Circuit des Bois - PR 24 - Bagnizeau

BAGNIZEAU - Circuit des Bois (15.5 km - 4 h - gradient: 60 m) Before exploring the woods of Bagnizeau, take a stroll along the River Antenne. The source of the "Barbarelle" gave its name to the village: "bathe the waters". BAGNIZEAU - Circuit des bois (15.5 km - 4 h - gradient: 60 m) Before exploring the woods of Bagnizeau, take a stroll along the River Antenne. The source of the "Barbarelle" gave its name to the village: "bathe the waters". Location: 18 km east of St-Jean-d'Angély Start: church Signposts: yellow 1 - Behind the church, walk along the wall and cross the small river Antenne (a tributary of the Charente) once. Follow it to the left for 50 m, then cross the Antenne a second time in the direction of the poplar grove, which you will pass on the left. Cross the ditch and take the first track on the left. After 100m, turn left again towards the two bridges. 2 - Turn right then left towards the cemetery. At the end of this track, turn right onto the main road for 1 km. Take the first track on the left towards the woods. 3 - Follow it and turn left towards the Marquisat. Go round it to the left. 4 - 100 m after the houses on the bend, enter the pine plantation and cross it on the right, following the paths. Turn left onto a local road and then right onto a gravel path. Turn into the first driveway on the left. 5 - At the end of the lane, turn left onto a dirt track as far as the D220, follow it to the right for 500 m and then turn left just before the copse on the bend. Follow this dirt track and turn left along the edge of the wood. Continue to the right until you reach a tarmac road. 6 - Further on, at the crossroads, turn left and cross the Roty. At the exit, take a dirt track for a moment and fork right into the undergrowth. 7 - Go around the plantation (pine, cherry and walnut trees). Continue straight ahead at the crossroads, following the edge of the wood for 200 m, then turn left and right. Follow the D220 to the right and turn left at the oak plantation. 8 - Turn right onto the narrow lane. Take the first track on the left opposite the grove. Follow the vines and enter the Binettes woods. At the first crossroads in the undergrowth, turn right back towards Bagnizeau, following the original route. The wash-house on the right bank of the Barbarelle dates back to 1879. It was used for washing clothes upstream and for cleaning pig intestines downstream. Downstream of the washhouse, a reach fed a water mill and an animal trough. Saint-Vivien church has a square façade pierced by a large Romanesque portal of excellent workmanship with two arches. Here is the Romanesque bestiary: two centaurs with the heads of bearded men, three snake-tailed dragons, a winged monster, birds preening their feathers, two fire-breathing dragons, two lions flanking a seated man, two birds with human heads. The other arch is filled with acanthus leaves and the archivolts feature cat's heads and contoured birds. The bell tower is square, typical of Saintonge, with a Romanesque flat roof. The chevet of the church is Romanesque. Note a small winegrower's barrel and a "Grand'goule" symbolising the monster of hell.