A CENTURY

Apparently this will be the 100th addition to my blog!  It is also the time that World War One is being marked on its 100th anniversary and getting near the 100th Anniversary of the start of the Battle of Verdun which commenced n 21st February, 1916 which, on a personal note, would have been my mother’s 9th birthday and we now have entered the ninth year of living in the Meuse department of Lorraine in the small town of Damvillers which is about 18 miles from the city of Verdun. A lot of coincidental links there!

Today, Friday 30th October 2015, is yet another grey, gloomy day and we headed out for a ride in the car, not deciding where - just seeing where the car took us!

We soon turned off familiar roads to unfamiliar ones and it amazes us that, after over eight years of living here and many explorations, we are still able to find new-to-us roads and places.

Across fields we spotted two helicopters apparently static in the sky but, well, just hovering really on a forest’s edge beyond open countryside to our left.  The road swung to the right but our curiosity was peaked and we took the next left and came around to the area.  One helicopter had gone and the second took off over the tree tops but, by the time we got to the end of this particular tree line, another, the first?, came round and again just hovered.  There was no apparent reason and we think it must have been a military exercise. We continued, taking yet another 'new' turning.

At various places we spotted signs for Camp Maguerre.  We had not heard of it so, of course, had to follow.  The road leads into the Spincourt Forest which itself covers a very large area, and we found ourselves in the glow of various shades of gold.

gilded floor
under a golden canopy ~
autumn forest

After about two-and-a-half miles we found the Camp, which was a German one in WW1. The forest was silent apart from a slight rustling of leaves on the treetops and that, with the remains of abandoned buildings, gave the area a somewhat spooky and surreal feeling.

Part way through the forest.

 

  A right-hand bend and the road opened into an area by a notice board...

 

 .

Half a mile further into the forest we found Camp Maguerre on our left.

More information about Camp Maguerre here.

We had to return the way we had come, left the forest behind us, but after a few miles, went back into a different part of the forest which is nearer to home, now on familiar roads again.


Spincourt Forest looks like the very many other forests in this area which are all showing their autumn colours - and it was as if we had found some sunshine after all.

Even on a dull day…

…the forests in autumn still glow.

On a cloudy Sunday afternoon, 25th October 2015 - An attempt at a left-to-right panorama of the countryside around Bazeilles-sur-Othain…

Bazeilles-sur-Othain

We approached the area via the Velosnes road from Montmédy and returned through the forest behind Bazeilles-sur-Othain on a heavily-pot-holed road which led to better roads near Marville and then the main roads back to Damvillers...and for a change I did the driving, under the ethos of "use it or lose it"!!

Autumn reflections

autumn reflections

we drive between forests and woods
thick with golden October colours
to a quayside by the river
we stroll, sit, pause and reflect
breathe in the warm air
soothed by the beauty of the countryside

Canal off the River Meuse.

Canal bridge.

A small weir on the River Meuse with a canal to the right.

 Reflecting...

Saturday, 24th October 2015 - Stenay.

Pleasant weekend outings.

The damp. grey skies have gone to be replaced by warmer autumn weather although accompanied by an east wind.  At least that is pushing back any rain from the west.

On Saturday, 10th October 2015 we take a drive through Réville-aux-Bois and up through the forests - Bois d’Ecury and Bois de la Grande Montagne - which are now showing their autumn colours. Then down to Sivry-sur-Meuse.  We drive past the church then take a turning on the left we haven’t explored before and are very pleasantly surprised by a widening of the River Meuse here and a picnic area.  We take a short stroll but I am concerned that the wind, which is quite brisk here today, may wake up my currently dormant condition of TN - trigeminal neuralgia - so do not stay.  But we earmark the spot to return another time.

Some of the picnic tables need repair but the area is edged with hedges and trees.

To the left of the picnic area a boat is moored at the top of this widening part of the river.

To the right, outlying village houses.

Downstream, the river narrows on the right.

To the left meadows towards the village...

...and cows in the meadows.

The next day, Sunday, we drive in a different direction and from the road to Jametz take a turning on the left for Lissey.  This is a road new to us as previously we have gone through Lissey via another route. After Lissey we continue to Bréheville and take a narrow road through the high forest of Bois de  Bréheville below and to the north of Haraumont.  The wind is far less today and I open the passenger window fully.  The sunshine dapples the trees, leaves and forest floor.  The road comes out opposite Haraumont church and we turn right, down the hill, across the main road to Vilosnes and its pretty spots where the River Meuse flows parallel to the Canal d’Est.

To the left of the canal...

...a small chapel...

...with glass and wrought-iron doors.

Inside the chapel a permanent Nativity scene.

The chapel stands on the edge of the Place du Monument where the village honours its military and civilians lost in both World Wars.

To the left of the monument a stream which has been diverted by a large weir up-river...

...to a smaller weir behind the sadly-now-closed auberge and bar where we had enjoyed a meal on our first visit to the area ten years ago.  Across the road, the old schools building...

 

 

 

As we leave the village, we spot another picnic area, which is almost hidden by trees, by the river - another pretty spot to return to.

On the way home, across the Meuse Heights, we stop to capture some of the autumn colours.

A small hunters' lodge at the edge of a forest.

We didn't stay - the chasse was out and, on Sunday afternoon, after lunch (le midi) some of the hunters can get a bit trigger-happy!