The beautiful Marais Poitevin

The Marais Poitevin is made up of 100,000 hectares of marshland stretching from the town of Niort to the sea. The “Marais Mouille” (the wetlands) of the Deux-Sevres criss-crosses 7,000 hectares and is characterised by tree-lined waterways rich in aquatic life and vegetation. This is a unique landscape, often referred to as the “Venise Vert” (the Green Venice) or the “Cathedrale de Verdure”.

The marshlands were reedbeds up until the 1800’s when the locals dug the trenches by hand for the waterways and the Sevre Niortaise river was redirected to fill them. The narrow waterways were lined with ash trees whose deep root systems formed a dense network which now shores up the riverbanks.

The Marais Poitevin is a fascinating area to visit and the best way to get around is by boat. In the picturesque small town of Coulon it is possible to spend an afternoon traversing the waterways by “barque”. These small riverboats are capable of carrying approximately 10 people along with a tour guide who expertly navigates the waterways whilst sharing their local knowledge of the area.

Surprisingly, the river reaches depths of up to 50 metres although it is mostly more shallow. Nevertheless, non-swimmers and young children are encouraged to wear life-jackets which are usually provided free of charge.

This area is offers wonderful photographic opportunities and the history of the people who live and work on the riverbanks fascinating.
The local postmen make their deliveries by boat as does any other caller to each dwelling. Cattle are moved around by rivercraft and logs from cut-down trees were once dragged to the sawmills behind barges along these routes.

Each small island is completely surrounded by water. Because of this, the cattle cannot roam and rabbits do not burrow here as they cannot traverse the water. Amazingly, there are reputedly very few mosquitoes in these marshlands. The abundance of dragonflies and other insects feed on the mosquito larvae, repressing their numbers.