Around Ainval

(S/E) Leave Sourdon via Rue Carnot (yellow signposts); at the wayside cross, turn right.

(1) Turn right onto a path. Pass close to the cemetery and reach Ainval. Cross the hamlet, passing close to the little church.

(2) Head up to the left towards Coullemelle. Walk alongside the Bois Fermé, then pass Septoutre on your left.

(3) Turn right onto a dirt track running alongside the Bois des Sorbiers, then turn right into the Bois de Saint-Pierre. Further on, you’ll reach a crossroads.

(4) Turn right, then left, and walk through the village of Esclainvillers.

(5) When you reach the church, turn right down a narrow lane, then onto a dirt track. Cross the Vaquette valley, then the Saint-Firmin ditch.

(6) Turn right along the edge of the woodland and continue to a junction.

(7) Turn left, then right; pass close to the Saint-Aubin chapel, then turn left to head back up towards Sourdon (S/E).

The brick-and-stone chapel dedicated to Saint Aubin dates from 1675. Legend has it that the saint did not wish to be confined. Whenever the chapel door was closed, a supernatural being from the woods of Saint-Aubin would steal the door away and hide it in the undergrowth. The locals searched for the door but never found it. This gave rise to the expression: when a door or window is difficult to close, people say, ‘It’s worse than Saint-Aubin’s door’.

The church at Esclainvillers, weathered by the passage of time, raises more questions than it answers. It features a variety of architectural styles attributed to various periods since the 16th century.
It contains the usual church ornaments, including, of course, a life-size Saint Fiacre in polychrome stone. But the statue is not the only memento of the holy man.
The building also houses a superb “reliquary arm” made of gold and silver, containing a fragment of bone and symbolising power and justice. It is a rare artefact that is very wisely displayed only on special occasions.