Secondigny, Deux Sevres

Description:

Geography and Transport Links

Secondigny is a small town (commune area 37.34km²) situated towards the western side of Deux Sevres, to the north and west of the Poitou Charentes region.  The town is 14km west of Parthenay on the D949, and the D748 reaches Bressuire to the north (28km).  Niort is 36km to the south.  There is no rail link here, and Niort is the closest for both regional and high speed (TGV) services.  The nearest commercial airport is at Poitiers Biard (70km), but a wider range of year-round services are available from La Rochelle (94km).
See also:  Parthenay

Climate

Climate here is driven by the Atlantic Ocean, and is therefore temperate year-round.  Average summer temperatures are 24C to 27C (13C to 15C low), and in winter this drops to 9C to 10C (3C to 4C low).  Wettest months are Oct, Nov and Dec (94mm), whilst June is the driest month with 39mm.  Secondigny is within an area that receives around 2000 hours of sunshine per year.

Tourism

Renowned for its surrounding apple orchards, Secondigny is a rural town and home to the Reinette Clochard apple (also known as the Reinette de Parthenay).  There is a 14km orchard trail at Le Bois de l'Aumonerie, with a number of separate themed trails mapped out and educational notice boards.  The forests at Secondigny and Mosnerie also provide defined walking paths.  The Les Effres Lake offers a number of activities such as mini-golf, fishing, pedalos, a swimming pool, boules pitch and picnic area, and there are tennis courts nearby.  This is also where the municipal camping site is situated.  Nearby at Mazieres (14km) is an 18 hole golf course, and at Moutieres sous Chantemerle (21km) there is a go-karting track.  Secondigny is the source of both the Thouet and the Sevre Nantaise rivers.

Facilities

There is a supermarket, shops and restaurants here, and there is a municipal campsite called Moulin des Effres, located near the lake.  The site has 90 pitches and covers 10ha, and includes a restaurant overlooking the lake.

Economy

Secondigny is part of the Nord Deux Sevres economic zone, which has an unemployment rate of 5.9%, compared against the regional rate of 8.6% and the national rate of 9.1% (INSEE 2006). 

Education

Secondigny has a state nursery school and a private primary school, but the nearest state primary and secondary schools can be found in Azay sur Thouet (2km), where there is also a private secondary school.  The colleges (lycee) are available in Saint Aubin le Claud (11km) or Parthenay (16km).

Key Stats

Most of the properties in Secondigny are main residences 84.4%, and 4.2% of properties are classed as second homes.  There are more people aged 60 or over than the national average (37.00% vs 21.3%), and the number of retired people is also higher (33.2% vs 18.2%).  18.6% of the local population are under 19 years of age.  There are fewer males than females resident here (49.4% vs 50.6%).

Key Facilities and Services: