Entre Bois et Prairies

At the start, leave the church parking lot and cross the D295, straight ahead in the direction of point N°2 " Au Foy Roland ", continue your walk serenely by charming shaded paths. Admire the superb views towards Saint Bonnet de Cray.

Join the D295 that you follow for about 1 km until the intersection marked by a crossroads, enter the wood until the point N°3 " Le Bois Moulin ", then turn right until the point N°4 " Machin ". There, turn right and go down gently along the Sornin valley, with views of Châteauneuf, Saint Maurice les Châteauneuf, Saint Martin de Lixy, the mountains of Dun and Dunet.

Arrive at the point N°5 " La Matrouille " there, it is from the opposite side of the Sornin valley that you can best appreciate the beauty of the site and the manor of La Matrouille (walk n°8) built on the remains of a 12th century stronghold. One can admire the large arched cart door with a pedestrian door on the left.

Continue until you reach point N°6 "Popet", turn right and continue your ascent until point N°7 "La Creuzette". A beautiful view is offered to you, all the Brionnaise countryside, made there again of hedges and meadows. On the right before arriving on the D295 admire once again the church of Saint Edmond. To enter the village, take the central street, lined with houses that used to be shops of all kinds and numerous cafés.

What made the wealth of this very young commune was its numerous ochre limestone quarries all dug at the base of the western slope of the Sornin, in the valley and its stone cutters, at the Grandes Avaises, at Foy Roland, at La Goutte Berthaud, at La Matrouille, La Barre, Popet, Mondelin, La Creuzette, Font-perouge, Baligand, Le Charme, La Plaineur, all these places located to the east of the main road of the Avaises, that is to say, the current D295.

The commune no longer has any of these places, but the tradition of good building persists and maintains a cachet of monumental opulence that is not unworthy of that of its neighboring communes.

Finally, as you cross the village, admire the view to the left over Saint-Julien-de-Jonzy and to the right over the villages of Coublanc and Saint-Igny-de-Roche.