Route des boutons d'or à Prisches

Starting point: Saint-Nicolas Church.

(S/E) Head north-west along Rue de la Mairie and cross the D964. First turn left then right onto Ruelle Jean Thomas. Cross a stream and emerge onto Rue des Eaux; follow it to the right. Take the first left onto Ruelle Jean Philippe.

(1) At the next junction, turn right onto Rue du Campeau. After the hamlet of Le Campiau, pass under a high-voltage power line.

(2) When you reach the first houses on the left, turn left onto Chemin des Longues Bornes. At a Fork in the road, continue straight ahead (north-north-west; ignore the path branching off to the right).

(3) At the foot of a hedge stands the Croix Vendois. Continue along the path, which soon turns to the right. Stay on the path, heading north-north-west then north-west.

(4) At the junction, turn right (Chemin des Carrettes). Carry straight on, ignoring the crossroads, until you reach the D117.

(5) Follow the D117 to the right and pass through the hamlet of Les Linières.

(6) At the junction, turn right onto the D964. At the wayside shrine, turn left into Rue du Rejet de Bourdiau.

(7) At the junction, turn right. At the oratory (1776), turn right again. Walk past the football ground and then take the first right, Rue de la Mairie, to return to the car park (S/E).

Route listed in the PDIPR (Departmental Plan for Walking and Hiking Routes)

Follow the yellow markings.

Croix Vendois (3). A man from Prischois, a basket-maker by trade, is said to have come to the aid of a herdsman who had been struck dead by lightning during a violent storm; having hoisted him onto his back, he carried him back to the man’s home, where his entire family was present, yet they did not deign to thank their saviour. Deeply affected by such a lack of gratitude, the rescuer had a cross erected at the very spot where the accident occurred, bearing the date of the event and a rather unflattering inscription.

Linières, after (5). Odran, Lord of Chimay, was pursuing a stag when the animal sought refuge beneath the cloak of Saint Humbert, who was clearing the land for the construction of his monastery at Maroilles. The pack of hounds could not pounce on the stag, as if held back by a supernatural force. Seeing this, Odran asked to be admitted among the monks and donated his villa at Lignières to the abbey; it became known as the ‘Cense des Pauvres’ or the ‘Linières farm’.