DAY 87 CHATILLON TO VERRES

Today was our opportunity to catch up on the day we missed in July from Chatillon to Verres. Having booked in for two nights at La Casa Antica, we were able to leave behind most of the contents of our packs and carry just what we needed for the day – a great relief for the first day back on the road after three months.

Mindful of the much reduced daylight hours compared with July, we opted for an early start. Taking the train from Pont Saint Martin to Chatillon we were on our way walking by 0800.

The sights and smells of autumn were much in our minds and on our noses. While many of the trees are still green, the ash leaves have mostly fallen, the oaks are dry brown, and the vines on the hillsides are looking thin with yellow-red leaves. Despite the sun not having risen high enough to hit the valley it was not cold, and fleeces were soon removed for a day in shorts and light-weight shirts rolled to the elbows.

Looking back across Chatillon and up the Aosta valley

We first walked up through Chatillon from the station, passing a Sunday market just getting underway in the main street, with tables of huge pumpkins for Halloween alongside an array of fresh vegetables. Climbing steadily we passed through a sequence of small hamlets, interspersed with small meadows, trees, and mostly abandoned vineyards. As we had found higher up the valley, there has been a lot of new building, a few renovations of very old buildings, and quite a number of abandoned houses in these remote villages.

Once we’d gained height to well above Chatillon we enjoyed a stretch of easy walking contouring around the hillside on old vineyard terraces until the path descended into St Vincent, the next town after Chatillon where the Aosta valley turns southwards.

Lovely early morning light bringing out the autumn colours

We had the usual challenges with finding our way across the built up area of St Vincent, partly due to diversions around ’proprieta privata’ and partly for want of signage at critical points, but eventually emerged onto an Italian levada to continue contouring along the hillside for a while, spurred on by the gushing water in the channel beside us, while we crunched acorns and chestnuts under the soles of our boots.

This section of the walk was notable for the extensive mixed deciduous woodlands, which come into their own at this time of year and in a few weeks time will be a riot of autumnal colours. So enthralled were we by the lovely trees and easy walking we almost trashed some pretty but probably inedible mushrooms well camouflaged in the leaf litter underfoot – another wonderful picture of autumn.

At Chenal we came to the first of several pinch points where the valley narrows markedly, forcing railway or motorway or both into tunnels, watched over by old forts standing high on hillside spurs with commanding views: and therefore control of trade up and down the valley. Our path took us uphill around the back of the spur, emerging the other side to views down the valley.

Chenal fort, now a shadow of its former self due to re-use of its stone

A tiny hamlet at the top included a pilgrim B&B with a fine woodcarving of a pilgrim in the garden. What a fine staff he has! There have been days when we could have done with good solid sticks to fend off aggressive dogs.

After walking through some more woods we came upon the next impressive castle guarding another narrow gap in the valley. This one was in much better shape, and had what looked like a sizeable monastery nearby.

Having clambered around the back of this castle the valley opened out into a broad swathe of pastureland, with roads, railway and river winding across. A large hydroelectric scheme dominates the west side of the valley, and nearby there is (according to a sign beside the road) a Roman bridge, though we were unable to see it through the trees!

Looking back up the valley with the castle commanding the narrow gap

We were now nearing Montjovet, a village founded in Roman times and named after a Roman god. Today there are still Roman remains to be seen, including short sections of Roman road worn down by the thousands of carts which passed this way, probably carrying olive oil and wine from the south and taking cheeses, salami and local wines back.

In Montjovet we found a bench to sit for our lunch, though instead of facing the views up and down the valley it faced into a carpark. There is an Aosta Land Rover club and a Fiat Panda 4×4, we learned!

Looking back towards the hydro scheme and castle

As we descended the valley the vegetation became more lush and green. It looks like it has recovered quickly after the summer drought which we were experiencing back in July.

Above Montjovet we came upon a high pasture with cows and tinkling cowbells which reminded us of our walks in the Pyrenees – in the days when we were fit enough to carry camping gear and food for a couple of weeks, enabling us to get up to the remote summer pastures. Here, the summer pastures are easily accessible during a day’s walk from the valley floor.

A final section of ups and downs in woods high on the hillside, and then a long and very steep descent, brought us down to the bottom of the valley and into Verres where we caught a train back to Pont Saint Martin, nursing our bashed toes and knees.

Verres has its own castle guarding one of the side valleys

We were glad to complete the section of the walk we had to miss out in July, and even more glad not to have to carry full packs for our first full day back on the trail. The weather was very pleasant for walking – much better than the searing temperatures we endured in July – and the first hint of autumn has given us another perspective of the Aosta valley. Starting out as the sun was rising seemed to work well, so it’s an early night tonight and another early start tomorrow.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *