4K | Mirambeau to Surgères | Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region | France | 2024 | #83

Starting on the A10 E5 highway near Mirambeau, we head north towards Surgères.
Filmed in March 2024.
Mirambeau is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwestern France.
Mirambeau is situated on the Via Turonensis, the ancient pilgrimage route from Paris to Santiago de Compostela via Tours.
The inhabitants of the town of Mirambeau are called Mirambeaulais.
First mentioned in the 11th century, the magnificent Chateau Mirambeau is situated on a 40 metre high hill overlooking the town. Today it is used as a 5-star hotel with 22 rooms and a restaurant.
Surgères is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department, southwestern France. It is the home of the Surgères 48 Hour Race.
To the north lies the town of Saint-Georges-du-Bois, to the northwest Puyravault and Vouhé, to the west Péré, to the southwest Saint-Germain-de-Marencennes, to the south Vandré, to the southeast Breuil-la-Réorte, to the east Saint-Mard, and to the northeast Saint-Saturnin-du-Bois.
Surgères is in the north of the department of Charente-Maritime, equidistant from the towns of Niort, La Rochelle, Rochefort and Saint-Jean-d'Angély. The village is south of the Marais Poitevin and east of the ancient province of Aunis.
The town's name came from the Gères, the stream that runs through it. It empties into the Devise, which flows into the Charente.
Surgères has a temperate climate but in December 1999, like all of the department, was hit by the second European windstorm of the season, codenamed Martin.
The A10 autoroute gives access at Exit 33 (Niort-La Rochelle) to the northeast of the town and Exit 34 (Saint-Jean-d'Angély) to the southeast.
The old Route nationale 11 (RN11) passes through the town. This road, reclassified to Route Départementale 911, connects Mauzé-sur-le-Mignon to Rochefort. Route nationale 139, running from La Rochelle to Périgueux, passed through Surgères and Angoulême and has been declassified to Route Départementale 939.
Surgères railway station connects the capital by TGV, and is also on the TER Nouvelle-Aquitaine regional railway network. It is part of the program of Gares en mouvement, which aims to modernise the largest stations of the SNCF (French National Railway Company).
The railway arrived in Surgères in 1857 thanks to the Chemin de fer de Paris à Orléans. The Poitiers-La Rochelle line was electrified in 1993 to allow the TGV to run up to La Rochelle railway station. The line from Surgères to Marans which was part of the Freycinet Plan can also be traced.
The closest airports are La Rochelle - Île de Ré Airport and Rochefort - Saint-Agnant Airport.
The Canton of Surgères is part of the Charente-Maritime's 2nd constituency where the delegate is Frédérique Tuffnell.
The town of Surgères is known for its activities in the food farming industry, especially milk processing. Of equal promininence is boilermaking and engineering.
The engineering sector with Poyaud diesel engines became Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques, then Wärtsilä Diesel. The Surgères site produced Char Leclerc engines but also engines for railcars and locomotives, and marine engines. This technology is also used in the production of large electric generators for hospitals, industry and offices of large companies.
There are many other companies at this site, such as Sassaro (specialising in stainless steel for the dairy and pharmaceutical industries) and Saro (specialising in precision engineering).
The Sibcas slaughterhouse employs around fifty people and is near the creamery. Every October Surgères hosts a livestock show.
Despite there being a carpentry school there is no furniture industry. In the neighbouring commune of Saint-Germain-de-Marencennes there is the Sofec factory, owned by Teissa the kitchen designer.
The town has two major media for the north of Charente-Maritime -
- Radio Hélène FM (Surgères 89 FM, Saint-Jean d'Angély 102.9 FM), a general radio station with local information. It is the organiser of the singing competition Les Voix Lactées ("Milky Voices").
- The newspaper L'hebdo de la Charente-Maritime ("Charente-Maritime Weekly"), published by Groupe Sud Ouest, which has many regional correspondents. It prints local information for the northern cantons of Charente-Maritime.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirambe...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surgères
My Equipment -
Camera - amzn.to/3PlgZfB
Camera 2 - amzn.to/3Ve90os
Memory Card - amzn.to/43eHMA8
Suction Mount - amzn.to/3PhHbaU
Multi Charger - amzn.to/3Vz3T2z
Power Bank - amzn.to/3PlBrNo
Laptop - amzn.to/3wZTySI
External Hard Drive - amzn.to/43iBcbL
Portable Power Station - amzn.to/3IBe92k
Please Subscribe, it helps us more than you can imagine - bit.ly/3GTLtQv