Discover Pougne-herisson, Deux-Sèvres, Poitou-Charentes

This route has been developed to enhance the natural wealth and historical heritage of the stream le Palais. The reach of the old Chabosse mill was developed in 2015 by the Syndicat Mixte de la Vallée du Thouet (SMVT), supported by the owner's desire to restore the old course of the Palais to a more natural functioning. Designed, developed and animated in partnership with the town hall of Saint-Aubin le Cloud and the association Deux-Sèvres Nature Environnement, the path is marked out with photos and gives you access to the riches of a preserved site.

Departure: exit from Chabosse in the direction of Pougne. Possibility to continue to the Satière, a hill where there were two windmills (one is still visible) attached to the watermill of Chabosse. Go back on your steps. Roblin : old stone quarry. To the south of the route, take the path of the crests (locally called the path of Ver-noux). Before turning right, you go along a "fruitière" (apple orchard) topped by anti-hail nets. Shortly after La Barralière, you cross a private property that has been left untouched for forty years by the owner of the mill so that nature can take over. Passage on a few tens of meters between the Palace and the mill's reach. On this same sector, a discovery trail "On the edge of the Palais" has been set up in order to enhance the riches of the stream.

In the past, Hérisson was a rich trading town on the salt road. Today, it is a land of tales and legends, in the heart of the granite Gâtine. Let yourself be surprised by the heritage of this village and by the stories you might hear! Don't forget to push the door of the famous Nombril du Monde ! Departure from the central square of Hérisson. Welcome sign (Hérisson discovery walks). Signposting : Hedgehog pictogram

This hiking trail allows you to discover the town of Saint-Aubin-le-Cloud. It is characterized by the permanent presence of water (river, ponds, lake) and allows you to discover the floristic wealth of the Gâtine, in particular numerous species of trees. It offers unusual views of the town.

A 3.5 km walk in the heart of the village of Azay-sur-Thouet to discover its main assets and learn all about its history.

A 10.5 km route in the commune of Azay-sur-Thouet. This itinerary will lead you to the village of Trébesse, passing through Pisseloube and the wash house.

This tour takes you to the heart of the Gâtine, in the city of apples, to discover the secrets of this village. Departure from the church square.

At Secondigny (Plan d'eau des Effres), Pougne (Nombril du Monde) or Parthenay (Voie Verte), take the start for the small or big loop and open your ears wide... Follow the wooden arrows with a bicycle and pink directional arrows (except on the green way). In Parthenay, between the leisure centre and the greenway, follow the black directional arrows indicating this destination. On this route, at each stop, you can listen to what the landscapes and the inhabitants have to tell you... beware, an original discovery of this little corner of Gâtine! Flashcode and listen

Wild fauna and flora are part of our local heritage. Called "ordinary biodiversity", these species are often ignored or poorly known by the inhabitants, young and old, who are not familiar with them. This 2.5 km discovery trail is punctuated by 45 panels designed by the Fédération Départementale des Chasseurs and set up in partnership with the commune. Each panel presents an animal or plant species of the Deux-Sèvres. For the plants: flowers, fruits and leaves, but also the use made of them by Man or animals are presented. These "plant kingdom" panels are positioned near the plants they describe. The panels of the "animal kingdom" present the description of the animal, its habits, its diet and its reproduction, as well as the footprints and the signs of presence, which allow to detect their passage.

A 13,8 km circuit which will lead you in the countryside of the Gâtinaise. The circuit is marked out in blue except when it borrows the GR 364 where it is then marked out in white and red. The departure is at the base of leisure of Effres in Secondigny

Pougné-Hérisson is a legendary village engendering the tallest of tales. So tall, in fact, that the simple existence of this Poitou hamlet may appear uncertain, which is not the case! In mid-August, a Pougné festival indeed takes place, as a new capital abruptly rises out of its granite, desertified magma. The town in progress encounters urban growing pains as it turns into a place for citizens, words, exchanges, life in tribes, unsafe streets... It becomes not so much a city, as an ambitious megalopolis. In a few days will emerge from the earth a university, a hospital, embassies and ministries, international centers for shows, tribunals, a stock exchange... 150 artists for 2 days of street theater, justice, tales, songs, games, Tamenti, urban events, lectures, educational activities. Link with the video on the site: www.dailymotion.com/swf/vidxeo/xasnf7.

The 4* LE MOULIN DES EFFRES campsite in Secondigny is located in the Deux-Sèvres region, in the heart of a 2-hectare landscaped estate and on the edge of a large lake, with the town center just 500 m away. Its location is exceptional: between Futuroscope, Puy du Fou, La Rochelle and the Marais Poitevin, as well as numerous tourist sites to discover. A family campsite with a warm, friendly atmosphere, open from April to November with snack-bar, bike trails, hiking, fishing, pétanque, mini golf, outdoor fitness area, playground, pedal boats, heated pool in summer and entertainment for all. (concerts, karaoke, blind tests, themed meals...) We offer different types of accommodation for 2 to 8 people, including mobile homes, chalets, furnished tents and unusual tipis. We also have pitches for your tent or camper van, and shared sanitary facilities.

In the midst of the gâtine orchards, small granite stone house ideal for a family with 2 children, close to the owner, with shared enclosed garden and terrace. Very green setting with view of pond. Parking at the entrance to the property. GROUND FLOOR: kitchen-living room-lounge (22.50m² - double-burning wood stove). FLOOR: Ch1 (9m²-140 bed), Ch2 (9m²-2 90 beds), shower room, wc, electric radiators. Bikes available, swimming pool shared with the owner and another gite, open from 3pm to 7pm. Children's play area with swings, trampoline and slide. Parthenay 15km, Marais Poitevin 40km, Futuroscope 65km, Puy du Fou 60km.

Set amidst gâtine orchards, large stone house with private terrace (garden furniture, plancha) and garden. For your comfort, a swimming pool (8m x 4m, depth 1m10 to 1m60) shared with the owner and another small gîte is available from 3pm to 7pm. Very green surroundings overlooking a pond. Parking at the entrance to the property. Bicycles available, children's games (swings, slide, trampoline, table tennis). First floor: kitchen and dining area (25 m²), living room (42m²), wc. Upstairs: bedroom 1 (9 m² - 1 bed 90), bedroom 2 (10.44m² - 2 beds 90), bedroom 3 (9.18m²- 1 bed 140), shower room with wc. Wifi Internet access. Parthenay 15 km, Mazières en Gâtine 18-hole golf course 19 km, Marais Poitevin 40 km, Futuroscope and Puy du Fou 1 hour away. Pellet-fired central heating available at extra cost.

Le Coin Caché is a charming 2-bedroom gite, located in the heart of the countryside in the northern part of the Deux Sèvres. Historically, Le Coin Caché was part of the original farmhouse in the area, which also included the windmill on the hill. The gite is composed of: A fully equipped kitchen, a living room, a bedroom with double bed, a bedroom with 2 single beds, shower room with separate toilet, free wifi. Bed linen, towels, bath towels and beach towels provided. Exclusive use of the infinity pool (open from May to September). Numerous tourist sites nearby : Parc Aventure (accrobranches) at 20min, the medieval city of Parthenay at 20 min, Pescalis a Nature and Fishing site at 25 min, Puy du Fou and the Futuroscope at 1h, la Rochelle/Ile de Ré at 1h40.

Margaux Voguet and Benoît De Dreuille have created the Astore restaurant, which opened at the end of 2021. They offer traditional cuisine, using ultra-local, high-quality produce. Atypical combinations will delight your taste buds. An in-house wine list completes the offer. In fine weather, you can enjoy a shaded garden terrace.

On the way to Compostela, a medieval town near Futuroscope, Puy du Fou, Marais Poitevin and La Rochelle. Close to the town centre and the aquatic complex, the gîte benefits from a private park and swimming pool.

The Gatineo aquatic center consists in several facilities: the sports swimming pool (25m x 12.5 m, up to 2m deep) with its 5 lanes; you can break every record! In the wading lagoon (28m², 10 to 30 cm deep), your young children can take a dip in a congenial environment at a safe distance from the other pools. As for the recreational pool (175m², up to 1.30 deep), meant for young and old alike, you may enjoy a water jet massage, waterfalls and water cannons, domed space, a flowing river ... and a giant sliding pond, whooshing you 60 meters through a tunnel.

Imposing 14th century castle surrounded by a moat with a working drawbridge, loopholes, parapet walk, granite fireplaces, and situated in a quiet and rustic park with lots of charm. The magnificent rooms are arranged in accordance with their medieval setting. Access is via a spiral staircase. 5 majestic and spacious bedrooms (100 m2), with private bathroom or shower and wc: Seigneuriale room - double canopy bed and tapestry; Chevalier room - partitioned double bed and heraldic decorations; Sentinel room - large double canopy bed, kitchenette and spectacular views. Vaulted room (former guard room). Watchtower and Chatelaine Room.

The restaurant "Le Fin Gourmet" is located in the centre of Parthenay, very close to Les Halles, a few meters from the famous Tour de l'Horloge, near a magnificent view of the Thouet and its chef, Thierry Guilbault, offers you menus every week renewed according to the seasons and the flavours of the market, as well as a rich and varied menu reinvented three times a year. Fine and refined cuisine, including a discovery menu that will delight your taste buds! Reservation recommended.

Pougné-Hérisson is a legendary village engendering the tallest of tales. So tall, in fact, that the simple existence of this Poitou hamlet may appear uncertain, which is not the case! In mid-August, a Pougné festival indeed takes place, as a new capital abruptly rises out of its granite, desertified magma. The town in progress encounters urban growing pains as it turns into a place for citizens, words, exchanges, life in tribes, unsafe streets... It becomes not so much a city, as an ambitious megalopolis. In a few days will emerge from the earth a university, a hospital, embassies and ministries, international centers for shows, tribunals, a stock exchange... 150 artists for 2 days of street theater, justice, tales, songs, games, Tamenti, urban events, lectures, educational activities. Link with the video on the site: www.dailymotion.com/swf/vidxeo/xasnf7.

The Saint-George church, dating from the 12th and 13th centuries is a beautiful example of late-Roman art. It was built by the Argenton family and is closely linked with the castle that overlooks the small valley of Arcis.

Tennis, fishing, picnic area.

Prominent on the circuit, the old railway station has been converted into a hikers' stopover. The site is adjacent to a large parking lot, equipped with a water point, picnic table, inviting benches and nearby dry toilets. It's a pleasant place to take a break before setting off to explore the greenway. When the building was renovated, the attic space was designed and fitted out to protect the bats. There are also books and an exhibition on display.

Built by the architect Alcide Boutaud in the 19th century, the church of Saint-Benoît was inspired by Romanesque buildings, particularly with the persistence of the bell-tower-porch. With an elongated plan, it is composed of a choir with cut-off sides and a nave covered with crossed ribs. Only the lower part of the bell-tower-porch remains of the old building, the foundations of the walls and the broken arch of the north chapel resting on carved bases of very frusty human figures. A few fragments of starting vaults and pillars with prismatic ribs date it from the 15th century. Inside, a granite funerary slab carved with a cross and a sword can be seen in the pavement.

Organic beef and pork (a box of 5, 7 or 10 Kg depending on the type of meat). Sale at the farm by reservation.

La Ferme aquacole de Gâtine offers fishing in ponds all year round. Different fishing opportunities are available to you on different ponds in NO KILL: fly fishing, lure fishing, float-tube fishing, English fishing, big rod fishing, battery fishing and float-tube rental. The opportunity during the week or the weekend to spend a pleasant moment in the countryside and have fun with friends or family (children must be accompanied). Book before you come!

Operating 22 hectare (25 000 birds per year) chicken, guinea fowl, cnard, duck, goose, capon, hen. Canned farm products (rillettes of chicken, duck, goose pate chicken gizzards, chicken liver mousse) Retail store Biocoop Bressuire.

New for 2024, Secondigny was awarded the "Station Verte" label on February 09.

The lofty Saint-Hilaire church, a listed Historic Monument, dates from the end of the 15th century and is a beautiful example of a church made of Gâtine granite .

Located in Neuvy-Bouin, in the heart of the Poitou-Charentes region, and on the road to the sea, we welcome you to our restaurant with its soft "spicy" colors, where you can discover fine, refined cuisine that will delight your taste buds! Open every day except Sunday evening, Monday and Wednesday evening. Reservations recommended.

Restaurant of Portuguese specialties and Bar.

L'Écu de France is a hotel restaurant located in the heart of Secondigny, between Niort and Bressuire. Ideally located between the Puy du Fou and the Futuroscope, Fabien and Audrey warmly welcome you with 9 rooms including all the necessary comfort for your business trips or your holidays The restaurant is open from Monday to Saturday for lunch, and by reservation in the evening. The chef offers you a traditional cuisine, prepared with local products.

Facing Lac des Effres, let yourself be charmed by the serenity of the setting and the tasty dishes based on fresh seasonal produce.

Friendly and smiling welcome, copious and original dishes...in this restaurant in the centre of town. Pleasant terrace.

Possibility on reservation on weekday evenings and weekends. Catering activity

Margaux Voguet and Benoît De Dreuille have created the Astore restaurant, which opened at the end of 2021. They offer traditional cuisine, using ultra-local, high-quality produce. Atypical combinations will delight your taste buds. An in-house wine list completes the offer. In fine weather, you can enjoy a shaded garden terrace.

At 'La Petite Noisette', guests are welcomed in a relaxed and informal atmosphere. The best local and seasonal products, selected by the chef, are used in preparations to provide customers with the best quality at the best price. Every day, "fresh" fish from the local fish shop in Secondigny, fresh fruit from the village producer, local free-range eggs, butter from Pamplie, salt from the Ile de Ré and a range of artisanal cheeses such as Brillat Savarin and Fourme d'Ambert, including the "famous" goat's cheese from the region of the two desserts. Open from Wednesday to Saturday for lunch and dinner and Sunday lunch.

The Saint Pierre restaurant in Moncoutant-sur-Sèvre reopened its doors in June 2021, with a new team around the chef Maître-Restaurateur, Benjamin Cousseau. In the heart of the Bocage Bressuirais with its preserved nature, this new place of life is ideally located. Between the Marais Poitevin, La Rochelle, the Puy du Fou, the Futuroscope and near the Atlantic Ocean, this new address welcomes you with great pleasure in a warm, cosy and friendly atmosphere. Close to the Pescalis Nature and Fishing Centre, go for a walk along the Sèvre Nantaise, for a stroll around the pond trail, or go to the Sèvre karting or the Chantemerle Adventure Park, about 10 minutes away by car. Every summer, a photo exhibition is set up in the open air and in the gallery in the town centre of Moncoutant, an opportunity for a photographic walk worthy of La Gacilly...

A new restaurant has opened its doors at the campsite Le Bois Vert. François Montillet and Florence Cotonnec manage the campsite. They have also chosen to create their bar-restaurant "Au plan B", a snack type establishment which also welcomes customers from outside the campsite. On the menu, grills, planchas, fondues, fresh fish....Bon appétit!

1 bedroom upstairs, a sitting area on the ground floor and a bathroom with bathtub and Italian shower in a 13th century house. (Possibility to put a baby bed) Close to the Navel of the World.

In the heart of the Gatine, come discover the ridres of the countryside. Restored farm building near our farm mixed farming and cattle ans sheep farming

We welcome you in an old farmhouse completely renovated, in the heart of the Gâtinaise nature. Our two modern and comfortable guest rooms will be perfect to enjoy a weekend or a longer stay in the area. Breakfast is homemade from organic products.

3-star campsite on the edge of 2 fishing ponds (carp, black bass, roach...), surrounded by rolling meadows as far as the eye can see. Quiet, shady, pitches for tents, caravans and rental of canvas bungalows, cabins and chalets. The small La Chagnée campsite welcomes you for a moment of pure relaxation in its brand-new wellness area. Alone or as a couple, come and recharge your batteries in a warm setting, and enjoy the facilities at your disposal: the infrared sauna with its gentle heat, the professional spa with its bubbles and massaging jets, and finally a shower with essential oils. Hot and cold drinks (included) are available.

Wooden chalet on the same level (very well insulated), accessible to handicapped people, located on our 3-star campsite (10 pitches). Nice integration in the environment. 2 ponds (1.2ha), land and wood (2ha), natural site. Ground of bowls, table tennis, table football and billiards common The chalets have 2 bedrooms (1 double bed and 2 single bunk beds, plus clic clac in the living room), 1 fully equipped kitchen / living room, TV antenna, 1 bathroom with shower and toilet accessible to wheelchair users. Covered terrace and garden. Linen hire on request (sheets, towels, tea towels, beds made on arrival), 10€ per person Insulated and heated, the chalets can be rented all year round, for short, medium and long stays.

Wooden chalet on the same level (very well insulated), accessible to handicapped people, located on our 3-star campsite (10 pitches). Nice integration in the environment. 2 ponds (1.2ha), land and wood (2ha), natural site. Ground of bowls, ping-pong, table football and billiards common The chalets have 2 bedrooms (1 double bed and 2 single bunk beds, plus clic clac in the living room), 1 fully equipped kitchen / living room, TV antenna, 1 bathroom with shower and toilet accessible to wheelchair users. Covered terrace and garden. Linen hire on request (sheets, towels, tea towels, beds made on arrival), 10€ per person Insulated and heated chalets can be rented all year round, for short, medium and long stays.

Wooden chalet on the same level (very well insulated), accessible to handicapped people, located on our 3-star campsite (10 pitches). Nice integration in the environment. 2 ponds (1.2ha), land and wood (2ha), natural site. Ground of bowls, table tennis, portico and billiards common The chalets have 2 bedrooms (1 double bed and 2 single bunk beds, plus clic clac in the living room), 1 fully equipped kitchen / living room, TV antenna, 1 bathroom with shower and toilet accessible to wheelchair users. Covered terrace and garden. Linen hire on request (sheets, towels, tea towels, beds made on arrival), 10€ per person Insulated and heated chalets can be rented all year round, for short, medium and long stays.

Wooden cabin equipped for 4 people located on our 3 star campsite (10 pitches). Beautiful integration in the environment. 2 ponds (1.2ha), land and wood (2ha), natural site. Common bowls, ping-pong, portico and billiards.

Unusual accommodation, the DK'Bane is a small 2-seater tent on a wooden platform, equipped with lighting and 2 comfortable mattresses, located on our 3-star campsite (10 pitches). Beautifully integrated into the environment. 2 ponds (1.2ha), land and wood (2ha), natural site. Shared bowls, table tennis, table football and billiards.