The best road cycling routes around Sainte-Colombe

In the Middle Ages, Barbezieu served the surrounding villages and hamlets as a market, craft and court location. The area is still largely agricultural, with winegrowing playing a leading role: the small town lies in the south of the Cognac wine-growing region and is part of the Petite Champagne region; Pineau des Charentes, a type of liqueur wine, is also produced here. The Barbezieux breed of chicken (poule de Barbezieux) is known nationwide. Several small and medium-sized industrial companies (food packaging, furniture manufacturing, agricultural machinery) have settled in the industrial areas (zones industrielles) outside the town.

The 21.5-kilometre greenway linking Châteauneuf-sur-Charente to Saint-Mariens Saint Yzan offers a nature getaway through the picturesque landscapes of Charente. This route, perfectly designed for cyclists, winds between vineyards, forests and fields

This cycle path connects Chantillac and Clérac on a perfect surface.

You have to be very careful with the roots of the acacias which lift the bitumen in places as well as the thorns of these trees. Otherwise very pleasant.

Consider deviating from the cycle path for a few minutes. Church your real the detour

An old Romanesque church like many churches in this region. It has its cemetery and is only open on religious holidays. As for the town, it has less than 200 inhabitants, there are no amenities, no shops, no cafes.

Some sections of the track are damaged by tree roots and dangerous on a road bike. I often prefer to go by road.

The church is in the form of a rectangle thirty meters long and ten meters wide, flanked by 4 buttresses, one of which is located on the north wing and the 3 others on the south wing, a bell tower and a small extension on the south west part housing a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Massive building, reinforced by buttresses, low and poorly lit, it has a facade with a Romanesque portal surmounted by a large rose window. This gate is made up of 2 straight legs, and a projecting coving made up of 3 semicircular rollers with a keystone. The oculus rose is surrounded by a frieze with a sawtooth motif. The porch opens onto a single nave 22 m long by 9 wide without side aisles. It is made up of 4 bays with semi-circular vaults. The south wall is pierced under the 1st bay with a large semi-circular arch giving access to the chapel. The north wall has a pulpit which bears a monogram which would be that of Louis XIV. The choir of the church, raised from the nave by 3 steps, consists of a flat chevet and a span of semi-circular vaults. The bedside wall is pierced at each end with a rectangular door allowing access to the sacristy. The old sacristy has just been refurbished and has a very modern look with paneling on the floor and ceiling. The chapel of the Virgin is located on the southern extension of the church. It measures 13.50 m long by 7 wide, and consists of a small single nave 10 m long by 7 wide and a choir with a flat apse. The floor of this chapel is 1.25 m lower than the floor of the church corresponding to the initial floor of the old abbey. Access to the bell tower is through a door located on the east wall of the nave of the chapel. It consists of 4 floors and a vaulted ground floor. The facing is made up of medium-sized cut stone for the ground floor and the 1st floor and rubble stone coated with brown lime for the 2nd and 3rd floors.