Saint-Saëns is a small market town in the Pays de Bray, in Upper Normandy, and the composer Camille Saint-Saëns's family name is said to have come from here, though he was born in Paris and had little to do with the place. The town sits in the valley of the Varenne, surrounded by meadows, apple orchards and forests, and it has a quiet, rural charm, with brick and timber houses and a market square.
On its doorstep lies the Forêt d'Eawy, one of the most beautiful beech forests in Normandy. Running through it is the Allée des Limousins, a perfectly straight forest road that stretches for over a dozen kilometres between towering beeches. Riding along it, with the trees arching overhead and the light filtering through the leaves, is a strangely meditative experience, especially in autumn, when the beeches turn gold and copper.
The Pays de Bray is a distinctive landscape: a long, eroded valley in the chalk, where the underlying clay is exposed, producing lush meadows ideal for dairy farming. The region is famous for its cheese, in particular Neufchâtel, a soft, bloomy-rind cheese often shaped like a heart, made around the town of Neufchâtel-en-Bray, about thirteen kilometres away. Cider and calvados are made from the local apples, and you will see orchards everywhere, often with cows grazing beneath the trees.
The roads around Saint-Saëns are quiet and pleasant, winding through valleys, forests and villages, with little traffic. They can be wet and muddy, especially in autumn and winter, and slippery under the trees. Saint-Saëns is small, so fuel and services are limited; Neufchâtel-en-Bray is the nearest larger town. The weather in Normandy is often grey and damp, with frequent showers, but when the sun comes out, the green landscape glows. Late spring, when the apple trees are in flower, is the most beautiful time to ride here.