of the cars parked at one or two of them I think we may well have missed a trick, still hopefully there will be another time.
On our way back home Trevor decided that he wanted to find the
port at Bouillé-Courdault this is a sink at the end of a long straight
canal where barges used to come to unload and turn. Following a false turn that
landed us in someone’s field we found the port, parked up and went for a roll
(that’s a stroll to you but as I’m on the scooter I call it a roll). The port is
unused now and all of the warehouses have been converted into dwellings, these
are not great industrial buildings but are more in keeping with normal Vendéen
architecture and the whole place is now as charming and pretty as a place can
be. There is a Bar/Auberge which looked good, decent parking and shade provided
by some lovely old trees. I hope we’ll come back to try the restaurant and find
the place as peaceful and unpopulated as it was on the day we visited so that we
can once again take in the lovely tranquil atmosphere that is part and parcel of
this unique place.
The only thing lacking was a coffee and ice cream so we got back
on the road and went to Maillezais, the site of a ruined abbey and one of the hubs of
tourism in the Marais Poitevin. We parked in the church car park and went off,
as usual Trevor went off on his own with his camera and we agreed to meet by the
canal at the abbey where there were a couple of cafes. I wandered down through
the town and along to the abbey. The ruins look fairly impressive from outside
of the enclosure but there is an admission price and I can’t honestly see the
point in paying to look at piles of rubble, so I passed them by and went on down
to the canal. I arrived only to be greeted by the scene of people in odd
clothing with silver painted faces working on laptops. I was wondering whether
there had been something in the food at lunchtime or whether the odd mix was
reacting and making me hallucinate. It was so disorienting that I started to go
back up to the road, fortunately Trevor appeared and we ventured back down with
renewed confidence, at least he saw the silver heads as well so I wasn’t
hallucinating. The café being large we were able to sit around the corner from
the silver heads and when we ordered our coffees and ice creams I asked the
waitress about them, she told me that they were performers in a spectacular that
was taking place that evening, phew! Thankfully we weren’t being invaded from
above by laptop wielding silver faced aliens and all was once again well in the
Vendée.
Tate - 2009
Tate - 2009
Return to
the Marais
Poitevin
