RoutesFranceNew AquitaineSaintesSaujon
Sablonceaux Abbey – Tour de Pirelonge loop from Le Train des Mouettes - Saujon
RoutesFranceNew AquitaineSaintesSaujon
Sablonceaux Abbey – Tour de Pirelonge loop from Le Train des Mouettes - Saujon
Easy
3.0
(1)
6
riders
Sablonceaux Abbey – Tour de Pirelonge loop from Le Train des Mouettes - Saujon
01:51
30.6km
100m
Gravel riding
Easy gravel ride. Great for any fitness level. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.
Last updated: September 26, 2026
Waypoints
A
Start point
Train Station
1
30 m
Le Train des Mouettes
Highlight • Monument
The Train des Mouettes offers an authentic experience, to enjoy with family or friends. A journey through time along the Seudre estuary on a railway line opened in 1876 and formerly dedicated to the transport of oysters. With the privilege of being towed by one of its two steam locomotives, dated 1912, and 1891, the oldest in working order in France, classified as a historic monument!
On board cars from the early twentieth century, between Saujon and La Tremblade via Chaillevette and Mornac-sur-Seudre, you will discover from the volunteers of the Trains et Traction association, the richness of the landscapes, the salt marshes and the oyster beds which litter the line. All the personnel, in machines as in cars, are volunteers, trained in driving and safety. The operation and overhaul of the machines is the result of the meticulous work of enthusiasts!
On board cars from the early twentieth century, between Saujon and La Tremblade via Chaillevette and Mornac-sur-Seudre, you will discover from the volunteers of the Trains et Traction association, the richness of the landscapes, the salt marshes and the oyster beds which litter the line. All the personnel, in machines as in cars, are volunteers, trained in driving and safety. The operation and overhaul of the machines is the result of the meticulous work of enthusiasts!
Translated by Google •
Tip by
2
753 m
Hunting lock
Highlight • Other
The flushing lock is located at the head of the port, between the north bank's embankment and the south bank's quay. A retention basin, occupying the non-navigable Seudre riverbed as far as Saujon, follows the flushing lock. Within the retention basin, rubble stone embankments extend the lock's return walls for a few meters. The lock itself forms a bridge carrying a road.
The lock bridge consists of two piers, forming three arches, each housing two gates. On the upstream side of the lock, the piers have semicircular cutwaters. The three bands are stacked and terminate in clamps.
The lock ends with a cornice resting on modillions. The cornice follows the shape of the cutwaters. A metal balustrade, also semicircular in shape, is fixed to the top of the lock. This balustrade is framed by two stone moldings.
The sluice gate and its upstream and downstream return walls are constructed of dressed stone. The masonry is of medium and regular quality, except for the coping of the return walls, which features large and regular masonry.
The upstream north return wall is lower than the one on the south bank. A small parapet of recently constructed white rubble masonry surmounts it.
The sluice gate is equipped with metal gates, the modern racks of which are visible.
The first sluice gate was built around 1825 on the site of a former tidal mill. During the works carried out between 1839 and 1842, the sluice gate's embankment was modified to allow the passage of vehicles. Between 1847 and 1853, the lock was enlarged to allow for larger flushes, and the reservoir was excavated. Return walls were also built to connect the flushing lock to the riprap. It was then restored in 1865 and completely rebuilt between 1868 and 1869.
The lock is 10.50 m wide, and its gates are each 1.50 m wide. The reservoir is 700 m long and has an average width of 30 m.
The lock bridge consists of two piers, forming three arches, each housing two gates. On the upstream side of the lock, the piers have semicircular cutwaters. The three bands are stacked and terminate in clamps.
The lock ends with a cornice resting on modillions. The cornice follows the shape of the cutwaters. A metal balustrade, also semicircular in shape, is fixed to the top of the lock. This balustrade is framed by two stone moldings.
The sluice gate and its upstream and downstream return walls are constructed of dressed stone. The masonry is of medium and regular quality, except for the coping of the return walls, which features large and regular masonry.
The upstream north return wall is lower than the one on the south bank. A small parapet of recently constructed white rubble masonry surmounts it.
The sluice gate is equipped with metal gates, the modern racks of which are visible.
The first sluice gate was built around 1825 on the site of a former tidal mill. During the works carried out between 1839 and 1842, the sluice gate's embankment was modified to allow the passage of vehicles. Between 1847 and 1853, the lock was enlarged to allow for larger flushes, and the reservoir was excavated. Return walls were also built to connect the flushing lock to the riprap. It was then restored in 1865 and completely rebuilt between 1868 and 1869.
The lock is 10.50 m wide, and its gates are each 1.50 m wide. The reservoir is 700 m long and has an average width of 30 m.
Translated by Google •
Tip by
3
14.0 km
Too bō
Highlight • Other
4
14.5 km
Sablonceaux Abbey
Highlight • Other
Founded in 1136 by Geoffroy de Lauroux thanks to a gift from Guillaume X, Duke of Aquitaine, the Abbey of Sablonceaux was a high place of prayer for the Canons Regular of Saint Augustine for six centuries.
Translated by Google •
Tip by
5
18.8 km
Saint-Romain Church of Saint-Romain-de-Benet
Highlight • Religious Site
The city retains a sometimes little-known heritage: its Romanesque church, whose characteristic silhouette dominates the surroundings, is an inseparable element, as is the tower of Pirelonge, a former Gallo-Roman beacon.
This rather atypical-looking building is the result of a multitude of reconstructions spread over nearly 8 centuries. If the first stone of the sanctuary was laid in the 12th century (the groups of columns bear carved capitals of 12th century invoice), this one will be very damaged following a fire, which occurred at the end of the Middle Ages during the Wars of Religion. Rebuilt economically, it was decided, around the 17th century, to restore it.
Ransacked in 1793, victim of revolutionary looting, the church remained under construction for a large part of the 19th century, when the vaults of the choir were replaced in 1830, before the Romanesque bell tower was raised, then in 1843 its apse and finally, in 1883, its facade was rebuilt in imitation of the Romanesque style (this one is pierced with an oculus, surmounting a portal with 4 archivolts resting on columns with capitals).
The characteristic/original element of this church is its line of cupolas, built in 1901 and left visible. Built in cement, they give the building a false oriental air. The sanctuary, which must originally have been in the shape of a Latin cross, has retained from its original structure only a nave made up of four bays, extended by a choir in a cul-de-four, which is pierced with seven bays. . 8 half-columns, distributed along the apse, serve as buttresses. The square bell tower rises on a spherical dome with pendentives; it retains a series of Romanesque arches in its lower part and is pierced with three thin openings in its upper part, according to a layout found in the church of Berneuil, a few dozen kilometers away.
The interior retains furniture dating mainly from the 19th century.
Several plaster statues, of rather naive invoice, are visible in the nave: they notably represent Saint Michael and Joan of Arc. The apse, cul-de-four, is decorated with murals representing a Christ in Majesty. At the entrance to the nave, on the left side, a capital dating from the 12th century has plant motifs. We will appreciate the majesty of the domes on pendentives, some of the capitals and the diagonal arrangement of the two altars between the nave and the heart.
Church open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. – Tel. 05-46-22-53-34
This rather atypical-looking building is the result of a multitude of reconstructions spread over nearly 8 centuries. If the first stone of the sanctuary was laid in the 12th century (the groups of columns bear carved capitals of 12th century invoice), this one will be very damaged following a fire, which occurred at the end of the Middle Ages during the Wars of Religion. Rebuilt economically, it was decided, around the 17th century, to restore it.
Ransacked in 1793, victim of revolutionary looting, the church remained under construction for a large part of the 19th century, when the vaults of the choir were replaced in 1830, before the Romanesque bell tower was raised, then in 1843 its apse and finally, in 1883, its facade was rebuilt in imitation of the Romanesque style (this one is pierced with an oculus, surmounting a portal with 4 archivolts resting on columns with capitals).
The characteristic/original element of this church is its line of cupolas, built in 1901 and left visible. Built in cement, they give the building a false oriental air. The sanctuary, which must originally have been in the shape of a Latin cross, has retained from its original structure only a nave made up of four bays, extended by a choir in a cul-de-four, which is pierced with seven bays. . 8 half-columns, distributed along the apse, serve as buttresses. The square bell tower rises on a spherical dome with pendentives; it retains a series of Romanesque arches in its lower part and is pierced with three thin openings in its upper part, according to a layout found in the church of Berneuil, a few dozen kilometers away.
The interior retains furniture dating mainly from the 19th century.
Several plaster statues, of rather naive invoice, are visible in the nave: they notably represent Saint Michael and Joan of Arc. The apse, cul-de-four, is decorated with murals representing a Christ in Majesty. At the entrance to the nave, on the left side, a capital dating from the 12th century has plant motifs. We will appreciate the majesty of the domes on pendentives, some of the capitals and the diagonal arrangement of the two altars between the nave and the heart.
Church open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. – Tel. 05-46-22-53-34
Translated by Google •
Tip by
6
20.2 km
Tour de Pirelonge
Highlight • Monument
Pirelonge Tower in Saint-Romain-de-Benet. The Pirelonge Tower is a Gallo-Roman stone tower. This monument, certainly built under the Roman Empire on the edge of the ancient road linking Saintes to Bordeaux, is a cenotaph in the form of a solid column, 24 m high, with a square section, crowned by a cone. (Wikipedia). Listed as a Historic Monument.
Translated by Google •
Tip by
7
20.3 km
Pirelonge Tower
Highlight • Other
The Tower of Pirelonge is a Gallo-Roman stone tower, also called pile. The dimensions of the tower are approximately 6 m by 6 m at the base, for a height of 25 m. It ends with a fairly well-preserved conical crowning.
The tower is located along the Roman road linking Saintes to Bordeaux.
Its exact role was long undetermined: terminal, bitter. We know today that it is a funerary monument dedicated to an important person. Within the enclosure of the pile were burials.
The tower is located along the Roman road linking Saintes to Bordeaux.
Its exact role was long undetermined: terminal, bitter. We know today that it is a funerary monument dedicated to an important person. Within the enclosure of the pile were burials.
Translated by Google •
Tip by
20.5 km
Bois de la Tour
Forest
9
26.1 km
La Seudre and the banana trees
Highlight • Other
great place to relax
Translated by Google •
Tip by
B
30.6 km
End point
Train Station
Way Types & Surfaces
Way Types
13.2 km
11.0 km
4.50 km
1.57 km
260 m
185 m
Surfaces
12.3 km
10.6 km
6.25 km
779 m
686 m
< 100 m
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Thursday 22 October
16°C
11°C
77 %
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Max wind speed: 36.0 km/h
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