Randonnée Chemin faisant sur l'histoire d'Arçais
Route details
Description
You will discover narrow canals, resolutely preserved coves, boat and canoe riders, picturesque architecture, all enhanced in allure by the dignified maintenance of the classical castle watching over the port. Charming village!
Happy hiking and remember that you are not alone on the trails you are about to travel. We therefore invite you to respect nature: avoid picking flowers and plants, do not leave any trash behind, respect inhabited places, stay on the trails, keep dogs on a leash.
Departure from the Port car park in Arçais.
Your itinerary
Step 1: Grand port
It experienced intense trading activity until the arrival of the railway at the beginning of the 20th century.
Step 2: The “Big House”
Overlooking the port, the house, built in 1823, is characterized by its terrace built at the end of this century. 11 portals conceal “stores” which served different purposes and in particular as warehouses for the equipment necessary for the exploitation of the marsh until around 1960.
Step 3: La Garenne seen from the channel
The farms are built on the side of the cliff. The slipways, where boats arrive, are an essential element. The stable was immediately accessible with the manure around it, the hayloft and outbuildings above and at the top, on the road side, the dwelling. We find the alleys between the houses. Descending towards the water, they were also used by farmers located on the other side of the street.
Step 4: La Garenne seen from the street
Large buildings bear witness to the years of prosperity of an agricultural economy exploiting the plain and the marsh in a complementary manner.
Step 5: Saint-Cyr Church
In 1620, René Goulard donated the site on which the sanctuary was built: at the top of the highest point in the town (5 m.). It was rebuilt in the XNUMXth century. in the other direction, in the neo-Gothic style.
Step 6: Port of Cheusse
The town center is criss-crossed with alleys leading from the church to private ports. In the middle of the 4th century, the old farm of Cheusse was subdivided and made up of XNUMX individual ports branched out to a conche, itself connected to the Broue. There were several hundred docking rights and deposits from one port to another.
Step 7: The old transit station and the little intercommunal train
At the end of 1899, the train of the Departmental Railway Company (CFD), nicknamed the “Cie screwed up in advance” by its detractors at the start, was put into circulation between Epannes and Ferrières d'Aunis.
Nearly 25 km long, the tracks are narrower and less expensive than those of other companies, but require goods to be unloaded into national network wagons.
Connections are provided at Ferrières for Marans and at Epannes for Niort or La Rochelle. A Niort-Marans trip with two changes takes 2h10. The wagons are pulled by a steam engine which can go up to 20 km/h! On the coasts, particularly between St-Georges-de-Rex and Arçais, transit stations, the speed is such that the rowdiest young travelers get off the train and mime pushing the wagons. At the end of 1950, the operation of the line was supplanted by road transport
Step 8: Old dairy
It was built in the 1900s with a mixture of bricks and a Baltard-type structure like the bridges of that era. It operated until 1953.
The Green Bicycle today.
Step 9: The Old Church
The first located in Arçais. Excavations have uncovered sarcophagi dating from the Merovingian era.
Step 10: “Bridging Holes”
In the past, these “bri holes” were exploited for the extraction of clay used to make tiles. Today, they are permanent water points.
Step 11: Paths and walkways
In the 70s, paths were laid to serve agricultural land. With the development of tourism, footbridges are built to allow looped walks.
Step 12: The Old Lands
The terrées are small elongated plots, planted with ash trees and willows.