The best traffic-free bike rides around Le Perrier

The Saint-Martin church is a 11th and 12th century church located in Sallertaine, France. It belongs to the diocese of Luçon. It is dedicated to Saint Martin. This church is the remnant of an old priory founded at the beginning of the 11th century, dependent on the abbey of Marmoutier. Some masonry from the primitive church remains in the walls. The current state of the building is the result of a major reconstruction carried out at the end of the 12th century. The church was consecrated in 1173 by the bishop of Poitiers. The vaulting of the crossing of the transept presents a unique curiosity in the West of France. Clearly seeking to imitate the so-called Plantagenet Gothic style, the master mason, who does not seem familiar with this new technique, created a Romanesque dome, sufficient in itself, which he adorned with ribs, without structural necessity, but which gives it an appearance evoking the Angevin vaults. Some elements of frescoes remain in the nave, which was once entirely covered, particularly an exceptional crucifixion where Christ still has his eyes open. Part of the nave was demolished. The church suffered damage in 1568 during the Wars of Religion. Major restorations took place from 1617 onwards. The narrow Romanesque windows were enlarged, the crossing is surmounted by a timber spire. Three altarpieces adorn the apse and the transepts, leading to the destruction of the south absidiole and the installation of the sacristy in the south one, separated from the transept by a wall supporting the new altar. Damaged during the revolution, becoming too narrow in the 19th century, it was replaced by a new parish church in 1906. It should then have been destroyed, but Father Grelier, an archaeology enthusiast, managed to have it classified as a historical monument in 1910 and 1912. However, the classification did not include the western end of the nave, which the municipality had demolished in 1915. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancienne_%C3%A9glise_Saint-Martin_de_Sallertaine

The Saint-Martin church is an 11th and 12th century church located in Sallertaine, France[1]. It belongs to the diocese of Luçon. It is dedicated to Saint Martin. This church is the remainder of an old priory founded at the beginning of the 11th century, dependent on the abbey of Marmoutier. Some masonry from the primitive church remains in the walls. The current state of the building is the result of a major reconstruction carried out at the end of the 12th century. The church was consecrated in 1173 by the bishop of Poitiers. The vaulting of the crossing of the transept presents a unique curiosity in Western France. Clearly seeking to imitate the so-called Plantagenet Gothic style, the master mason, who does not seem familiar with this new technique, created a Romanesque dome, sufficient in itself, which he adorned with ribs, without structural necessity, but which gives it an appearance evoking the Angevin vaults. Some elements of frescoes remain in the nave, which was once entirely covered, particularly an exceptional crucifixion because Christ still has his eyes open. Part of the nave has been demolished. The church suffered damage in 1568 during the Wars of Religion. Major restorations took place from 1617. The narrow Romanesque windows were enlarged, the crossing is surmounted by a timber spire. Three altarpieces adorn the apse and the transepts, leading to the destruction of the south absidiole and the installation of the sacristy in the southern one, separated from the transept by a wall supporting the new altar. Damaged during the revolution, becoming too narrow in the 19th century, it was replaced by a new parish church in 1906. It should then have been destroyed, but Abbot Grelier, passionate about archaeology, managed to have it classified as a historical monument in 1910 and 1912. However, the classification only included the western end of the nave, which the municipality had demolished in 1915. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancienne_%C3%A9glise_Saint-Martin_de_Sallertaine

Do yourself a favour and, from the bridge, just look to the right, to the left and out to sea. The view of the coast is a sorry sight. French concrete architecture at its worst.

The Château would date from the mid-13th century; at the time it was a true fortress, flanked by six towers and surrounded by wide moats. From the 12th to the 14th century, this fortified castle served as a lock between Brittany and Poitou, in this border region where numerous strongholds stood: Pornic, Machecoul, Clisson, Tiffauges, Champtocé in the Marches of Brittany facing Commequiers, La Garnache, Palluau, Montaigu, Pouzauges, in lower Poitou. In the 17th century, Philippe de Clérembault, who inherited the family estate, was promoted to Marshal of France by the young King Louis XIV, and then undertook to rebuild his Château de Palluau to transform the old fortress into a modern castle, retaining the six large medieval towers and including between them a building covered with a Mansart roof, topped by a dome. The Marshal's castle was a unique building in all of Poitou: "the most regular and the most accomplished that exists in the region", according to Claude Masse, famous engineer-geographer to Louis XIV. Abandoned by its owners during the Revolution, the large empty residence served as a stronghold for the royalists in 1793 and its underground passages, as dungeons for republican prisoners. On February 8, 1794, a Republican Column set fire to the Château and the Church of Palluau. The site has never been rebuilt, nor even consolidated since. It remains in a state of ruin abandoned to vegetation. The Château de Palluau must have been a magnificent residence, judging by the imposing ruins that remain and by the plans and watercolor drawings by Claude Masse, which are preserved at the Museum of Engineering in Vincennes.

Very beautiful trail along the lake. On the other hand, I do not recommend doing it by bike on weekends as it is relatively narrow and quickly saturated with pedestrians/cyclists/dogs... During the week it is perfect!

I couldn't get as close as guigui during his hike because a barrier blocked the path. You can see it well despite everything.

It's very beautiful there because there's a long, beautiful beach next to the Ferris wheel.

A concrete hell.