Rando Patrimoine Gourmande | Au fil de la Tenaie, de Brassac à Jarnac | By Sandrine Richard and Hervé Martin

Guided and commented by Sandrine RICHARD guide-lecturer in the Jarnac region & Hervé MARTIN hiker passionate about history(s) & distiller in cognac know-how.

Another itinerary accessible to all, taking you along beautiful paths through the vineyards and along the banks of the Charente! Our main theme is the Tenaie, a tributary of the Charente river which rises in the commune of Les Métairies. With the Motte à Peljeau, we’ll tell you all about the history of this site dating back to the High Middle Ages, a witness to the feudal era and dependent on the seigneury of Jarnac, whose remains still shape the landscape. As we approach Jarnac, we’ll stop off at the foot of the ancient Logis de Nanclas dovecote, before making our way to Gué Renard in the Grands Maisons district. This is an ideal setting to evoke Jarnac’s Gallo-Roman past and the history of this ford over the river before the town had a bridge. From here, we’ll head for the Jardin Public de l’Ile Madame, then the Moulins district, where we’ll tell you a few wonderful pages of history about the city of Jarnac in the days of the Chabot lords, the river, trade and all the activity that was once intense in this peaceful district, in the shadow of the emblematic Courvoisier trading house, which opened there in 1828. Back in Brassac, near the Tenaie well, our morning hike will end on a gourmet note: a special Charentais Easter aperitif with traditional “cornuelles”!