Hiking in Charente-Maritime: for Mont-Saint-Michel, follow the blue color

The Department is completing the marking of a new hiking route that crosses Charente-Maritime from south to north: the paths of Mont-Saint-Michel. Explanations

Hiking trails are not a rare commodity in Charente-Maritime. "More than 4,000 kilometers, including eleven historic routes," summarizes Stéphane Villain, the mayor of Châtelaillon, who chairs the Charentes Tourisme agency and is leading the project at the Charente-Maritime Departmental Council.

In terms of history and heritage, the offer is enriched this year with a new south-north axis which crosses the department inland, from Mirambeau (on the border of Gironde) to La Ronde (on the border of Deux-Sèvres and Vendée): the paths of Mont-Saint-Michel which, as their name indicates, direct the hiker towards the eponymous bay.

They thrive on a thousand-year-old history, that of the pilgrimage to the famous abbey. Believers from the British Isles, the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, and all of Central and Eastern Europe once converged there. The pilgrimage remains relevant, in its religious and secular dimensions. On the trails, one encounters "Miquelots" just as one encounters "Jacquaires," enthusiasts of transport to Santiago de Compostela.

The plural attached to the Chemins du Mont-Saint-Michel is not a coquettish gesture. Progressing from the south, the valiant walker reaches a fork near Saint-Jean-d'Angély. "The Atlantic Way continues towards Puyrolland and La Ronde, then Maillé in Vendée and Nantes, while the Plantagenet Way goes towards Aulnay, then Niort and Angers," explains Géraldine Poussin, head of the Active Modes of Transport department at the Departmental Council.

The markings are nearing completion. Gérard Daunas, the departmental trail patrolman, is taking on the task on the northern section of the route, with his utility vehicle fully equipped for the task. He's using recycled material to affix the distinctive blue signs of the Mont-Saint-Michel trails, in accordance with the specifications of the French Hiking Federation.

Along all or part of the route, they follow sections of rural paths and public roads already marked with the colors of the GR 655 (long-distance hiking trail) and the Way of St. James. They can naturally be used on foot, but also by bicycle, or even on horseback.

The northeastern branch corresponds to the so-called Tours Way of St. James, which extends to Paris. The northwestern branch to the secondary route, which heads towards Brittany. Thus, pilgrims aiming for a terminus at Mont-Saint-Michel can benefit from the services of the St. James stopping places scattered from south to north of the routes: Mirambeau, Pons, Saintes, Saint-Jean-d'Angély, Aulnay on one side, Puyrolland and Surgères on the other.

In Puyrolland, in Les Cantinauds, at the foot of the hill that offers a superb panorama of the surrounding countryside – 50 meters above sea level, one of the peaks of Charente-Maritime – the Department renovated a former farm building two years ago, which now serves as a brand-new pilgrim refuge. It can accommodate ten people in a dormitory. It is located in the Trézence valley where a dam project long divided the population, before being abandoned more than twenty years ago. The controversy left behind a sparse bocage landscape and buildings that no one knew what to do with. Boosting the area's tourist appeal is part of the management plan, adopted in 2019 to heal the wounds of this (yet another) water war.

Marking the Way of St. James primarily allows for the completion of the route, which was interrupted at the crossing of the Charente-Maritime. It has a footpath in the south, in Gironde, as well as in the north, in Vendée. In 2023, the Mont-Saint-Michel Ways Association asked the Department to address the missing link. Stéphane Villain welcomed this request. "We count 1,500 to 2,000 pilgrims each year, and the movement is growing, as with cycling. There is a demand to break away from the usual pattern of the Way of St. James and take alternative routes," explains the elected official.

Compared to the 20,000 euros spent by the Department for the signage, Stéphane Villain anticipates almost immediate benefits. "Hikers who take the time to enjoy the heritage generally have a little purchasing power. They need accommodation and food, which benefits the entire tourism economy. And we present them with magnificent sites to visit at each stop," he says happily.