Stage 21 Monday 13 Oct: Berry au Bac to Merfy (19.5km/12.2m)

Back to the trail today for another pleasant walk under grey skies. We left a much busier Berry au Bac than we did on Saturday, walking into Cormicy and the sudden appearance of grape vines. The route today threaded through vines, as well as the usual sugar beats, forests, potatoes and bare paddocks with a couple of hills thrown in for interest. It was also a moving day today, we are now in Reims … champagne territory! Our Airbnb is just behind the Veuve Cliquot winery and Visitors Centre. We tried a few weeks ago to get tickets to tour but they are sold out (unless we want to pay €100+ each). I’m confident we’ll find some champagne over coming days! Driving into the city was fun (not) and I was only navigating. They have some very complex and confusing roundabouts!

Route direction ➡️; our direction ➡️
Much busier in Berry au Bac as we left
The Aisne River
Canal running parallel to the river
Tight squeeze in the lock
Champagne territory… a riddling rack in a front yard
Beautiful Cormicy as we approached
War memorial behind the church
Church of Cormicy
Vines at last!
Street art opposite the church
Hans walking ahead
Looking back at Cormicy
Back into the forest
Out again as we head towards Hermonville
Unexploded ordinance reminds us again of the wars in the area
Not much fun on the road into Hermonville
A cave with a door by the side of the road
Beautiful though
A Hans shortcut got us off the road
Tasting grapes before they’re turned into champagne
Making friends as we entered Hermonville
The Mairie
Out of town and back into sugarbeet country
Then forest
An intriguing semicircular stone wall (and gate) in the middle of the forest
A huge mushroom/fungi
A huger dog
More fungi as we arrived in Merfy

Later…

New trams in Reims

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