Ten walkers and a dog met in glorious springlike sunshine at the Place de l’ancienne Gare in Divonne les Bains for the 2.8km saunter along the old railway line to the Restaurant des Bergers in Grilly. The walk took us by the homes of two of the participants where we noted the wife of one was working hard in their garden pruning roses and the other participant joined us having sat on a bench in the sun waiting our arrival about 1km into our journey.
We were joined by the final participant at the restaurant itself so there were twelve of us who sat down to eat an excellent fondue washed down with a delightful Chablis.
After such a lunch, the return journey was most welcome.
Participants: Jeff C, Norman E, Mike M and Nessie, Robert O’R, Mike P, Richard S, Paul S, Rudolf S, Gerry S, Gary V, Ralph W and Mark 2R.
Ed: Many thanks to Mark for organising the walk and lunch and for the blog.
It is always sad saying goodbye to good friends, and this time it was to say au revoir to our good walking buddy and organiser Alan Baker. Unsurprisingly, many members of GIN, and not only those in the walking group, showed a wish to join in all or part of the day’s activities and others sent their regrets. The planned walk took place in Versonnex, France and consisted of about three kilometres around the “mighty” Oudar, a tributary of the Versoix. In view of the limited parking in Versonnex, most walkers met in Divonne for car sharing to the parking by the church in Versonnex where they joined the others, and in all 23 walkers set off at 10h40.
The beginning (and end) of the walk was on level tarmac and with a relatively rapid early pace, people remarked that we would be at the restaurant well before noon. A herd of bullocks (?) came trotting out to look at us before we turned in through the woods on an earth path by the side of La Lillette, a tributary of the Oudar.
Bullocks
Those with a good sense of smell noted an abundance of wild garlic before we crossed a bridge over La Lillette and into the sunshine with fields on either side of the path. It was the turn for horses to be entertained by our passing with at least one rolling about on his back, no doubt trying to get to that itchy spot that he couldn’t otherwise reach. In noting a wild animal in a field in the distance, there was a short discussion as to whether it was a deer or a hare; in the end we decided that cataract operations were a good thing as we could at least see there was a wild animal in the distance. After walking by some farm buildings, with woods on the left where La Lillette merged with the now “mightier” Oudar, we reached a small clearing by the river for photographs.
“Mighty” Oudar
The return walk was on level pavement and only had one small incident that required a car to collect one of our number who had an issue with one of his toes that hindered his walking.
All walkers except Richard S, photographerAll walkers except Larry, behind cameraWild garlic
The lunch at Sur l’Ardoise went extremely well and they catered for the now 27 people most professionally. We were in a partitioned section of the restaurant on three tables. Also, the acoustics enabled us to have conversations easily. Thank you, Richard, for setting this up. It is certainly a restaurant to be considered for future GIN lunches.
We all said our fond farewells to Alan, with our thanks for his having organised the walks over so many years. Good luck to Tim Goodyear, his worthy successor (we hope, not yet confirmed).
Present: Alan Baker, Peter Taylor, Mervyn Powell, Tim Goodyear, Larry French, Gerry Swart, David Gwilliam, Ken Forrester, Ray Fiander, Trevor Davies, Robert O Riordan, Ian Cappin, Paul Sochaczewski, Steve Long, Mark Watts, Mike Price, Wouter van Ginneken, David Colledge, Alan Peters, Philip Jenkins, Rob MacKenzie, Norman Eatough, Hubert Pettingell, Bryan Clark, Ralph Wares, Richard Saynor and Mark Warren.
Wouter and Larry of the GIN walking group. July 14, 2033.
Tolochenaz, near Morges, where Audrey lived after her retirement from the world of cinema. Lucky encounter in the parking lot with retired head of public works for Tolochenaz, Hubert, who knew Audrey and had the sad task of digging her grave. Audrey’s home is 100 metres beyond the hedge in the background.
The wall of La Paisible, Audrey Hepburn’s residence for the last thirty years of her life.
Miracle! The gate to the residence La Paisible was open. A view of Audrey”s beloved garden where she spent much of her time.
Larry in front of the chapel where Audrey was buried.In the chapel where Audrey’s funeral service was celebrated. Memorable passage from Ecclesiastes, ‘There is a time and there is a season…’Wouter looks at home in the pulpit in the chapel. Gift of a broad and deep education.
The mural that adorns the back wall of the Audrey Hepburn Pavilion. Here for many years the memorabilia from her years’ modelling and acting were displayed.
Larry in the Salle des Mariages of Morges Hôtel de Ville, where Audrey celebrated her second marriage to Andrea Dotti, after her divorce from Mel Ferrer. They had a son, Luca, half brother to Sean Ferrer.
Lucky encounter on the Grand’rue in Morges on the way to lunch. We are in distinguised company – well known to Larry. Standing is Nuria Gorrite, former Syndic of Morges, former President of the Canton de Vaud, now Minister for Transport in the Conseil d’Etat de Vaud. Standing beside her is her father, Rafaêl. Seated to the left is Aristide, archiviste in the Bolle Museum, his wife, Jacqueline, then Salvatore Gervaisi, Director of the Bolle Museum, soon to be our host. Finally, Wouter, enjoying this fine moment. L’Hôtel de Ville with flags flying that we had just visited is visible behind Nuria.
The archives of the Bolle Museum, in the room dedicated to Audrey Hepburn. Director Salvatore Gervaisi gives us a lightning tour of the Hepburn Collection before we visit the new exhibition dedicated to Audrey, her life in comic strip form. The exhibition continues till mid-August. July ’24 will see an exhibition featuring the designs of Hubert Givenchy for the costumes and dresses that Audrey wore so gracefully.
Quiet flows the Morges. Beautiful still life from Mark Warren taken from the little bridge as you enter Morges from the west along the Lake. Our knowledgeable guide, Jean-Paul Perrin, informed us that the word ‘Morges is derived from the celtic word for border or limit.
At the Château de Morges, built by Louis de Savoie in 1286, soon after the founding of Morges by the Savoyards. It now houses several museums, including the Vaudois Miliary Museum. This and following photos thanks to the skill of Tim Goodyear.
The main exhibition at this time is the illustrated history of the wars with Charles the Bold of Burgundy who had the temerity to attack the Bernois egged on by Louis XI, King of France, in the 1470s. After three battles the powerful Duchy of Burgundy was no more, in the dust with Charles killed at Nancy. Sic transit gloria mundi!
The port of Morges, one of the largest on the Lake, with the two guérites, watch towers?, that protect the port, now symbol of Morges. In the good old days a chain was suspended from guérite to guérite each night so the citizens of Morges could sleep easy.
On the Quai Mont Blanc, we are rapt in attention before our eloquent guide. He was facing dental surgery that afternoon. We hope all went well.
Beautiful photo of the stairwell in the wine cellar of the Maison Bolle. Jean-Paul explained that in the good old pre-electricity days a skylight served to illuminate stairwells and even cellars.
Thatcher in the cellar of the Maison Bolle in front of the canotier, a 19th century row boat with a huge canon in front filled with grapeshot in case the ducks in the harbour attacked. Don’t get any ideas, Vladimir Putin, Morges can defend itself.
Sign on the entrance to the lower level reception room of the Hôtel de Ville. Second marriage for Audrey, who lived in Tolochonaz nearby, and is buried there. She loved Morges, and vice-versa, and attracted personalities like William Holden and Yul Brynner, who also took up residence nearby on the edge of St Prex. Market Day in Morges has not been the same since.
Photo of the Passage de la Couronne looking south, about 1900. La Pinte du XXième Siècle, where we had lunch, is in the building immediately to the right.
The historic Grenier bernois, which now houses our library and meeting rooms. A treasure preserved by the foresight of the citizens of Morges and their leaders. We see that in 1536 the fearsome Bernois took over the region, peacefully, without firing a shot. They ruled Vaud after that till 1798-1803, when one Napoléon Buonaparte gave them the heave-ho, and Vaud became an independent Canton.
Can you believe it?? The Maison Bolle offered its best wines for tasting on the Quai Mont Blanc just before lunch, free of charge, to the distinguished Gentlemen of Nyon.
Our host at the tasting, Julien Pâche of the Maison Bolle, explains the origin of our exquisite Pinot Noir, le Servagnin. Several ceps were offered to Morges-St Prex by Marie de Burgogne in 1420 to thank the communities for hosting her to give birth in peace and tranquility to her daughter, Marguérite de Savoie. Her home in Savoy, Château de Ripaille, ‘the Castle of Festive Feasts’, was a bit over the top for a pregnant Duchesse. There were also rumours of plague nearby. Some 600 years later, the brilliant vignerons of St Prex and Morges resuscitated the one remaining cep in a garden in St Prex, and now produce the best pinot noir in Switzerland, dare we say, in the universe! And we had the privilege of tasting it!
On the wall of fame and history of our restaurant, the 20th Century, a bistro preserving the Vaudois traditional fare, whose owners, Thierry and Amanda Mundler, offered us a delicious repast! The sign was written in the time of the mini-verre Vaudois, that the Maison Bolle had offered us as a souvenir. Nowadays with larger glasses, the challenge is a bit less daunting.
Final photo by Mark. Are we happy or not?
17 valiant explorers participated in the Morges challenge: Paul Sochaczewski, Thatcher Shellaby, Jeff Crudgington, Mike Muller, Alan Baker, Mark Warren, Gerard Swart, Brian Allardyce, Mark Watts, Mike Price, Tim Goodyear, Colin Carter, Alan Peters, Gary Vannator, Trevor Davies, Wouter Van Ginneken, Larry French
Our guide was Jean-Paul Perrin, retired pastor and expert on the history of Morges.
Fifteen Ginners and guests plus an adorable black Labrador, Onyx, met in the centre of Russin with even the latecomers arriving two minutes early. We consequently set off punctually at 10am with three “leaders” who had recently done the walk as well as emeritus leaders who knew it well. The steep walk down to the station and over the railway line went well but then an emeritus leader asked which way to go in view of a choice of at least three options. The group agreed to split and to meet at the first hide which was achieved without incident. Indeed, it would have been extremely difficult to get lost as all roads led to the Rhone.
The Rhone was flowing fast with little bird life but there were several ponds off the right bank – the étang des Bouvières for fishing – and three (Paul Géroudet, Jacques Burnier and Maurice Blanchet) collectively known as the Teppes du Verbois for their birds and nature, each with its own hide. Many pairs of binoculars were brought out and many minutes taken looking at the various birds, including swans, red-crested pochards, great crested grebes, coots as well as a grey heron and a great white egret. The light and the reflections against the water were glorious.
We continued towards the confluence of the Allondon with the Rhone where kingfishers were spotted and then up the surprisingly challenging slope to the Vignoble Doré for an excellent lunch. Conversation ranged from how long it would be before Liz Truss resigned (end of the week), leaders who some would like to see out of power or prospects of such before the year’s end (leading contenders were Putin, Bolsinaro, Trump and Khamenei), the benefits of the House of Lords for the man in the street…
More seriously, would volunteers for leading future walks please contact Alan Baker.
A good walk as underscored by a participant who said he would come back with his wife. Another said so would he, before correcting himself to say he meant his own wife.
Participants:
Brian Allardyce, Alan Baker, Mike Clayton, Bryan Clark, Norman Eatough, Tim Goodyear (not lunch), Philip Jenkins, Hubert Pettingell, Mike Price, Richard Saynor, Paul Sochaczewski, Nicolas Ulmer and Mark Warren
We started at 10:30 from the Parking of the Refuge de Gland. After 15 minutes walk through the woods, we reached the route de Lausanne. We stopped at the Fortification Villa Rose, which was a big surprise to some the walkers in our small group. We also admired several times the “Toblerone Line”. Leaving the Route de Lausanne, we proceeded through fields, woods and followed the river until we reached the Domaine Imperial Golf Course.
We watched 3 ladies, each hitting on the green of a par 3 as we duly applauded. The remaining part of our walk went safely through the golf course. We saw many warning signs and walked cautiously paying attention to flying golf balls. We arrived at the parking lot at 11:50 continued to the restaurant Les Aberiaux at the Port Les Aberiaux, where we enjoyed a beer and an excellent Cheeseburger outside in the sun with a great view of Lake Geneva. In summary a great walk, beautiful weather, good drinks/food and small, excellent group of GIN walkers.
John Burley, Wouter van Ginneke and Brian Allardyce and Gerry Swart
7 stalwarts assembled at the COTY building in Versoix Bourg on this warm (24°) cloudless day: Richard, Mike, Hubert, Gerard, David, Philip and chef de course Norman. We climbed the modest hill to the Canal de Versoix then followed it upstream to a point short of the autoroute viaduct. Norman explained the history of this feat of 18th century engineering: in the late 1700s, the French government decided to rival Geneva commercially on Lac Léman, so planned a new town (Cité Choiseul) under the guidance of the Duc de Choiseul, for which the canal would supply water taken from La Versoix at La Bâtie. A few buildings were erected, but then, as my Histoire de Versoix recounts, ‘le Duc tomba en disgrâce’ and the city was never built. We then dropped down to La Versoix river, which has remained the Canton’s river with the highest volume in these months of drought (it is fed from underground lakes deep in the limestone Jura). In the shade of the trees, the temperature was refreshing. We turned left at the footbridge and climbed a modest slope back to the canal. Intellectual discussions were the order of the day (and not just about the aches and pains of the tamalou), such that our noble leader inexplicably missed a turning – unheard of. The chattering classes were yanked back and we duly enjoyed the shady sylvan glades of the lower La Versoix back to COTY: 2h05 actual walking time. Beers all round then lunch under sunshades at Le Café National, where comments congratulatory (Norman turned 90 a month ago) mischievous and inspired rent the air. The walk was declared a memorable success. Les absents avaient tort, une fois de plus.
Mark Warren’s plan to lead the GIN Walkers to and possibly through lesCascades d’Hérisson on 2 June 2022 had been postponed for a rarely encountered reason – the spring drought had deprived these famous waterfalls of adequate water to show themselves off in their full glory.
In the circumstances, a cheerful band of 8 Walking Group participants (Mark, Alan, Bryan C., Richard S., Nicolas, Paul, Rob, and Tim retraced our steps along the bank of the Divonne River to and from the Swiss border at Crassier. New decking avoided much of the mud encountered during our previous walk along this route.
Another excellent Lunch was then enjoyed at Le Bon Accueil in Divonne, during which we added our own toast to the many others ongoing that day in celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee.
Thanks again, Mark, for your patience in planning and then needing to changethe location for this walk. We look forward to sharing in the postponed visit to the “Hedgehog Falls” in the not-too-distant future.
Thanks also go to Tim Goodyear for the photos.
Alan Baker. 3 June 2022
Peaceful scene…..……and anotherLooking for wildlifeAn ex-slowwormThere’s a couple of herons there somewhereThe end of a fine lunch
A hardy band of 10 GIN walkers met in the rain at the car park in Tolochonaz, above Morges. We were not put off by a few drops of rain! The walk took us on agricultural roads through the fields to the impressive Chateau de Vufflens, and thence through vines to the village of Denens where one still sees the remains of the Scarecrows erected last year for the ScarecrowFestival.
By this time we were not only wet but thirsty. Here we headed for the Cave du Chateau de Denens where John Burley had organised a wine tasting and light meal with the owner Mr. de Buren. We tried 4 different wines which were much appreciated, especially the Chasselas (at 9 francs a bottle) and the Malbec. Then of course we had to walk back to the cars in Tolochenaz…….and it was still raining! But what an excellent outing we had, thanks to John.
John Burley(leader), Brian Allardyce (wrote the blog), Alan Baker, Wouter van Ginneken, Nicolas Ulmer, Bryan Clark, Paul Sochaczewski, Tim Goodyear, Mark Warren, Mark Watts. Plus (Ginjured) Richard Saynor for lunch.
The walk from Montreux to the Chateau de Chillon and then a visit to the Fort had been planned for a long time, but Covid intervened. We finally managed it on 30th March, when 7 of us congregated at the Freddy Mercury statue in Montreux and walked for an hour to Chillon. The weather didn’t look too good, but Alan, Rudi, Tim, Paul, Colin, Wouter, and Brian were undaunted. The spring flowers and the magnolias were impressive, and we remarked that Montreux must spend a fortune on their gardens. Arriving at the Chateau we had a leisurely lunch and some of us even took the opportunity for a quick visit inside the Chateau.
Then across the road to the Fort which has not long been open. It was constructed in 1940 and 41 because at that time the Swiss believed a German invasion was highly likely. It was one of a large number of such Forts across Switzerland and was intended to repel attacks that might come at the end of Lake Leman. There are many camouflaged firing ports in the hillside and the soldiers lived in the various rooms which had been carved out of the mountain. We had an introduction in English and were then able to go by ourselves into the various rooms: the bunk rooms, kitchen, refectory, generator room, hospital, etc. In most of the rooms a full-size video was projected onto the wall showing what went on there. These were often humorous, for example in the hospital where a surgeon was busy doing a spoof operation using tools and gadgets from a Swiss Army knife handed to him by a colleague. The visit continued with a short film and then outside to an observation platform where you get a superb view of the Chateau, see below.
We all agreed this was a very interesting visit and well worth the walk to and from Montreux.
