I walked from the railway station in Charette to Gite la Voisine, which is just over 4km – along a road, but there is plenty of space, and drivers were uniformly respectful, moving over to give me extra room even though I was well off the road. As a result of this walk, and my turning down a couple of offers of a lift, the Gite owner decided I was quite the walker, and recommended heading for Saint Élie, “un village touristique”, about 10km away. And back via a different road (on the right in the map below) because of its beautiful trees.
Why not, I thought, with all afternoon to complete it in. In case I needed more incentive, I was promised a short climb behind the church in Saint-Élie would give me great views of the area.
The walk to Saint-Élie itself was nothing to write home about, but perfectly pleasant on a decent day. Most interesting were the houses, as it is quiet out here yet people obviously have money. Spot the house with a helicopter in the backyard, apparently where the owner of a local eco-park lives.
Saint-Élie is very pretty, with a few shops, including a food store (at the garage) and bakery with very friendly owner. Wander past the church and graveyard to take the walk to the top. There is a clearly signposted route for walkers, which I took, and is a lovely walk through the woods. If you’re in a hurry, though, go straight up the road in front of you, for a shortcut.
Religious iconography abounds.
Then, the return, and the rue with plenty of arbres I had been promised. With the leaves changing colour for Fall/Autumn, this was a rare treat. It’s a quiet road, too, so there isn’t much traffic to interrupt the reverie through the different colours.
On a good day, with sun but without being too hot, the whole thing was a pleasure, leaving me footsore but full of the joys of being outside.
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