Samedi 5 septembre: de St-Nicolas des Bois à Carrouges

Au départ de St-Nicolas des Bois.


St Nicolas des Bois→Carrouges (24kms)
We all met at 8:30 AM in front of Hotel de Rouen in Alençon where four taxis came to pick us up and drive us the 14kms to St Nicolas des Bois. The day was pleasant but on the coolish side when one was not actively walking. Magdalena guided us through some wonderful paths through the forest all marked with the blue Mont St Michel emblem. At the first remarkable crossing we came to, the Carrefour d’Arcis , three of the four corners had immense sequoia trees growing. The old stone road markers were set up by decree during the XVII century. From there, we took the Roman Way on and off because in certain places it was intersected by a highway.
At one point a group of us got separated from the rest due to the laggards who couldn’t resist the temptation of picking blackberries along the way. (We should have bought buckets to gather some for future jam-making sessions!) Having reached the highway, we discovered the group ahead of us was nowhere in sight and thanks to the mobile, contact was made with Jean-Yves who came to our rescue and led us back to the fold!
We continued on through the majestic pine forest of the Forêt Domaniale d’Ecouves until we reached Carrouges. The village of Carrouges is famous for the Chateau de Carrouges built in the XIV century and owned until 1936 by the Le Veneur family when the French government took it over.
It is a beautiful castle just outside the village with a promenade leading to the towered gate by which one enters the castle. The castle itself is still surrounded by a moat (with water), an immense park and to get to the park an intricate iron gate. The castle hosted Louis XI, Charles IX and his mother, Catherine de Medicis on their way to the Mont. Unfortunately, we could not visit the interior as we arrived after visiting hours.
Upon our return to the village we all stopped at the Church and under the guidance of Georges, we improvised a Sunday service. Previous to our castle visit, Magdalena happened to meet the priest who gave us the keys to the Church and allowed us the use of the Church.
Erika Chabbi