A bit of history in the woods around Maissin

Car park at the Pierre Massé cemetery, Rue Commandant Henri Calvez.

(S/E) With the cemetery on your left – an early, so-called ‘circular’ cemetery – head down towards the village centre. Ignore the road on the left and then the one on the right. At the N899, turn left towards the church. Head to the right of the church. Turn right towards Jéhonville onto Rue du^19e régiment d’infanterie de Brest. Walk downhill and, at the junction, turn right. Turn left at the^first road and walk up it.

(1) At the 1964 war memorial, turn left onto the farm track. At the Fork in the road (not shown on the OSM map), keep to your left. Walk with the meadow on your left and the forest on your right. The path climbs.

(2) When you reach the embankment of the tram line and the pond that you can just make out through the branches on your left, take a sharp left-hand bend. Follow the old tram track, which is rather overgrown for just under 200 metres.

(3) Take a sharp right-hand bend onto the path below.

(4) The path turns left at the pond you have just walked past. At the second bend, take the path straight ahead. Walk alongside the meadow fence on your left; as the plot has been clear-cut, the path is barely visible. At the forest track, turn left. At the road, turn left. Walk carefully along the road for 100 metres.

(5) Turn right at the hairpin bend and walk towards the campsite. Cross through it; as it is a public path, there are no barriers to stop you. Pass the main building and follow the road uphill to a crossroads, known as ‘Trois Fontaines’, where a forest track joins. Turn left.

Green Rectangle signpost

The path turns right.

(6) Take the left-hand Fork in the road. At the junction, keep to your left.

(7) At the next junction, first turn right then left. Stay on the main path, ignoring the paths running at right angles to it. As you pass a clearing in a field on your left, you’ll catch a glimpse of Maissin in the distance. At the junction, turn left and head down to the road. Cross carefully and take the steps opposite. Follow the footpath. Walk through La Mambore and, depending on the time of year, spot its llamas. Follow the fenced path until you come to a track, which you take to the right. Cross the Pont de la Justice.

(8) At the crossroads, turn left; 500 metres further on, you’ll pass the Roche des Nutons. Continue to the road.

(9) Turn left and follow the road for 700 metres, ignoring the road on your right and the dirt track that follows. Change of signposting.

Red Diamond markings

(10) Turn onto the road on your left. Cross the Marie-Thérèse Bridge and head up to the N899. Cross the road and continue along the road opposite.

(11) At the junction, take the sharp left-hand bend. Discover the memorial erected by the commune of Maissin in honour of the Breton and Vendéen soldiers of the 11th Army Corps who fell in 1914. Continue to the right along the N899 until you reach the entrance to the hotel, then cross the road carefully to see the site of the old ‘terrace’ cemetery. Retrace your steps.

(11) Continue along the road opposite. Turn right at the^first road. Walk for 1 km along the road, which turns into a dirt track as you enter the forest. Follow the main forest track to a junction. Signposting ends here.

No signposting

(12) Turn left. At the crossroads, continue straight on along the barely marked path opposite. Turn right at the next junction. Walk to the T-junction.

(13) Turn left and continue to the road. Discover the^third site of the old ‘primitive’ cemetery, known as the ‘elongated’ cemetery. Turn right onto the road and turn left at the^first track.

Yellow Rectangle Signpost

(14) At the T-junction, turn left. Keep left at the next junction and follow the road uphill. Ignore the road coming in from your right. Continue to the junction with another road. Turn right and continue to the Pierre Massé cemetery and its car park (S/E).

Information boards can be found at each cemetery and memorial.

La Mambore Estate: we are granted access. Please be particularly respectful of the area (livestock, fences, vegetation, keeping the area clean, etc.). The well-fenced path is for pedestrians only and is open during daylight hours.

There is a mini-market and a bakery/sandwich shop in Maissin.

From October to December, please be aware of hunting dates.

During

Pierre Massé Military Cemetery: this is the resting place of 282 French and 513 German soldiers, buried in individual graves. Two ossuaries contain the remains of a further 3,001 French soldiers, whilst a third ossuary, which is mixed, holds the remains of 643 French and 343 German soldiers.

Breton granite Calvary: a reminder that many of the French soldiers who fell in battle came from Brittany and the Vendée. It was donated by the village of Tréhou in France to commemorate the sacrifice of the Breton soldiers of the 11th Corps on 22 and 23 August 1914.

The Pont de la Justice, built of schist rubble stone, comprises two arches joined by a spout upstream and downstream. The parapet is topped with schist stones set on edge, cut into a half-moon shape. Both entrances are widened. Situated near the hamlet known as ‘La Justice’, this bridge dates from the 19th century and likely replaced an older structure. It enabled travellers to cross the River Lesse, between Villance and Maissin, on a major road linking Saint-Hubert to France.

The Nutons rock formation: as with any good spot in the Ardennes, there are ‘nutons’ in the forest between the Pont de la Justice and the Pont Marie-Thérèse.

The Marie-Thérèse Bridge: dating from the 18th century, it stands on the border between Maissin and Villance. It is a remarkable, listed schist structure comprising four unequal arches, the parapet of which is topped with half-moon-shaped cut stones. The widened entrances allowed the herdsman to guide the animals before they crossed the bridge. Upstream, three spouts between the arches channelled the water towards the four openings. Tradition has it that Empress Maria Theresa had the bridge built following an accident she suffered whilst crossing the river on horseback. The reality is quite different: this four-arched bridge was built over the Lesse to modernise the old Bouillon–Liège road.

Three sites of early cemeteries (circular, elongated and terraced) with information panels, as well as two memorials.