Ardennes of Eden; LAURA DAVIES FINDS RURAL BLISS IN A QUIET CORNER OF FRANCE.

HAVE you met the local bore?" the old man asks us, breaking off from his description of life in the 17th century French countryside, supplemented with impressions of farmyard animals. It's a question repeated to us often during our mini road trip though the beautiful Ardennes region of northern France, and it's only when someone asks us in their own tongue that we realise what is means.

It's a sanglier, or boar. And it's a 10mtall, 50-tonne metal sculpture called Woinic. Sadly, we fail to catch a glimpse of him standing watch over the fields, but there are plenty of curiosities to keep us amused.

Our trip starts in the tiny town of Signy l'Abbaye, a pretty place with lots of hanging baskets that contrast with the regimental rows of white gravestones in the war cemetery at its edge.

The Auberge de l'Abbaye, where we spend our first night, is an ancient inn managed by members of the same family for over a century. The rooms are cosy and pleasantly rustic, and we are unprepared for the quality of the food, which is definitely substance over style, all home-cooked with local ingredients - even the jam at breakfast is made from fruit grown in the owner's orchards.

The countryside is the Ardennes' main selling point. Unrestricted by dry stone walls or hedges, it runs on uninterrupted for miles. The Ardennes is small enough for you to take in a few different places at a fairly leisurely pace over a week or a long weekend.

We find the old man with his animal impressions on one of these stops, at the Relais de Poste aux Chevaux in Launois sur Vence. Originally from Poland, Marcel Ludwiczak took over the 17th-century stagecoach inn in the 1980s and began restoring it. Now a museum of sorts, it also holds regular fairs and festivals. He is immensely proud of the local brewery, too, and drives us there for a tour - even though it is less than 100 yards away.

Next stop is Sedan, home to the largest castle in Europe, where we are staying the night. Founded in 1424, the town is no stranger to conflict. It provided asylum for Protestant refugees in the 16th century and gave its name to the battle of September 2 1870, when Napoleon III was taken prisoner with 100,000 of his soldiers.

More recently, it was occupied by German forces during World War II when they attacked France through the Ardennes forest.

The chateau was given to the town of Sedan by the French army in 1962 and is now open to the public. A guided audio tour is available in English, and is surprisingly candid about the failures of the French.

In the battlements is the Hotellerie le Chateau Fort, a luxury 43-bedroom hotel with a restaurant serving surprisingly reasonably priced set menus given the location. The rooms are hung with copies of famous paintings and are a good size and very comfortable.

The town itself is worth a wander for the tiny brasseries and whiffs of oldfashioned boulangeries, but Sedan also makes a good base for excursions, including the star-shaped fortified city of Rocroi which inspired the US Pentagon's . Laura SeaFrance, tourist crossings Calais each (seafrance.. She stayed Signy l'Abbaye Hotellerie (00 33 324 hotel and unusual outline, and the area's largest town, Charleville-Mezieres.

Symbols of wealth are carved into the buildings on the 17th-century streets that lead to Charleville's stunning Place Ducale. Designed by the Royal architect to Louis XIII, it is very much the Ardennes version of Paris' Place Vendome.

The town also boasts a three-yearly puppet festival. Unfortunately, we are not in time for this year's, which took place in September. As relaxing as it is to sit outside a cafe in the Place Ducale and sample the local speciality of ham hock salad, it's not something we can afford to do for the next three years to ensure we make the next festival in 2012.

with up to 30 and at pounds 25 7119) in and Sedan on If you're going to do this trip it pays to speak at least a bit of French. You can get by without it but be prepared for plenty of hand-gesturing and crossed wires. It's worth it, though, because - unlike the larger cities where everyone launches into broken English at your first "bonjour" - it actually feels like you're in a different country.

Hotellerie le bedroom serving priced TRAVEL INFORMATION . Laura Davis travelled with outside a cafe sample the hock can three the SeaFrance, which operates up to 30 tourist crossings between Dover and Calais each day.

(seafrance.com, 0871 423 7119) a Prices start at pounds 25 . She stayed at Auberge de l'Abbaye in Signy l'Abbaye (00 33 324 528127) and Hotellerie le Chateau Fort in Sedan (00 33 324 299890).

Information on hotel bookings, attractions and excursions at ardennes.com base the Rocroi Pentagon's it, the launches your feels like

CAPTION(S):

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