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Sunday April 19. Châteauvillain. 22.8 km.

 A nice surprise this morning walking out of Clairvaux. The abbey used to have over twenty farms, called des granges, around the countryside, run by lay brothers. One still exists and is still run by Cistercian lay brothers and sisters.  Here is the main building and the lovely little chapel, open to all, where they gather for a morning and an evening service.



Then a long walk through a large forest that would have at one time belonged to the abbey.  Muddy at times and evidence of rooting boars.


Fields followed, once growing grapes, but since the devastating phylloxera outbreak at the end of the 19th century (an invasive insect from America) followed by a black rot outbreak, other crops are now grown. I think I provided a bit of entertainment…


Lots more benches now. I enjoyed a picnic lunch on this one, entertained by a coucou. I counted; it sang “coucou” 39 times with no pauses. How would you like that bird living beside your house?


My cousin David helped identify a lovely pair of red kites I saw soaring over a field. He and his wife are joining me in Switzerland and it will be fun bird watching with them.

I’m in Châteauvillain for the night. Here is a ‘vilain’!





Comments

  1. RitaApril 20, 2026 at 4:57 AM

    Rooting boars?? It did not cross my mind that you'd have to be wary of this kind of wildlife! I'm glad to see the Via bench so clearly idntified. Can other people sit on it as well? 😄 Love the vilain! Were there many?

    ReplyDelete

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