Cresting The Ardennes

Just when you think you know France, along comes something like this. A familiar region, an old favourite, in fact, suddenly reveals a totally unexpected side to its nature. But surprises like this are reassuring, since they serve as a welcome reminder that there's more than enough still waiting to be discovered in deepest France to last a lifetime. To prove the point, here's an easily-accomplished circular tour which will reveal some of the lesser-known unspoilt countryside of the French Ardennes. On the map there are few clues as to what lies ahead, and that's the whole point. So off we go, then.

Our point of access is the eastbound A203 autoroute from Charleville-Mezières, which we leave at the last exit, signed to Sedan. At the first roundabout take the Centre Ville exit and at the T-junction which follows turn left onto the N2043 signed to Charleville and Challons. At the next roundabout we take the D977 exit, signed to Challons. From this point we can begin to relax a little, as the town and the autoroute slip from view. The road climbs, passing a lay-by, at which you might like to stop and enjoy the view of a plantation of tall poplars (or alternatively, to investigate the friterie which may be open for business during your visit). Pressing on, the road continues its climb along the side of a broad valley, with open pastureland bounded by woodlands, which eventually close in to obscure the views. At the crest of the hill things open up once again, past another a lay-by, this time with an orientation table to help you get your bearings and make the most of the near-panoramic views. A little further on, below and to our right is the village of Cheveuges, whose sturdy church tower rises above a huddle of traditional cottages to create a classic postcard image. After passing the village we're heading towards another prominent landscape feature, this time a 16th Century fairytale Château du Rocan, with a tourelles and a backdrop of hardwood forest. If you feel like taking a closer look, take the small lane signed to the château. It's a detour taken by few visitors from the UK (although it's an open secret to those from Belgium and Holland).

Rejoining the D977, we now descend into the broad flood-plain of the converging rivers Bar and Ardennes, amid the kind of landscapes which are the stuff of mere memory to most people. Upon entering the village of Chémery-sur-Bar we look for the left-hand turn for the D27 (signed to Maisoncelle and Raucourt), which takes us up from the valley floor to the surrounding crests for more open views of the valley. Maisoncelle is a quiet, honest farming village with little sign of gentrification and a relaxed atmosphere. A sign to the Jardin de Bulson (2km) may tempt you to make a small detour, otherwise we press on to Villers, a tiny hamlet which is little more than an extended working farm. We now enter a patchwork landscape of grain production, bounded by wooded plateaux, the billowing contours of the land broken at harvest-time by giant roller-bales drying in the sun. Little traffic passes this way, but if you do wish to stop and take in the big views (many of which will be found behind you), then be sure, as usual, to pull well off the road.

Raucourt has an air of former prosperity, although these days the roadside parking areas are as likely to be taken by tractors as cars. The architecture is in pale golden stone, and if you're planning a picnic later you'll find a boulangerie and a reasonable mini-market. Leaving the village on the D27, signed to Mouzon, we climb steeply above mixed woodland, with marked footpaths if you feel like exploring. Ahead lies Autrecourt, a large straggling village beyond which we cross a railway line and turn right into another obvious flood-plain, this time that of the river Meuse. After passing a substantial WWII pill-box slumbering in a field to our right, we cross the railway once again and meet a T-junction, at which we turn left towards Mouzon (now unsigned).

The town soon appears ahead, the twin spires of its abbey rising above the long rows of terraced cottages lining the roadside. Entry involves crossing the railway line a third time, then a graceful steel bridge spanning the Meuse (turn sharp left after the bridge for shaded riverside parking). It's a remarkable town, centred around its 13/15th Century Gothic abbey, whose peaceful ornamental gardens are tucked away behind the abbey car park. At this point we're just a few kilometres from the Belgian border.

Our route continues by retracing our entry on the D19, as far as the left turn signed to Villemontry and, unpromisingly, an industrial area. The latter turns out to be harmless enough, being merely glimpsed as we re-cross our old friend the railway line yet again and enter almost immediately a gentle, unspoilt landscape of undulating pastureland. Now things get interesting. Villemontry is tiny, little more than a cluster of golden cottages around a small chapel on a hillside, around which we follow the right-hand curve of the road and enter a beautiful valley of cornfields and dense tracts woodland. The road is now little wider than one vehicle, occasionally pot-holed but ultimately worth any such minor inconveniences. Chances are you'll have it all to yourself, apart from an occasional walker or cyclist. The road soon enters the forest, to re-emerge into a landscape which is strongly reminiscent of a great private country estate. By now we're following a series of crests, with an amazing sense of remoteness. A roadside footpath is signed to a prominent viewpoint (with a 1200m walk, there and back).

Now the verges are ablaze with poppies, teasels and corncockles, as the village of Beaumont-en-Argonne comes into sight, its distinctive clocher rising in two stages above the surrounding landscape. At the T-junction which lies ahead, we turn left and enter the heart of this peaceful and well-kept village. Following an intriguing 'Maisons à Colonnes' sign brings us to an unusual group of arcaded merchants' houses whose upper storeys are supported on stone piers.

Leaving Beaumont on the D4 towards Belleval, we turn right almost immediately to follow the D19, now signed to Buzancy. Soon we're climbing again, through more classic pasturelands, and although the road is now wide enough for two vehicles, the sense of remoteness remains tangible. After another brief wooded section we enter a flat plain with beautiful specimen trees and surrounded by wooded hills, before meeting another T-junction, at which we take the D6, still towards Buzancy. After another brief, winding climb we pass a monument (with multi-lingual interpretation panels) to the Bataille de Stonne, a landmark tank battle which took place in the nearby forests in May 1940, during a desperate attempt to halt German forces advancing from Sedan. The route now passes a quiet picnic area, and the cheerful village of Sammauthe, whose laid-back style combines a profusion of hanging baskets with hay-bales lying by the roadside. We continue on the D19 through open landscapes not unlike those of the Wiltshire Downs, apart from the church spires visible here and there in distant hilltop villages. It's classic rural France, though, and far removed from the received image of the Ardennes.

Beyond St Pierremont we encounter a fork and continue on the D19, which narrows to little more than single-track width (so remain alert to the possibility of meeting oncoming vehicles). The vast views on alternate sides from the crest which follows are spared the monotony of prairie farming landscapes by the presence of trees, small villages and patchwork field systems. At the unsigned T-junction which follows we turn right to join the D12 at Brieulles-sur-Bar, crossing the river and passing through a beautiful tree-lined avenue on a faster section of road towards the village of Les Petites-Armouses. Soon a T-junction looms, at which we turn right back onto the D977. Our drive is now almost complete, but still has one last surprise up its sleeve.

At this point we're heading north, back towards Sedan. This time, however, when we reach the village of Chémery-sur-Bar we turn left across the Ardennes river on the D27 and then right to follow the D224, signed to St Aignan. The route hugs the river, then begins to climb along the side of the valley. Where the road eventually enters a living tunnel of forest, pull safely off the road and look back for a view which in fine weather will be hard to beat anywhere in all France. Below us the valley falls away to the river, which emerges from a screen of tall poplars to begin a series of lazy meanders towards its liaison with the Aisne, beyond the port of Le Chesne. From here it only remains to continue through the showpiece villages of St Aignan and Cheveuges and you can rejoin the D977 for the return run back to our starting-point near Sedan.

So there we are. an easy circular tour seeming to go nowhere in particular, yet taking in perfect peace and unspoilt landscapes, with a few village surprises along the way. At a steady trickle it could take just a couple of hours, if that's all you have to spare. But if you can allow a whole day, stopping along the way whenever you feel like it, you'll find the extra time well-spent. Enjoy. 

© Words and pictures Roger Moss
This feature first appeared in everything France magazine Issue 8

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