In the footsteps of Blessed Alexandre at La Bouteille

Free parking at Place de la Mairie (junction of the D963, D75 and D751).

(S/E) Walk up the ramp at the far end of the square and follow the northern side of the church until you reach its main façade. Head down to the left, pass under a porch and join Rue de Vervins.

(1) Turn right, continue along the pavement and take the first path on the right, before the school bus shelter. You are now on the^GR® 122. Walk past the cemetery and continue straight on until you reach the D751.

(2) Cross at the pedestrian crossing and take Rue de Foigny opposite (signposted ‘Voie sans issue’). Stay on this path, known as Chemin de la Tuerie, and walk 2,200 metres until you reach a fence blocking the old route.

(3) Turn left and join the D751 (hamlet of L’Arbalète).

(4) Leave the^GR® 122. Turn right onto the D751 and continue until you cross the bridge over the River Ton.

(5) Immediately afterwards, take the first path on the right, towards Moulin de Foigny, and cross the River Ton once more (alternative route detailed in the practical information section).

(6) Turn left onto the rural track known as the ‘Chemin des Bassins’ and follow it to the farm of the same name. Cross the farmyard and continue straight ahead along the same track until you reach a junction with several paths.

(7) Turn right and take the tarmac road which climbs quite steeply towards the hamlet of Hélin. Walk through the hamlet and continue to the last house on the left-hand side of the road.

(8) A few metres past this house, turn right onto a stony track and follow it to a T-junction.

(9) Turn left onto the country lane from Foigny to Landouzy-la-Ville and carry on to the first fork.

(10) Turn right at the fork and pass through the hamlet of La Hugotterie.

(11) Return to a tarmac road, pass two industrial poultry houses and reach the centre of the village at the junction with the D751.

(12) Turn left onto this road (Rue Jean Nicolas Bouchez) and head towards the (S/E).

In wet weather, make sure you wear suitable footwear: there is a very difficult section between (9) and (10) (ruts, mud, fallen trees across the path, etc.).
(5) Alternative route: to visit the ruins of the former Foigny Abbey, carry on straight ahead and, at the next junction (D38), turn right. The ruins are 150 m away, on the left-hand side of the road.
Return via the same route.

Beautiful panoramic view over the Ton Valley between (3) and (4).

Origins of the village’s name: the village was founded following the establishment of a bottle-making factory in 1540, hence the name of the commune, La Bouteille.
La Bouteille is a village name derived from a glassworks established here, where large quantities of bottles were produced… The first houses built around the glass furnace served as homes for the glass-making gentry (the Tassars and Gaspars), their servants and merchants… (Extract from the Livre de Foigny20).
Foigny Abbey: Foigny Abbey.

Blessed Alexander: Alexander was a prince of Scotland, where he was born around 1180. For the love of Christ, he secretly fled the court on the advice of his sister Mechtilde, a young woman of twenty. They both came to France, and Mechtilde arranged for her brother to be admitted to Foigny Abbey as a cowherd. His skills as a cheesemaker were greatly appreciated there.
Later, when Alexander had taken the habit of a lay brother, Mechtilde urged him to sever their last ties so that he might gain entry to heaven. It was only on his deathbed, and on the express orders of his prior, that the good lay brother revealed his true identity. He died in 1229.
After his death, Alexandre appeared to one of the monks, with a crown on his head and another in his hands: “The crown you see in my hands,” he said, “is the one I spurned for the love of Christ; the one upon my brow is the immortal crown I have received amongst the saints.”
His tomb, now covered by a shrine, is still visited by many pilgrims, as is a nearby fountain, known as the Fountain of Blessed Alexander, where people come from far and wide to fetch water believed to have healing properties.
Miracles performed at his tomb led to him being honoured as Blessed Alexander. His tomb became a place of pilgrimage, which has been visited since the 13th century.

Notre Dame de La Bouteille Church: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89glis...
Open by appointment: 03 23 98 18 52 (town hall).