LES GROTTES DE JOBOURG

Le nez is a word derived from the Norse "ness", meaning cape and not as some would think, the French word for nose.  The nez de Jobourg is one of the most visited sites along the Channel.  The shoreline cliffs are the highest in Europe and peak at over 128 meters.  From its adjacent nez de Voidries one can admire the most western tip of the Cotentin peninsula and its breath taking panoramas.  During good weather it is possible to see the Channel Islands of Sark, Alderney and Guernsey in the near distance.  On July 18, I went with three friends on a guided trip to the famous grottes de Jobourg located under the nez de Voidries which forms a small bay with the nez de Jobourg.  The four caves: the “fairy hole”, the “little church”, the “big church” and the “lion’s cave” can be visited as long as one has a qualified guide.  Our guide was a man named Cyrille Forafo from the Association EXSPEN who was well versed in local history and legends as well as geology and marine science.  In order to visit the caves we had to hike down a narrow path which required us to use climbing ropes and safety harnesses to get us to the bottom and across several small inlets.  This was the scary part for all of us.  Although we were attached to a safety rope, there was always the chance we could fall into the water and get soaking wet.  Using precautionary safety ropes, no one fell into the sea although we all got our feet wet.  The path is very steep and the rocks are slippery.  Throughout the five hour hike, we explored caves and rock formations stopping every now and then for our guide to show us something and explain its use or its history.  It was all very interesting.  I learned that the many of the small caves along the coast were used by smugglers during the reign of Louis XIV.  Smuggling was a national sport in this area of France because of its closeness to the English-owned Channel Islands.  Smugglers would use the caves to store food and goods that could not be found in France but were readily available on the islands.  Customs officers, called “les gabelous” were laughed at because they could never find bootleg items in the caves.  This was because the gabelous were like cats who did not like to get their feet wet.  At low tide, they would explore the caves and find nothing.  The smugglers however, knew that the best times to hide things in the caves would be during high coefficients.  The most popular product to be sold on the black market was neither cigarettes nor alcohol but silk stockings.  The irony here is that the silk stockings were the ones that King Louis XIV really liked.  They were all the rage and everyone wanted them.  But even though the king liked silk stockings, and 90% of the product could be found on the Channel Islands, trading with England was illegal.  Because Alderney is only 16 kilometers away, the illicit trade in stockings became quite popular in La Hague and lasted until 1688 when the king finally authorized the building of factories in France to create these special stockings.  The highlight of the tour comes during the visit to the Lion’s Cave where lichens shimmering silver and gold line the walls.  It was here that we all ate our sack lunch before exploring the rest of the caves.  Many of the caves have their own legends attached to them.  For example, some local people believe that there is a tunnel linking the “little church” cave to the church in Jobourg.  This is actually impossible as the stone is way too hard for anyone to build such a tunnel.  Our guide also showed us the many different types of seaweed and shell fish that thrive in this area and can be eaten as food.  My favorite plant was this “crown of thorns” succulent which grows at the base of the cliffs and tastes very much like a mild grapefruit.  An excellent source of vitamin C, it can be eaten as is or mixed with a salad.  At the end of the hike we returned to our starting point at the parking lot of the restaurant near the nez de Jobourg.  Here, our guide showed us several seaweed products that can be purchased from the local health food stores in Cherbourg and Tourlaville.  Cyrille Forafo from the Association EXSPEN was an excellent guide and showed us a wonderful time.  If you are interested in visiting the Grottes de Jobourg yourself, you might want to visit the EXSPEN website for more information.

On Friday, after some cloudy skies in the morning, the sun came out and I decided to continue with my hikes along le sentier des douaniers near Vauville.  I parked near l’ancien carrière at the bottom of the D318 and proceeded to walk down la rue following the signs to le prieuré.  The Benedictine priory of St-Michel, which stands on a hill to the left of the road, was founded in 1147 by Richard, grandson of William of Vauville.  He was responsible for bringing here the monks of Cerisy-la-Forêt.  It has long been called the Priory of St-Hermel and is the same priory where the Blessed Thomas Hélye (1187-1257), chaplain of St-Louis, came to study when he was very young.  His body now lies in a reliquary tomb at the church in Biville.  Sadly, the priory is now a private residence and visits are not permitted beyond the white gate.  Famous local artist, Jean-François Millet did this oil painting of the priory.  It now hangs in a museum in Amsterdam.  This hike was only 8.2 kilometres long and was quite easy-going despite most of the uphill walking.  At one point, I was at a level altitude with the La Hague Reprocessing Plant which I could see in the distance.  Up here there are a lot of fenced-in properties with cows, sheep, goats and horses grazing—I had to be sure I closed gates behind me as I went along the trails.  Le petit Doué lies at the bottom of the path where I stumbled upon a covered lavoir once used by residents to wash their clothes.  I wanted to visit the church in Vauville again and so I followed the signs into town.  The church was placed under the patronage of St-Martin and its construction is dated to around 1160, shortly after that of the priory.  The three-level bell tower has Romanesque windows and is covered with a pyramid roof.  There used to be three bells in the belfry but they were recast in Villedieu on February 3, 1951 and the new electric bell was blessed on June 12, 1952.  The nave is covered in wood from the 12th century.  The Lady Chapel dates from the beginning of 13th century as does the Gothic choir, which was renovated in the 18th century and is well lit by the modern windows placed there in 1966.  Just beyond the church are the château and the jardin botanique.  I chose not to visit them since I’ve been there so many times before.  The château was built in 1163 by Richard of Vauville—only the keep remains.  The current building from the 17th century has two wings built at right angles above the former foundations.  It is the property of Guillaume Pellerin whose father designed the botanical gardens nearby.  In 1972 the château was inscribed as a historical monument and the gardens were included in 1992.  The château is almost always closed since it is a private residence and therefore only opens during European Heritage Days in October.  However, the gardens are open throughout the year and are quite beautiful.  They contain the largest palm grove in northern Europe.  After walking around the town, I followed the beach back to where I parked my car.

One of the best ways of discovering the countryside of La Hague is to walk along one of the many coastal footpaths called le sentier des douaniers.  In English, the name means “the customs’ paths” since it was once a notorious place for tobacco smugglers from the Channel Islands to hide their boats during bad weather.  From 1800 to 1850, French customs officials did their best to stop illegal contraband by guarding the many paths along the coast.  Throughout the region there are short, medium and long distance footpaths marked with red and white lined lines to keep one from getting lost.  My trip yesterday was just a small one at six kilometres total.  I started at the bottom of route des Moulinets and headed toward Herqueville along the Baie des Fontenelles.  The views from here are spectacular to say the least.  At one point, looking off into the distance, one can see the island of Alderney.  At the point called les Treize Vents (the thirteen winds) it is easy to see the small cove of port du Houguet.  This quaint little spot is one of four small ports in La Hague, the others being Port-Racine, le Hâble and Goury.  The wild and colorful shrubs, ferns, brambles and thistle are everywhere clinging to the steep cliffs but some places have been grazed clean by the many goats and sheep raised here by local farmers.  The toughest part of the hike was the upward climb along the chemin de crève cœur (there’s a double meaning to the name of this path—the exhausted heart that bursts or the more romantic path to heartbreak) to the small village of Herqueville.  Beside the town hall rests the quite modest church dedicated to Our Lady.  The old baptismal font near the entrance reminds us of Christ’s baptism.  The wooden vaults of the nave are shaped like an overturned ship and have recently been restored.  The choir was rebuilt in 1785 and is surrounded by statues in polychrome stone or wood.  Just behind the altar is the sacristy.  Along one of the walls is a bell that came from Omonville-la-Petite and is dated from 1733.  Herqueville has its own well and lavoir as well which adds to the charm of this little village by the sea.

The town of Tonneville is famous for the local legend of Blanche de Percy, la demoiselle de Tonneville, a 13th century noblewoman.  Upon the death of her parents, she became the sole heir to the Percy lands.  She refuted all offers of marriage, lived alone and studied witchcraft.  This eventually led to a dispute over her lands from the local parish and that of Flottemanville.  She cursed those who contested her inheritence saying, « Si, après ma mort, j'avais un pied dans le ciel, et l'autre dans l'enfer, je retirerais le premier pour avoir toute la lande à moi. »  (If, after my death, I had one foot in heaven, and the other in hell, I would withdraw the first to have all of my lands.)  At the time of her death she turned away from the sacraments of the priest and refused to retract her blasphemous words about the possession of her lands.  At her funeral, her coffin became so heavy that it was impossible to move from the doorway of her manor house.  Despite all efforts to have it moved, the locals decided to have it buried on the spot at the entrance to the manor.  Since then, in keeping with her malediction, she haunts the lands and attacks weary travellers.  The legend was given even more credence when in 1949, during demolition work at the site of the manor house, a tomb without inscription was found under the threshold.  Could it possibly be the centuries-old legendary tomb of la demoiselle de Tonneville ?  In a 12th century charter of the Abbaye Notre-Dame du Vœu, one finds the first mention of the town of Tonneville.  The church, dedicated to St-Martin, was built in the Roman style at the beginning of the 13th century.The nave and the choir were reshaped in the 15th century.  A saddleback tower houses a single bell.  Recently renovated, the interior of the building is welcoming and pleasant.  In the north wall of the choir is the 15th century funerary plaque of Anne Le Tellier who died in 1490.  She was the wife of Jehan Basan, a former lord of Tonneville.  It reads as follows : CY DEVA(N)T GIST NOBLE DAMESELLE ANNE LE TELLIER, EN SO(N) VIVA(N)T FAME DE NOBLE HO(MM)E JEHAN BASAN S(EI)G(NEU)R P(A)TRO(N) DE THO(N)NEVILLE: DE SYOU(VIL)LE ET PIERRE(VIL)LE, LA Q(UEL)LE T(R)ESPASSA LE XIIIe JOUR DE JU(I)LLET L'A(N) M CCCC IIIIxx ET X. DIEU EN AIT L'A(M)E.  Five of the stained glass windows in the church date from 1953.  There is one tomb of interest in the cemetery of smaller memorials surrounding the church.  It is quite large and since 1880 has served as the final resting place for members three Tonneville families : Piel, A. Leveziel and Lemoine.

Haunting, vast and gray,

The sea is a beast.

It rambles on and off the shore all day

With its stabbing sharp claws

It eats the beach away.

Sand and stone tumble down—punish, thrash !

The sonorous sounds scare the birds away.

Reminders of World War II, the German block houses and gun turrets dot the Atlantic coast of France.  Unlike those in Querqueville, these have fallen into the sea as the endless tides and frequent storms erode the shoreline.