No festive welcome on arrival in Saint-Cécile.
No fanfare or harmony in the area to be seen.
Cécile is nevertheless the patroness of musicians, church musicians, choirs.
The weather gods are not kind to us either. The spirit of the Sun King Louis XIV has turned his sunbeams away from us and Saint-Cécile.
When we look for the remains of 'Le Castelain', built by Vauban - master builder of Louis XIV, the heavens are opened.
After a short 3 km climb we reach the former lookout point Mauleus, soaked, high above the Semois. This lookout was part of the 27 redoubts that Louis XIV had built along the Semois. The rudimentary structure was surrounded by a rampart and a moat. A simple but efficient defense system.
With some imagination you stand here together with the twelve men in the service of Lodewijk on the lookout for possible intruders.
Unfortunately, the weather conditions do not give us a distant view, but we can imagine that on a clear day you have a beautiful view of the meandering Semois.
A short steep descent takes us to the bed of the Semois.
Against the current and with a sun breaking through, we return to the musical village of Saint-Cécile.
Despite the bad weather, we were able to experience a piece of history again.
All our hiking experiences in the Gaume can be found in my collection Gaume Luxembourg.
Have fun watching and reading