Le Moulin Bertrand

Pause for reflection and indulge your historical side with a visit to Caverne du Dragon (15 minutes): this network of caves used by French and German forces as fighting hit its peak in World War I is now part of a remembrance site with a host of surrounding monuments and military cemeteries. There’s so much history in this part of Picardy you feel as if you could pluck it from the vines... Visit the ruined abbey at Vauclair (15 minutes’ drive), tour the 12th-century cathedral, art gallery and underground labyrinths in the Knights Templar enclave of Laon (25 minutes), and make sure to drop in on Reims 50 minutes away for tiptop food and champers and to see the spot where 33 kings of France were crowned. For outdoor exertions, interspersed with the odd refreshment stop, make tracks for Gueux 45 minutes away, the start of the hilly Montagne de Reims Regional Natural Park. There’s a myriad of walks and bike trails through the forested hills with the added plus of a champagne vineyard round every corner: pedal carefully, now...