Take advantage of a beautiful sunny day like today to go for a walk between slates and legends in the heart of the Ardennes forest.
Today I offer you a nice hike to discover of the legendary rock of Madame de Cormont.
To take the Madame de Cormont trail and relive the legend, you will need to follow the “Ardoises et Légendes” hike in Haybes. The start is at the Maison des Randonnées. It will then take you to the Madame de Cormont rock, from which you can admire one of the most beautiful viewpoints over the Meuse valley.
But first, do you know this legend?
The legend of Madame de Cormont
Like the stone of Saint Martin, the story of Madame de Cormont feeds the legends of the small village of Haybes. Monsieur and Madame de Cormont lived in a castle located on the heights of the village of Haybes in the XNUMXth century, of which nothing remains today. She was a pious and charitable woman. He, of a completely different temperament, was overwhelmed by his wife's kindness. He tried one day to get rid of his wife discreetly.
He then very kindly offered her a horseback ride in the woods. Madame de Cormont, not suspecting the plot, gladly accepted and mounted behind her husband. But this one made the animal leap as it passed through the porte-cochere. Madame de Cormont had no time to lower herself and was violently injured.
Cared for by the villagers, her life was saved and she continued to cover them with her generosity. Madame de Cormont died in 1729 at the age of 75. It is his tombstone sealed in one of the walls of the old cemetery of Haybes which attests to this. On her death, she bequeathed her gold to the inhabitants of Haybes and her land to the Jeromists of Fumay. The latter erected a chapel for him in the forest. It was accessed by the Cormont path which still exists.
During the Revolution, this chapel was burnt down and tradition says that “During the fire, the figure of Madame de Cormont was engraved on a rock, facing the chapel, thus protesting against this odious vandalism. »
The hiking route
Starting point: Car park of the Haybes Hiking Center
- From the car park, take the road towards the hermitage of the Labotte mill.
- At the fork before the mill, take the bridge on the right and follow the Mohron stream (entrance to the Fond d'Oury slate gallery)
- Turn left, then cross the small slate bridge. Continue to the right on the other bank (prospecting holes called Ardoisières de Madame de Cormont)
- At the Camp des Hesses crossroads, turn left. At the top of the climb, at the fork, turn right (Roche de Madame de Cormont)
- At the crow's feet, take the 2nd path on the right, which descends towards the Mohron.
- At the crossroads after the small wooden bridge, turn left and cross the forest road to join the path opposite.
- At Calvary turn right.
- Before the road, take the path on the left which runs along the road to the La Platale viewpoint on Fumay.
- Cross the road to take the path opposite.
- At the crow's feet turn right, then left at the crossroads to reach the Labotte mill, then the parking lot at the bottom of the street.
Find many other hiking trails in our two topo guides, on sale in the tourist offices of Vireux-Wallerand and Givet or on our Online Store.
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