St Maixent to Melle

The making of a modern crossroads.

Communications have always been important in the establishment of settlements. Inland villages have generally formed at crossroads, fords or bridges. Within the context of modern life and recent immigration there can be no doubt that the proximity of Poitiers airport with flights to Stansted has been a major factor in the growth of popularity of the western side of Deux-Sèvres. You can add to that the A10 motorway (which pretty much runs along the northern boundary of our Area) together with its link to the A83 just east of Niort which provides a fast links to Nantes and the Normandy coast.

The 'Chef' Boutonne is the head (hence the source) of the river.

As befits livestock rearing country this Area (as is the case with most of the rest of the Département) provides a landscape of rolling hills dotted with copses and forests and fields. There are frequent small towns where the beasts could come to market. Sauze-Vaussais and Chef-Boutonne are to the south and the latter reminds us of another feature of this countryside - the small rivers that follow its vales. The river Boutonne has its source nearby and flows west past the great Forest of Chizé where you'll also find Zoorama - a zoological park devoted to European animals and particularly species threatened with extinction.

Welcoming in the Middle Ages and today.

Melle is the largest of the towns in the south of the Area. It sits on its limestone escarpment which was found to be rich in a lead ore containing a small percentage of silver. The mines were worked from the 5th to the 10th century and a mint was established to strike coinage. The modern town is welcoming and comfortable as one of the small towns of Hampshire or Dorset. It has three churches which were equally welcoming for the pilgrims following the long route to Santiago de Compostela. The Church of St Hilaire, on the banks of the river Béronne, is acknowledged by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

A route fit for the Cavalry.

The last element of Celles-sur-Belle is the name of a river that is evidently considered pretty. It's built round a church with a great Abbot's Palace alongside. Onwards and we find la Mothe-St-Héray and the infant Sèvre Niortaise. There are important Megalithic remains from about 5,000 years BC nearby at Bougon but the young river will lead us to St Maixent-l'Ecole. Here the N11 sweeps down a great avenue and it is easy to imagine military parades in this garrison town. Away from the impressive boulevard there is a labyrinth of narrow streets in the busy town centre. From a home-seekers point of view it's equally important that one is but a short trot from motorway junction No 31.