My walk of the day in Chaumes-en-Retz

The Arthon à la Sicaudais circuit offers a route that winds through varied landscapes that make this loop truly enchanting.

Damien Dufour describes himself as a somewhat "zebra" artist.
A photographer in love with nature, he is more at ease in the silence than in the tumult of the city. "Behind every memory is a journey. And the possibility of living."
It is in this perspective that Damien traveled the circuits of Destination Pornic. He shares his beautiful adventures through his travel diaries.
 

The circuit begins in the picturesque and charming village of La Sicaudais.
You can visit the Sainte Victoire church and enjoy the modern and fun playground for your children, located near the lake.
You will quickly leave the main road to venture on bucolic paths: they will lead you to green meadows bordered by thick hedges, paths winding through undergrowth with a thousand scents and perfumes.
You will pass through farms and hamlets and discover small villages with typical architecture of the Pays de Retz: low houses with "bootstem" tiled roofs sometimes embellished with sponge cake and openings made of local briquettes. The circuit then offers an immersion in the forest, in which you can stop for a moment to enjoy the freshness and the song of the birds.
 

A first loop will take you to La Vignerie, which you will discover at the end of a magnificent plant tunnel, lined with oaks and chestnut trees mixing their branches to create a natural matrix of deep green, from which some skylights sometimes filter through.
 

The path will take you on a brief section of the road to Arthon-en-Retz, before branching off shortly after Les Landes Fleuries towards the villages of La Feuillardais and Le Poirier.
The architecture of yesteryear in the hinterland of Pornic silently bears witness to a rich history, which has survived the ages.
The small villages have retained their typical characteristics of the Pays de Retz: low houses with "boot stem" tiled roofs sometimes embellished with sponge cake and openings made of local briquettes.
 

Once this parenthesis is closed, the circuit will follow beautiful meadows with shimmering colors, where many herds of cows graze: if you are patient enough, they will come closer and come to see you, piqued by curiosity.

Then expect to be scrutinized by a large number of very gentle looks: this will allow you to enter gently, with a big smile on your face, into the shady undergrowth that allows you to return to La Sicaudais , with the impression of being immersed in an ocean of calm and greenery.
 

The loop will then invite you to discover the village from its heights, entering it from the back of the 19th century church with its "arrow-tower-porch" and the small streets which line it, populated by sometimes colored houses, which give the village a picturesque and unique face.
 

Practical information :
Circuit d'Arthon à La Sicaudais
Departure point : Picnic area of ​​the Sicaudais lake
10,5 km
2h30 on foot
1 hour by bike

To see nearby :
Chapel of the Petite Sicaudais with a leaning bell tower