Chris and Rors went shooting, Caiti was in bed for the long haul and Benj was nursing his sprained ankle. So I had Easter morning to myself. I went for a bike ride.
The young cows in the field opposite our gateway were interested when I appeared. Did I mean feeding time? They came over for a closer look.
These guys are a mixture of Charolais and Charolais/Limousin crosses
I turned right and went to investigate the new sign Caiti had spotted further down the road, passing a huge bunch of Solomon’s Seal flowers on the way. This plant is lily-of-the-valley’s big brother.
I soon came to the new sign. It declares: 9 juillet le tour de france passe par ici. It’s very hard to read though! There are some jolly and patriotic blue, white and red stripes too. We still can’t quite believe how close the Tour is coming this year!
It's the tall wooden sign ...
Tucked behind the roadsigns and is a wooden cross, inscribed with ‘La Croix de Bléron’. I shall have to look into this.
I stopped at the edge of Nouzerines to admire the view of the nearly-finished new spire.
Still scaffolding around the tower but the work is almost done
Just a little further down the road is a stone cross and St Clair’s miraculous fountain.
The water of St Clair's fountain cures eye diseases
The next cross I came to was on the other side of the village. This time it’s an iron one.
I put my head down and chewed up the kilometres for a good half hour, stopping only to take a picture of the death slide. This hangs precariously over the road. Someone didn’t like their kids!
I wouldn't fancy climbing up there!
The next photo is quite close to home. Chambon is a derilict farmstead down the road from us. There are connections between it and Les Fragnes, our farm, that I’m in the process of investigating.
A typical sight in Creuse - an abandoned farm
The cows opposite the gate had decided it was going to rain when I got back. They were all lying down. I nipped down our drive, put my bike away, downloaded my photos and tucked into one of the Chef in Wellies’ wonderful hot cross buns. All in all, a very pleasant morning.
Yum.
Daily snippets for 25 April
Today’s saint: St Mark, who introduced Christianity to Africa
Famous French person born on this day: in 1270, King Louis IX of France
Famous French person died this day: staying on a royal theme, in 1566, Diane of Poitiers, the mistress of Henri II
Today’s French word: vélo – bicycle
Today’s French expression: Ça remonte à la nuit des temps That’s as old as the hills. (Perhaps my crosses are.)
I like your bike ride in Creuse pics Steph. I love looking at old photos of the area and finding out some of the history – I wish we could find out more about when our house used to be a cafe! Roland can remember going in. We once served a cyclist with a cool glass of water through our kitchen window.
I didn’t realise your house was a cafe! That’s fascinating. Might be worth checking out the Mairie next time you’re over to find out more. I’ll come with you! Love, Steph X
Cycling is such a good way to see the countryside – you see much more than if you’re in a car. And it’s much less intrusive; you can cycle through a small hamlet, but you feel awkward driving through in a car.
Pity about the abandoned farm. It doesn’t look too far gone but is obviously in need of some TLC.
We’re surrounded by tumbledown properties in our part of Creuse. It seems such a shame – old buildings full of character and history that will last for hundreds more years with a bit of attention.