The Proverb Trail

As you stroll through the woods and meadows, you’ll discover twelve local proverbs in North Occitan as you stroll between Cheyne and La Scie de la Bâtie. Play the game of finding the meaning of these amusing and mischievous peasant sayings. The 1h30 stroll is invigorating and fun. Be careful, though, as Léimé ké vé âprès siér ré is a very dangerous place, so be careful if Can Lhiziou pren soun tsâpel, bérdzèira pren toun mantèl.

It’s a timeless place, conducive to rejuvenation and encounters. That of a place, a former school reinvented first as an old-fashioned print shop and typography workshop, home for 30 years to the Cheyne contemporary poetry publishing house. In 2015, a restaurant, wine bar, bookshop, exhibition space, cultural exchange venue and much more was born… l’Arbre vagabond.

The Chemin des Proverbes starts from the Arbre vagabond parking lot. Between woods and meadows, twelve local proverbs can be discovered one by one, linking l’Arbre vagabond to the Moulin de Montabonnel, chambres d’hôtes and table d’hôte in the nearby Ardèche. moulin-de-montabonnel@orange.fr

Read aloud these often amusing North Occitan sayings: “Enâ vedzitâ fai toudzour plâzir; si couéi pâs can vé, couéi can filâ” and always full of meaning: “Can Lhiziou pren soun tsâpel, bérdzèirâ pren toun mantèl”. Try to find out what they mean. A small booklet is available fromArbre vagabond or thetourist office. (2€). The walk takes about an hour and a half round trip.

Depending on the season, you can warm up in the Arbre vagabond tearoom with a cup of invigorating tea on a fine winter afternoon, or quench your thirst with a delicious cold beer from the Agrivoise brewery. L’arbre vagabond also has 6 patois postcards for sale. A 5-minute walk away, Eric the confectioner in Cheyne offers you a chocolate welcome. From March to the end of August, you’ll find all kinds of confectionery in his store: chocolate bars, marshmallows, hazelnuts, chocolate almonds, fruit jellies, beggars and more…

Lac de Devesset is a 20-25 min walk from l’Arbre vagabond, a lovely spot for swimming and picnicking in fine weather, where you can also enjoy canoeing, optimist sailing, paddle-boarding, pedal-boating…

For rest and relaxation, enjoy a restorative night at Odile and Christian’s B&B in Le Cros de Cheyne www.lesboisdecheyne.com