FRANCE - CHARENTE MARITIME

2016     OCTOBER

Charente Maritime is the Département of France whose southern boundary forms the northern bank of the Gironde Estuary just north of Bordeaux.       Its northern boundary lies just north of La Rochelle running very approximately 50 miles from west to east.

My base in this region was in the ancient town of Surgeres . This meant I needed to drive a round trip of about 30 miles each way to reach places of interest and actual or potential cycle rides.

SURGERES

Surgeres itself is a moderately interesting country town.

The area has been occupied since the Stone Age but modern history starts around the same time King Alfred was resisting the Danish Invasion of Wessex in the 800`s. The Danes had already settled in much of Maritime France with rival groups still fighting one another. So it was that the Duke of Aquitaine built a castle here at the edge of what was at the time a huge expanses of salt marshes to the north. His purpose was to create a defensive strong point from which to fight off Norman invasions.

By the twelfth century a small town had grown up around the original castle that was much expanded at this time including the construction of a church inside the battlements. The church is still in regular use and is thought to be one of the finest examples of Romanesque architecture.

In 1152 the town became an English possession when Eleanor of Aquitaine married the Count of Anjou who also became Henry II, King of England.    For those more familiar with English History, Henry and Eleanor were the parents of Richard the Lionheart and his younger brother John, both of whom also became Kings of England.

Facade of Notre Dame Church

And its Unusual Clock Tower

Three National Cycle Routes pass through Charente Maritime

La Vélodyssée – arrives from east to west along the northern boundary and then follows the coast from La Rochelle south.

La Vélo Francette – ends at La Rochelle after some 600 km from Ouistreham in Normandy.

Le Canal à Deux Mères – starts at Royan at the mouth of the Gironde and runs down the estuary's northern shore continuing beyond the Département for a total of 750 km until it ends at Sète on the shores of the Mediterranean.

For those who think this doesn't provide enough opportunity for exercise there is also a section of the ancient Pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

I was only energetic enough to cycle a couple of times along a very short section of the first of these where it passes through La Rochelle.

LA ROCHELLE

This was pretty interesting because it mostly consisted of a dedicated cycle path through the parks and gardens lining the sea inlet leading to the centre of the city. In the very centre it was still possible to ride through the streets for a short distance to the quay of Le Vieux Port and then along the quays of the Aquarium and New Yacht Harbours.

La Rochelle is a very cycle friendly city and in the streets around Le Vieux Port cyclists were allowed to ride in both directions even though many were restricted to “One Way” for motorists.

The town and harbour were protected by walls and towers and these now make a very scenic spectacle. There were plenty of visitors but also many who were clearly local enjoying the superfluity of Restaurants, Cafes and Bars in the Old Town - as I did myself on more than one occasion.

The city is also a very large yachting centre and you can see from the map how large the new marina is. I didn't attempt to count the yachts but guess there must have been at least 1,000 with all the familiar service businesses in an Industrial Zone just outside.

Here are some photos taken along the way.

Looking across the Inlet to the New Yacht Harbour at Low Tide

Lock to the Aquarium Harbour with Mega Yacht Masts and the Viewing Wheel behind

Tour de la Lantèrne and Town Wall

Entrance to Le Vieux Port

ROCHEFORT

Rochefort is the next large city down the coast about 40 km south of La Rochelle. I visited one day hoping to find the cycle path passing through the city as interesting as the section through La Rochelle. I was disappointed in this and also in the Municipal Campsite I had theoretically considered as a possible next stop – but it was crowded and the staff were unhelpful.

La Vélodyssée does pass through the city but the latter didn't seem cycle friendly at all.

One of the main tourist attractions is a replica of the 18^th century Frigate Hermione, that transported Lafeyette to the United States to promise support to the colonists in their war against the British.

But the traffic was very dense and the roads around closed for some reason so I didn't get to see this example of French naval engineering.

In comparison with La Rochelle the city seemed generally poorer and rather drab.

In historic times it was much more militarily functional with ship-building docks, cordage and munitions workshops and so on – corresponding in a rather similar way to how Portsmouth and Chatham relate to Southampton.

LE MARAIS POITEVIN

I also made an expedition from Surgeres to this National Park but as it lies within the present day boundaries of “La Vendée” have included my account of this ride under that heading.