FOR THE LOVE OF NATUREIN PAGEAS

Meet Jean-Pierrre, on the Musical Trail

Born in Pageas, Jean-Pierre is no stranger to the town where he grew up. Having been elected to the village council in 2020, he knows every inch of its treasures. Very involved in local associations, he is currently vice-president of Pageas Loisirs, an association that organizes a winter Full Moon hike, spring and autumn hikes, an annual garden barter and participates in the commune’s summer markets. He is also a delegate for the Jeunesses Musicales de France in the Châlus area, organizing 2 concerts a year for the children of the 9 schools in the area.

Jean-Pierre Rigout

Elected in the commune of Pageas.

The birth of the project

Initiated in 2005 by the mayor at the time, Mr. Dubeau (organist) and Mr. Contamine (nurseryman), the Pageas music trail was conceived with the aim of combining music and plants. And the idea of linking the rest area at the entrance to the village, the starting point of the musical trail, to the Mas-Nadaud fortified house owned by the PNR Périgord Limousin reinforced this project. The idea of this link, still on the drawing board, has not been forgotten.

On October 15, 2007, the project was inaugurated and the trail welcomed its first visitors. Jorg Demus (1928-2019), the world-famous Austrian pianist, was the patron. Two years later, an initial booklet was added to the trail, and a second, more enriched version was published in 2011. An updated version was published in 2022. The booklet is available free of charge at the starting point of the music trail, and enables visitors to identify the species present and their use in making musical instruments. Jean-Pierre, a good mathematician, has counted the distribution of no less than 4,000 copies of this booklet since its launch.

Emerging ideas

Expertly maintained by employees of the Pageas commune, the music trail has also benefited from a refreshment of its signage last year.

The 1.4 km loop can be walked in one to two hours, depending on your mood and the pace of your discoveries, and takes you through a pretty little arboretum before plunging into the shade of the wooded estate. Trees, shrubs and flowers live side by side all year round, to the delight of locals, motor-home owners, hikers and visitors alike. First in 2021, then in August 2023, 2 educational cabins will be installed. One will be devoted to the flora present, and the second to the birds seen and/or heard on the trail. Two members of the Pageas Loisirs association, one a botanist and the other an ornithologist, have checked the information in the 2 huts. The latter even provided plans for nesting boxes and feeders to be built back home.

Aire de camping cars - Sentier Musical de Pageas

A future project

In time for the 2024 European Heritage Days, and with the aim of organizing a heritage walk, the commune of Pageas, in conjunction with the owners of the sites concerned, would like to create a link with the Mas Nadaud fortified house, a project that is being considered for the creation of a music trail.

Jean-Pierre's favorite

There’s no doubt about it, this is the Templiers et Hospitaliers hiking trail, listed in the Haute-Vienne Departmental Plan of Walking and Hiking Routes (PDIPR) and well-marked. Starting from the historically rich hamlet of Chenevières and its 11th or 12th century Hospitaller church, this 14 km route takes you on a journey of discovery of Pageas’ rich heritage, with 6 heritage panels installed along the way by the municipality. These include the former Templar commandery of Puybonnieux, the Temple mill, the Gallo-Roman remains of La Jourdanie and the fine Devoirs fountain. It’s a hike that Jean-Pierre loves to take, and is happy to recommend!