Walks in the south of Charente Maritime

In this series of itineraries we will describe some fabulous walks around Cozes, Epargnes, Mortagne, St Seurin , Floirac , Meschers, St George de Didonne ...Some of them combine walks along the top of the cliff with a stroll overlooking the estuary and others combine walks in open fields with walks in marshes and forests.

• Les Monards to Talmont
• Distance : About 15 kilometres
• Time : 3 hours
• Going : Moderate

This one is an easy walk which offers fantastic views over the Gironde estuary. The walk starts at the village called " Les Monards" There is a good car parking along the little port in front of the restaurant. You start the walk on your right following the sign post ( GR 360 ) there's a map just at the beginning of the track. You pass through the village and then reach a narrow road to get to the top of the cliff. This walk can be taken in winter because it isn't muddy. Walking along the cliff offers various views which make you linger for a while to take photos. After the hilly section the walk is nice and easy , the sea is on your left and vineyards and sheep grazing on your right. Then you reach Barzan plage, go past the houses turn left and you get to the cycle track which goes along the bay. The birds here are plentiful. Among the bird species are wildfowls,waders, dunlin and curlew. Then keep walking along the cycle track and turn left, climb up to the top of the cliff again. From there you'll have a magnificent view over the widest part of the estuary on your left and the vineyards on your right. The walk then continues to the village of Talmont where you can relax in one of the caf�s with a terrasse before going back to Les Monards.

This is a fabulous walk. The track skirts the marsh, vineyards and open fields. For a small part of the walk the main road parallels the path but the traffic is not busy. This itinerary is one of our favourites, a pleasant walk which can be done all year long.

Acknowledgements : Photo of Talmont (first on the right) provided by Arnaud Abelard under creative commons licence via Flickr.