2015 Blois - Poitiers Walking

"P'tit Zinc" marks the center of Veigné. If a small town or village has no bar like this any longer, it has lost it´s social center and is approaching the final stage of existence.

Unfortunately the place was still closed. Otherwise I would probably have taken advantage of Madame Sylvie´s special offer. "Le café pour les pèlerins est à 1 €" www.facebook.com/pages/Sur-Le-Chemin-21-Ter-Rue-Principal...

Having walked the paved cycle-track along the Loire ("Loire à Vélo") for about 100 kms, I was happy to stride on a softer surface now, though mud is not that easy.

Here the Via Turonensis leaves Sorigny and turns left. Somebody created this very encouraging decoration for the "pelerins".

April weather in Europe offers sunshine, rain and hail (sometimes even snow) in a rapid succession. Within the next hour, there was pouring rain - and sunshine.

The former "hopital" (now a library) was closed, when I arrived here. It was founded (and probably funded) by Jean Le Maingre (aka "Jean de Boucicaut" or just "Boucicaut"). Boucicaut was a French knight ("Marshal of France"), who fought battles against "heathens" in Prussia and Livonia (supporting the Teutonic Order), Spain and in the Balkans. In the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 he was captured by the English and died 6 years later in Yorkshire. Boucicaut must have been a very pious knight. Legends tell, that he spent several hours each day in prayer. No wonder that he owned a special prayer book, that still exists: "Livre d'heures de Jean de Boucicaut" commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Heures_de_Mar%C3%A9ch...

Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, can be found in a romantic valley, just about 1 kilometer off the "chemin". The chapel is cut out of the limestone. Of course it was locked. Here is the chapel´s website: www.saint-epain.fr/notredamelorette.php

This is all, what is left of a priory, founded around 1050. What is now used as a barn was the crossing and one transept-arm of the priory´s church. The priory was partially demolished in 1542 when the towns´s surrounding wall was under construction and building material was needed. The church had been used by the parish. Mass was celebrated here upto 1761, until, due to the poor conditions of the building, it was closed. During the French Revolution the still existing chapel was confiscated and sold as "National Property" in 1789. Since then it is private property.

Early morning at the "Pierre Percée", a menhir about 4 meters high. I learned that local tradition is, that newly wed couple kiss "through" the hole, what then brings eternal blessedness for the couple. Well - actually they need two large groups of strong friends, to lift them up to that hole. To have such friends is for sure a key to happiness. The menhir has it´s own website: touraine-insolite.clicforum.fr/t63-Menhir-La-Pierre-Perce...

A male ("buck") and a female ("doe") roe deer hide in the wheat. This will well work in summer. In April either the deer are too tall or the wheat is too short.

The church, dedicated to Saint Avant, was erected within 11th/12th century. The sacristy was added, when the renovation of the Romanesque building was under way in the 19th century.

Crossing the Creuse, I left the region "Centre-Val de Loire" and entered "Poitou-Charentes". According to my map the village was named "Port-de-Piles", but the creator of this large board had shortened the name to "Port-de-Pile".

In 1642 Les Ormes became a barony with the right of market. "Les Halles" seen here may be some decades younger.

The "Priory of Saint Sulpice" is located about 4km south east of Les Ormes, near the "Château de La Fontaine". The priory was depended from the Benedictine "Abbey of Noyers", founded near Nouatre (16km north) in 1030. In 1035 land was given to the abbey here, so the the abbey could establish the priory soon after. The size of area was defined by what "could be ploughed by six oxes within a day" (~10 acres). This makes clear, that the monks installed a working farm here, producing food and funds for the abbey. This is still clearly visible, as many buildings of the priory still exist. Over the centuries a small hamlet grew up around the (fortified!) priory. The priory is privately owned since the French Revolution. We were lucky, to meet the owner, who not only allowed us to enter the premises but also showed us the priory and told us many details of it´s history. Merci beaucoup! Seen here is the priory´s church (11th./12th.c.). The lower part of the wall was done with stones, that obviously originated from Roman ruins. Up to the roof ridge, the builders used small, unhewn stones. The window was wider once, but got narrowed, probably for reasons of fortification (some windows on the other side are bricked up). The tower is younger than the church. The structure right of the tower is a chapel in Renaissance-style, added in 1538.

The "Priory of Saint Sulpice" is located about 4km south east of Les Ormes, near the "Château de La Fontaine". The priory was depended from the Benedictine "Abbey of Noyers", founded near Nouatre (16km north) in 1030. In 1035 land was given to the abbey here, so the the abbey could establish the priory soon after. The size of area was defined by what "could be ploughed by six oxes within a day" (~10 acres). This makes clear, that the monks installed a working farm here, producing food and funds for the abbey. This is still clearly visible, as many buildings of the priory still exist. Over the centuries a small hamlet grew up around the (fortified!) priory. The priory is privately owned since the French Revolution. We were lucky, to meet the owner, who not only allowed us to enter the premises but also showed us the priory and told us many details of it´s history. Merci beaucoup! The priory existed through many wars and feuds including the Hundred Years War and the French Wars of Religion. After the French Revolution all monks and lay brothers had left and the priory got sold. Soon after a school was installed in the church building. A perfect place to leave carved graffiti. These faces are from an outside wall.

Spring is in the air. The field is ploughed. Hamlets line the horizont. I remembered, that some years ago, I had taken photos of the Romanesque church in Ingrandes, but I stayed on the track, as I had planned to reach Châtellerault in noontime. Only a few kilometers east is the village Oyre. There is another great church, that I had found that year.

After having passed the ugly commercial zone along the D910", dotted with cheap hotels and hamburger-restaurants, I finally reached the inner city of Châtellerault, where the "chemin" runs along the Vienne. Here is the "Pont Henri-IV", built from 1565 to 1609. The bridge is framed by two round towers on left bank of Vienne river.

Châtellerault has been a halt for the pilgrims to Santiago de Compostella from the very beginning - and of course they all of them stopped at this church. The construction of the church started in 1008 on the ruins of the chapel of an even older Saint-Jacques priory. The facade and the towers, seen here, are a result of a major rebuilding project done in the 19th century. Prosper Mérimée, the inspector-general of historical monuments, did not like this (overdone) restoration at all.