Domfront: Henry Beauclerc's Keep and the Pear Country
Normandy, France
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Domfront Perry
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200
XP
+100 France
= 300 total
1 day
Domfront: Henry Beauclerc's Keep and the Pear Country
200 + 100 XP
Worn out by the cruelties of Guillaume le Cruel, lord of Alençon, the people of Domfront gave their loyalty to Henry Beauclerc, third son of the Conqueror, and in 1092 he raised a stone castle on the rocky spur with a powerful four-square keep — one of the stone belt of strongholds, with Argentan, Alençon and Mortagne-au-Perche, that held the Norman border. Eleanor of Aquitaine kept court here and gave birth in the castle to her daughter Eleanor of England, the future grandmother of Saint Louis, in the early 1160s; the castle was dismantled in 1608 on the orders of Henri IV. The country around is famous for its perry, the poiré Domfront, protected by an appellation.
Required Activities
1
of 4
On the spur above the town, find the base of Henry Beauclerc's four-square keep and then the old chapel of the Benedictine priory of Saint-Symphorien, swallowed inside the castle wall when the stronghold was built round it
2
of 4
Walk down off the rock to the 11th-century Romanesque church of Notre-Dame-sur-l'Eau on the Varenne, restored throughout in 2024, and find the tombstones that were re-set at a higher level in that work to keep them clear of the river's floods
3
of 4
Taste a poiré Domfront from a producer in the Domfrontais — AOC since 2002, AOP since 2006, at least 40 per cent juice of the Plant de Blanc pear, and sparkling because the fermentation finishes in the bottle with no pasteurisation, no added gas and no added sugar — then pick out the tall cloud-shaped perry pear trees in the orchards on the way back into town
4
of 4
Go into the old town through the tour d'Alençon, its medieval gate, then follow the rue des Fossés Plisson along the south side and count how many of the eleven surviving wall towers you can see from the street
On the spur above the town, find the base of Henry Beauclerc's four-square keep and then the old chapel of the Benedictine priory of Saint-Symphorien, swallowed inside the castle wall when the stronghold was built round it
Walk down off the rock to the 11th-century Romanesque church of Notre-Dame-sur-l'Eau on the Varenne, restored throughout in 2024, and find the tombstones that were re-set at a higher level in that work to keep them clear of the river's floods
Taste a poiré Domfront from a producer in the Domfrontais — AOC since 2002, AOP since 2006, at least 40 per cent juice of the Plant de Blanc pear, and sparkling because the fermentation finishes in the bottle with no pasteurisation, no added gas and no added sugar — then pick out the tall cloud-shaped perry pear trees in the orchards on the way back into town
Go into the old town through the tour d'Alençon, its medieval gate, then follow the rue des Fossés Plisson along the south side and count how many of the eleven surviving wall towers you can see from the street
Before you go
Nothing here is ticketed or seasonal. The castle spur is a public park with the keep base, the towers, the ramparts and the old chapels standing in it, and Notre-Dame-sur-l'Eau is open freely all year, 9am to 6.30pm every day. The one thing to arrange ahead is the poiré: Domfrontais producers are working farms, so ring the farm or ask the tourist office before turning up to taste.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
200 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
300 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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