The Legends Trail (2)
Description
To travel through the Ardennes is to journey through a landscape that has given rise to many legends. Its secret valleys, its deep forests and its fast-flowing rivers have created legends which have been passed down verbally from generation to generation and which come to life again when you actually walk along the pathways where they were created. In the Semois valley, wisps of mist dance around you, evoking the fairies flying around the village of Les Hayons, near Bouillon. In the Lesse valley, paths lead to a natural paradise that is jealously guarded by the Nutons. In the huge Ardennes Forest, you can hear the echo of the hooves of Bayard the horse as he carries away the four sons of Aymon fleeing Charlemagne, in a timeless, endless fantasy ride. The Legends Trail follows the gentle curves of the hillsides and rivers of this enchanting landscape which comes to life and tells its tales as you move through it.
Technical Information
Altimetric profile
Starting point
Points of interest
Les Dames de Meuse à Laifour et Revin
The Meuse comes up against three huge rocks. It’s an amazing sight, providing a vision of another country. So it’s hardly surprising that few people went there: it was said that the devil held diabolic meetings there…
Monthermé : Roc la Tour
The Celtic soul endures in the Ardenne… They say that these quartzite rocks may be the Cyclopean remains of a huge, ruined castle. Not true at all! Although this chaotic rock formation is perfectly natural, from prehistoric times it served as a bivouac. These days it is above all one of the loveliest spots in the region. Walking here, you can smell sulphur. A diabolical pact is said to have been made between a lord greedy for power and the devil himself. The former was to obtain a huge castle, the latter the soul of the lord, if the lord managed to complete the castle before the cock crowed. Just as he was setting the last stone of the building, the cock crowed, signalling the dawn. Too late! Out of fury, Satan destroyed the castle he had just built, sending huge blocks of stone hurtling down the mountainside to the bed of the Semoy river.
4 sons Aymon
The Ardenne is dotted with real or imaginary traces of the four rebellious brothers. What does it matter if the Geste took place in Montauban, Dinant or Bogny-sur-Meuse, the forest of the Ardenne was in fact to be their only refuge. In Bogny, the rocky ridge, set in stone, evokes the speed of the four brothers, fleeing the anger of Charlemagne. This outstanding site is accessible via a path through the wood leading to a panorama dominated by the statue of the four brothers, sought throughout Europe by Charlemagne’s army.
Office de tourisme communautaire des boucles de Meuse et Semoy
Place Jean-Baptiste Clément 08800 Monthermé Tél. : +33 (0)3 24 54 46 73 www.meuse-semoy-tourisme.com
Maison du tourisme du Pays de Bouillon
quai des Saulx, 12 - 6830 Bouillon +32 (0)61/46.52.11 info@bouillon-tourisme.be www.bouillon-tourisme.be Open all year round from Monday to Saturday from 10am to 6pm and on Sunday from 10am to 5 pm Closed on 25th December to 1st January
Royal Syndicat d'initiative de Bouillon
located at the entrance to the fortified castle esplanade Godefroid, 1 - 6830 Bouillon +32 (0)61/46.62.57 info@bouillon-initiative.be www.bouillon-initiative.be Open : - all year round except 25th December and 1st January - In December, January and February morning
Tourist information desk in Moyenne-Semois - Section locale du Royal Syndicat d'initiative de Bouillon
Reception : The Fairies’ Farm Mont de Zatrou, 1 6830 Bouillon Tel : 0032(0)61468917 www.si-moyennesemois.be Open all year round from 10am to 6pm, closed from 12.30 to 1.30pm Closed on Tuesday in July and August and on Tuesday and Wednesday from September to June
Maison du tourisme du Pays de la Haute-Lesse
place de l'Esro, 60 - 6890 Redu +32 (0)61/65.66.99 hautelesse@swing.be www.haute-lesse.be Open : - from 1st March to 31st October from 9am to 6pm - from 1st November to 28th February from 9.30am to 4.30pm
The castle and the legend of Godfrey of Bouillon
Even though the castle today bears little resemblance to that of 1096, it is well worth visiting as the presence of Duke Godfrey can still be sensed: a strange feeling pervades you as you stroll through the ruins, as if the shadow of this great leader of the first crusade could appear in the knight’s’ room or the spiral stairs at any moment… Within the castle walls, the sense of wonder continues when birds of prey rise up from the ruins and perform a heavenly ballet. This show brings to mind an age-old hunting technique: falconry.
The Fairies’ Farm
At the dawn of a new day in September, on Mont de Zatrou: the wisps of mist rise and fall in the Semois valley. These hangings, light as silk, take on human form in the popular imagination: the fairies are born. A few hundred metres from the beauty spot, the village of Les Hayons is blessed by fairies. Legend has it these ethereal beings protected the local people for centuries, before being betrayed by them. At the Fairies’ Farm, Marie-Laure Alff has recreated the enchanted world of these creatures, forming the heavenly beings by hand. With the soul of an artist, Marie-Laure paints as well. “I love painting nature: it’s present all around us. The Semois is the least populated region of Belgium. I work in shades of blue, at dusk, when the fairies appear. From Mont de Zatrou, which I have sketched, I can imagine flying like a fairy…”.
The Kaolin Enchanted Park
The nutons, little forest gnomes, hide in rocky caves. These mischievous beings still haunt the forest near Libin. As the guardians of this natural paradise, they are to be found in the Kaolin Enchanted Park! This 6.5-hectare park lies on the route de Libin in Smuid. Be prepared for a host of surprises…
The book village
It was born in 1984. This first book village in the Ardennes took its inspiration from the first village of its kind in the world - Hay-on-Wye, in Wales. The two became twinned and a huge book festival organised in Redu attracted a large crowd. This was a marvellous opportunity to lend a helping hand to this lovely hamlet, which had been suffering a serious rural exodus. It soon became essential visiting for book lovers. Bookshops opened and every year, during Easter weekend, the Book Festival attracts hundreds of visitors. The thirty bookshops have something to suit every reader, from the simply curious to passionate bibliophiles.
The Legends Walk
Laforêt has retained the typical character of southern Ardennes villages. From the village fountain, as you go along you will discover, at the corner of a narrow path or a bend, the wild hunter, the white lady, the satyr, the devil, the gnomes or the werewolf... Practical details Distance: 2 km Waymarking: blue cross Difficulty: easy Time: 1 h Start: the Pinocchio workshop in Laforêt.
The Giant’s Tomb
Botassart, a village near Bouillon, is the scene of one of the loveliest, most majestic panoramas in the Ardennes. Here, the Semois makes the most of the relief, constantly winding back and forth. The loop it forms in Botassart is so tight that an island is born in the heart of this green ocean, creating the formidable tomb of a giant said to have been struck down here.
