A beautiful deer track on the wet road reminds us that big game is at home here. “It is not sparing our plantations with deer and we are negotiating quotas with the hunters’ federation to regulate their presence,” explains Sébastien Spirkel, also pointing to strips of land roamed under the trees by a herd of wild boars. A few bare tops in the canopy indicate the delayed effect of the heat wave of past years on certain trees, without spoiling the impression of greenery.
Resurrection of Hermes
Leaving the forest with a stele commemorating the resistance fighters of Roger’s group who took refuge there in the fight against the Nazi invaders, we make our way to the perched Château de l’Herm and find Jacquou in crisis. . Because it really is a proud building of the 16th centurye In the 19th century, local villagers set fire to avenge Count Nansac’s abuses. Abandoned and demolished around 1830, it is fully resurrected after being bought by Nicolas De Laage de Meux in 2020.
“L’Herm is dear to the heart of the Périgourdins, because many come to play in this ruin, which smells of history and is open to all winds,” praises the buyer, whose profession as a rescuer of old stones coincides with childhood games. in the dilapidated castle of Saintongeais. After it was classified as a historic monument in 2022, he mobilized his estate, government aid and a welcome prize from the Heritage Lotto to begin ambitious restoration work with the help of Olivier Salmon, chief architect of historic monuments.
IN THE REGION’S EMBLEMIC FORESTS 3/5 Between the mouths of the Jirond and the Seudre, the coastal massif of Coubre and Combots d’Ansoine is a tourist paradise, where the line of dunes is stabilized against erosion. the coast remains an important conservation problem
Monumental restoration
From above the tower’s pier, you can see the rolling hills of the Barade Forest on the horizon. And in the attic, another “forest” of raised shell framing reveals its oak planks and chestnut posts: “The volume of wood needed for this restoration is one-fifth of the frame of Notre-Dame de Paris,” he points out. Nicolas De Laage admired the work of the Compagnons du Devoir and the monumental spiral staircase that survived the ruins of the castle.
In the windows, the restorer shows small stained-glass windows: we can see Jacquon’s cottage, Abbot Bonal in his headdress, the attack by a gang of crunchers, and then the burning of the castle. “I made them from picture books from the 1930s.” Admiring the ornate ceilings and vast fireplaces built by Jean II de Calvimont since 1500, we measure the distance traveled and what must be covered because the construction site is monumental, so the castle and the forest of Barade can reunite their centuries-old gardens.