Circular around Fontaine-Henry

Parking is available in the car park opposite the Château de Fontaine-Henry.

(S/E) Leave the car park towards the château, turn right to go up towards Thaon, then follow Rue de l'Église, then, with extreme caution (no hard shoulder), Route des Moulins (D170) for about 1 km until you reach a chapel (Virgin Mary) on the right and the Vallée area on the left.

(1) Cross Route des Moulins (D170) very carefully and turn left onto the path leading down to La Mue. Cross the river, turn right at the fork and continue for about 100 metres until you reach the site of the old Saint-Pierre de Thaon church on your right.

(2) Leave the site, turn left after crossing the bridge and walk about 100 metres to return to the fork you reached earlier. Turn right onto Chemin de la Vieille Église and follow it for about 900 metres, keeping the Mue on your left and the cliff on your right (note the numerous cavities and caves in the rock) until you reach the D141 road.

(3) Turn right, follow the road on the right-hand side for about 80 metres, then carefully cross the road to continue along the D141, but this time on the left-hand side. Turn onto the path on the left, pass the water treatment plant, then take the wooded path on the left that goes uphill. Leave the woods and continue along the path across the plain for about 1 km until you reach the hamlet of Bracqueville.

(4) Turn left, walk past the houses and continue for about 300 metres until you reach the path on the left. Turn left and continue for about 200 metres until you reach the Menhir de la Demoiselle.

(5) Turn back, turn left at the intersection and continue straight ahead on the path that descends to La Mue.

(6) At the fork, turn left to walk alongside the Mue on your right and the cliffs on your left (note the numerous cavities and caves in the rock as you go) and continue to the D141 road. Turn right, cross the Mue and head towards the village via Rue des Rosières (D141) until you reach a street on your left.

(7) Continue along Rue des Rosières (D141), pass the wash house, cross Rue des Dentelières carefully so that you can walk up the left-hand side, cross Voie de l'Épine and continue to Rue des Carrias. Turn left, walk up this street on the left-hand pavement and pass the town hall. Cross the access road to the schools and continue along Rue de Scoriton (D141) until you reach Rue des Fours à Chaux.

(8) Turn left, follow Rue des Four à Chaux until you reach the fork, turn left to go around the two houses, then turn right to reach the path below. Continue left along the path, then a few metres further on, turn right onto the footpath and continue to Rue du Régiment de la Chaudière.

(9) Turn left onto this street, negotiate the two 45° turns and take the small passage on the left that descends towards the calvary. At the bottom of the stairs, turn left onto Chemin du Presbytère, which leads to the calvary, then turn into the right-hand lane to reach the car park (S/E).

(7) You can shorten the route and return to the starting point by following the street on the left.

Short alternative: https://www.visorando.com/randonnee-/307...

Fontaine-Henry Castle:

Between Caen and the D-Day beaches, Fontaine-Henry Castle is a magnificent Renaissance residence that has been in the same family for 800 years.
When you arrive in front of Fontaine-Henry Castle, the first thing you will notice when you look up is the height of the roof; Fontaine-Henry is one of the castles with the highest roofs in France! You will then admire its "stone lace" façade, very Renaissance in style. Your visit will take you through the salons on the ground floor and then upstairs, where you can admire a beautiful collection of antique furniture and paintings. In the wooded park, the seigneurial chapel dates from the 13th and 16th centuries. Around thirty antique games are available to the public in the park.

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Château_d...

The old Saint-Pierre church in Thaon (^11th-12th century):

The old church of Thaon (Than), dedicated to Saint Peter, was built in the 11th and 12th centuries in a shady valley on the banks of the Mue, away from the village, in the hamlet of La Vallée. This hamlet, together with those of Thaon, Barbières and Bombanville, formed the medieval parish. It is one of the finest examples of Romanesque architecture.
The seigneury of Thaon depended on the powerful barony of Creully, whose founding ancestor was Hamon le Dentu. In the 12th century, the barons of Creully controlled the entire Bessin region, from the Orne to the Vire rivers. Saint-Pierre Church was under the dual patronage of Bayeux Cathedral Chapter and Savigny Abbey (Manche), which owned large estates in Thaon. The power of the barons of Creully and the renown of this patronage undoubtedly explain the architectural quality of the old church.
The church consists of a choir, a central tower and a nave that originally had aisles:

• the oldest parts date from 1050-1070, notably the base of the bell tower;
• the oldest part of the elevation is the bell tower, which rests on four powerful pillars and was built between 1087 and 1090. This bell tower is the only remaining part of an earlier, narrower Romanesque church built at the same time, as revealed by archaeological excavations;
• the flat-ended choir, slightly offset to the south of the bell tower's axis, and the nave were built during the second quarter of the 12th century after the first Romanesque sanctuary had been demolished;
• the nave, with its five bays, had side aisles, which were destroyed at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries and whose layout has been reconstructed thanks to archaeological excavations.

The old church of Thaon has retained its appearance with its modillions, its chequerboard decoration (on the south and gable walls) and its capitals, whose sculptures are reminiscent of those of the great building sites of Bayeux and La Trinité de Caen. Clearly, the church of Thaon benefited from the skills of the artists who worked on neighbouring building sites. The decorations, sculpted capitals and geometric ornamentation are particularly representative of Norman Romanesque style.
In the 13th century, large Gothic ogival windows were opened on the south side to bring more light into the choir. At the end of the 17th century or the very beginning of the 18th century (shortly before 1729 according to parish archives), the aisles were demolished and the large arches were completely walled up. During the 18th century, to combat the humidity in this area, which had become even more marshy with the development of mills on the Mue river, the floor level of the church and cemetery was raised by some eighty centimetres. In 1771-1772, the church underwent a restoration campaign, including the repair of the western portal.
From the beginning of the 19th century, the church attracted the interest of French and English antiquarians and archaeologists, who devoted several studies to it. Considered a masterpiece of Romanesque art, it was listed as a Historic Monument in 1840, but the building was deconsecrated in the same year when worship was transferred to the new church. Restoration work carried out between 1896 and 1902 uncovered the capitals encased in the masonry and repaired the 15th-century roof structure and roofing. From 1994 to 1999, a new restoration campaign was undertaken: the bell tower, which was in danger of collapse, was completely restored, as were the roof structure and the roofs of the choir and nave.
Archaeological excavations carried out between 1998 and 2011 revealed an ancient religious site (fanum) linked to a nearby ford that allowed the Mue river to be crossed. During the 4th or 5th century, a small necropolis developed around the ancient sanctuary, leading to the establishment of a memoria. The first Christian place of worship is attested in the 7th century, then replaced at the turn of the 7th and 8th centuries by a new church. Modifications were made during the Carolingian period to adapt the building to changes in liturgy. Around 1087-1090, the first Romanesque church was built on a cruciform plan centred around a three-level bell tower. Apart from the bell tower, this church was completely rebuilt between 1130 and 1150.
Nearly 460 burials dating from the 6th to the 18th century were studied. In addition to its anthropological interest, the excavation made it possible to analyse the evolution of burial practices and identify the different burial areas.