The Devils Cave - Exploring France
So, will we meet the Devil in France? You'll have to keep reading to find out!
Around where we live, there are so many things to see and small places to go off the beaten track that are most defiantly not tourist spots. For us, we like the unknown places. Off course a big city like Rennes or Paris are on our bucket list, but we want to try and unearth those places people don't normally get to see. Like Château de Gratot and the World War II turrets at Longues Sur Mer, they take a little more digging out. This week was no different.
We parked in a small village of Fervaches (translating to iron cows) and knew nearby there was the Devils Cave, or Grotte du Diable according to all the signs. We started our walk by going through this little village which was quite modern with just a small bar and a corner shop. Although all the houses, quite unusually for this country all had large dogs in their front gardens. Usually we've found the French prefer a smaller dog. Having 5 medium/large dogs ourselves, we quite often find we get odd looks when walking them. As we wondered through the village outskirts, we came across free ranging chickens in fields, donkeys in the middle of roads and horses looking carefree in their paddocks. T he route we were taking is known locally as the Dukes Trail. It is a historic route taken by Robert de Trégoz, local lord and Jean Sans Terre Duke of Normandy and King of England, in 1201. They were marching to a local town and split their army in two, to distract any potential attackers, the smaller army went with the Duke and Robert de Trégoz as protection along the back roads, but the main army went through the main route through the villages as a deterrent.
The next village we were aiming for was Chapelle sur Vire. We walked up and down passed farms and fields overlooking surrounding villages with their church spires towering above the horizon. Chapelle sur Vire was a small village with not a lot going on to be honest. We wondered if this was because of the time of year again but as we walked through the village, passed the church which we knew we would come back to, we saw a closed down restaurant and not even a sign of a patisserie or boulangerie!
The Church in Chapelle sur Vire holds great importance amongst the religious community in France. There has been a pilgrimage to this site since the 14th century, although there has been a church here since the 11th century. The pilgrimage started because two local fishermen bought back a small statue in their net. Disappointed with their catch (as they didn't catch any fish), they threw the statue on the bank by the church and it broke into two pieces. It then mysteriously put itself back together again and was put inside the church. Later in the 16th century, after a lot of fighting between the protestants and catholics, many relics in the old church were destroyed and lost. Sheep were fed near the chapel during the late 16th century and a lamb kept going to the same place but there was no grass there so it was a mystery as to why it was so fascinated with this spot. The shepherd was intrigued and so dug into the ground, he found the same statue found by the fishermen a few centuries ago. This was another reason for the pilgrimage to Chapelle sur Vire. For many years, miracles kept happening in the area, during the 19th and 20th centuries, a 16 year old child was cured of a disease which immobilised him, another child was cured of a disease of their spinal cord. The last and most documented miracle happened in the winter of 1842/1843.
The story of Sister Marthe. Sister Marthe was local nun, she was out doing laundry in the nearby river where she fell in trying to catch a sheet that had got away from her. The water was so cold, she was paralysed from the waist down and so she dragged herself back to her mother house and to her sister superior, Sister Marie-Madeleine Postel. It was here that during 1843 another miracle happened. Sister Marie-Madeline Postel cured Sister Marthe and she was able to walk again. This secured the pilgrimage to this area and many religious people visit this place every year.
We were back along the banks of the River Vire, we have spent quite a bit of time walking up and down the tow paths of this beautiful river. It is the perfect place for a short non strenuous walk and with so many parts of it accessible, its perfect. This part, in Chapelle sur Vire, the banks of the river are undergoing some work. There are old unused locks all along the stretch of the river and by the looks of it, this one has been closed for a really long time, but with lots of rocks and boulders in the river, it looks like the plan is to redirect some of the water away. The bridge is an old cast iron bridge that had paths down to a divide between the river and the old lock. Although it wasn't along our planned route to the Devils Cave, we thought we would cross the bridge and have a look around the outskirts of the town.
Following a sign that looked interesting, we stumbled across Le Chemin de Croix which translates to Way of the Crosses. This place overlooks the church in Chapelle sur Vire, there was no information about it when we were there, other than the fact is is a place of worship and should be treated with respect. There are 16 crosses here representing the stages of the death of Christ, of which there are 14. The other two crosses represent the other two men that were crucified at the same time as Jesus. There are loads of these "Ways" all around the world. This particular one zigzags its way up a really steep hill. As we were walking, we had an overwhelming smell of garlic, which felt really odd considering all the crucifixes everywhere but it turns out, the ground was covered in wild garlic! It was slightly too early to be able to pick some but we will defiantly be going back to get some in a few weeks.
La Chemin de Croix felt a little odd to us, neither of us are religious but I think you could sense the religion in the space between the trees. People go here and worship Christ, especially over easter and there is an odd feeling. Each cross is different, most are still in tact but there are a couple that have partially collapsed. At the top, you will find three in a row, Christ and the two other people he was crucified with. They are overlooking the church in Chapelle sur Vire and I'm sure when they were first put there, they had a lovely view, but now it is obstructed by the huge trees.
After our trip into the forest to see the Chemin de Croix and the church we thought it best to rejoin our route to the Devils Cave but... not before we had a look into the play park! It is quite newly renovated and as there was no-one there, we had to take advantage and go on the swings and the roundabout. We carried along our path along the river banks before coming to a statue of a man reading a book. This was the location of the Devils Cave.
This isn't technically the Devils Cave, its a nickname for a cave built by Justice of the Peace Amédée Duval-Duperron, in the 1850's. Duval-Duperron was a land owner in the nearby Tessy sur Vire. He had this space carved out to use it as a retreat from the world where he read and wrote. It is a really steep 100 meter walk up the hill so I am assuming Duval-Duperron had an alternative route. It also has really tricky access getting down to the the cave itself with 5 steps that are about 2 foot tall and a tree trunk now growing in the way. This place is most defiantly built on the edge of a cliff and it it very precariously balanced there even today. There is a balcony that juts out so there is a stunning view over the valley and this is made of wood. It doesn't look too old but it is starting to rot and felt very squidgy under foot. We personally didn't find this space very relaxing but it does get you away from the world and can see how it allowed Duval-Duperron time to contemplate.
During World War II, this space was used by 12 refugees from Cherbourg who used it to await liberation. Theres a plaque at the bottom of the hill describing the cave, in here, it says the name Devils Cave remains a mystery. There is nothing anywhere that describes why it is called this, but many people have their theories. It is said that the farmers started noticing their livestock going missing during the late 19th century, one farmer, whilst out looking for his missing animals stumbled across the Cave, which was no longer used by Duval-Duperron following his death. The farmer found in the cave, the remains of lots of animals, presumed to have been their livestock. It is likely these animals fell to their death due to the treacherous land but there were also many locals who claimed this to be the work of the Devil. Its said the Devil lured these animals into his lair to kill and eat them. This remains a myth throughout the area.
We hobbled down the hill, along the extremely muddy path (thank goodness I found a stick to help me!) and back through the village. It was a beautiful walk and one that was defiantly worth the visit and the hike up the hill to see the Devil. We have since been back to Chapelle sur Vire, but only because we are two big kids and love a go on the swings!
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