A randonnee over the border...at Maire

 

Yesterday we crossed over the Creuse to join our friend Dennis and walkers from the Chatellerault Randonnee Club for an 8 km walk in the countryside around the village, here are some pics.from what was a very good walk with a fine group of people.

A good decision...

On Thursday morning as we tried to avoid the rain while making a visit to Preuilly-sur-Claise we were thinking there was no chance that the weekly walk with our randonne club was going to go ahead in the afternoon.

At lunchtime Pauline reviewed the weather by using her trusted method of 'looking out the window'. It looked as if it was clearing up, so we made the decision to head over to Le Grand Pressigny to see if anyone else had the same idea. As it happens our intrepid leader was there when we arrived and then a further six brave souls joined us.

 The walk was a circular route in the woods around L'Abbeye and its etang.

It was beautifully autumnal and the rain stayed off. It turned out also to be a mushroom gathering and educational walk with one of the ladies managing to fill a couple of bags with edible varieties and explanations and investigations on Google for others.

 

  

The longer we walked the more the weather improved...

you can see the difference in these two pics taken on the two occasions we passed the lake.

Forward planning...

Last week on our weekly randonnee we passed this set of gates - the owners of the land are obviously forward thinkers! 

Return to the randonnee and more pleasant surprises!

Pauline and I returned to walking with our local randonnee club yesterday after missing quite a few weeks due to work commitments and the weather. The walk was around the small village of Esves-le-Moutier

It was good to get back into the swing of things!

 

It was a hot sunny day but fortunately the walk offered a mix of open countryside and shade. 

 

 

A couple of pleasant surprises was a walk past this lovely property Les Brandelles which had been used as a convalescence hospital during the first world war but is now a beautiful house, which happens to have a public right-of-way passed its front door!

The other was arriving at the source of the river Esves...a magical place (more on this later)

Is chivalry dead? this image seems to ask but it was only after the ladies had vacated the bench that the men took their turn!

It was a lovely relaxing walk where all was calm...and colourful.

We even had a peek in the church which for me was a return visit having featured it as one of my 'Church on Sundays' way back in 2013.