Maillezais is in the Marais of the Vendee, a vast area of
flat land criss-crossed by thousands of water channels, large and small. This
is very similar to our home area of the Somerset Levels, both areas having been
marsh land before the local abbots decided to create a water system to drain the
marshes and create fertile farmland. The Somerset Levels were drained by the
abbots of Glastonbury and the Marais were drained by the abbots of Maillezais
Abbey. The two abbeys are now twinned and this led to the men’s choir that I
belong to, the Brue Boys, being twinned with the Voix de Marais choir. Our trip
down through western France gave us the opportunity to visit the home area of
the Voix de Marais.
In the morning we visited the ruins of the Maillezais Abbey.
The Abbey became an important cathedral before being destroyed in 1562 during
the Wars of Religion. It was then used as stone quarry in the 1800’s
paralleling Glastonbury Abbey that was destroyed during the Reformation and
also used as a quarry. The ruins are very interesting and, included in the
entrance fee, is a comprehensive guidebook in English, which made the visit
much more enjoyable. On a small rise and surrounded by the flat lands of the
Marais, the views from the top of the ruined tower were fantastic.
In the late morning we set off, intending to move much further
south but only drove about 20 km when we came across Coulon, set in the heart
of ‘Green Venice’. This area is in a part of the Marais which has even more
water channels and it is a big tourist attraction. Traditional flat-bottomed
boats, similar to Venice’s gondolas but not as fancy, are punted or paddled
through the water channels with overhanging weeping willows. Trips of various
lengths are offered or you can hire a boat yourself. We took the option of a
walk along the waterways to the pretty village of La Garette.
We had visited with the tourist information office in Coulon
where the man told us that he was sure that the local bar would be showing the
rugby (England v Wales) that evening. He was wrong! We had a good meal in a
local restaurant before returning to Henrietta in the local aire to follow the
match on text via the Internet. We lost and it was probably just as well that
we didn’t see the match – it would have been far too stressful!
Photos: The Maillezais Abbey; Fortified later in it’s life,
the abbey walls are quite impressive. In other areas it was protected by a
moat; Until the 1960s, the barge (‘batai’) was the main form of transport in
the Marais, used for fishing, hunting, passenger transport and carrying all
types of goods. They came in different lengths and widths suitable for the
different waterways. In La Gerette there were many old photographs of barges
loaded with people, dung for fertilizing the fields, floating hayricks and
people on horseback; There were also many pictures of cows being transported –
they must have been quite docile or they would have ended up in the canal. This
cow was very calm – we didn’t see it move at all; A guided and punted tour;
Paddling their own batai; The French are very keen to have fresh bread once or
twice every day and there are bakeries everywhere but, if you are too far from
a boulangerie, here is another option – a baguette machine, €1 a time.
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