Head into Nature

A short stroll or two-minute drive from the Caverne brings you to a very different but equally atmospheric war site. Here, deep in the forest, the Cistercian Abbaye de Vauclair is a relic of an area torn apart by fighting – founded in 1134, it was damaged in the Hundred Years’ War, the French Wars of Religion, the Revolution, and by artillery bombardment in 1917. Signs warn parents not to let kids clamber over the crumbling ruins, but the surrounding Forest of Vauclair, also extensively scarred but replanted and now a wildlife haven, is a great place to let off steam, picnic, build dens – and even spot old bomb craters.

Go Green 

The Abbaye marks one end of the Voie Verte de l’Ailette, a walking and cycling ‘Green Way’. Families staying at the Hôtel du Golf de l’Ailette on the lakeside at Chamouille can borrow bikes for all ages, or Center Parcs resort across the water has guest bike rental. Both properties also have swimming facilities, and there are watersports galore on the lake.

It’s about a seven-kilometre, mainly flat bike-ride from the hotel to the Abbaye, over boardwalks, through reedbeds and alongside streams and the lake itself. Bird-hides along the shore are good spots to take a breather, with viewing windows at heights suited to all ages.  Or in the other direction, towards hilltop medieval Laon, the Base de Loisirs Axoplage is a lake beach with pétanque, nature lookouts, and picnic and barbecue areas. 
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