gerrots is a tiny municipality of Calvados of 3,5 km2. And yet, like many towns in the intermunicipal Normandy Cabourg Pays-d'Auge, it does not lack charm and it is not its 60 inhabitants who will tell you the opposite.
To access it from Beuvron-en-Auge, take the car road to the Forges de Clermont. Before arriving at Gerrots, we invite you to make a detour to the Saint-Michel chapel in Clermont to enjoy the superb view of the Dives valley which contrasts with the modesty of the religious building. To the east, you guess the town of Gerrots.
Saint-Martin de Gerrots church
Going down on the Coast of Gerrots, you arrive at the foot of Saint-Martin church, isolated, in the middle of the cemetery. Romanesque in style, it was built in the XNUMXthe century, then remodeled in the XNUMXthe century.
It is made up of 2 buildings: a nave with three bays, covered with tiles, and an older choir, covered with slates.
Above the west entrance, a small square tower is surmounted by a bell tower, topped with a 4-sided spire. If you can get into the church, you will enjoy the high altar of the XVIIe century. The 2 patron saints Martin and Lubin are carved there. The invocation of these two saints also suggests an origin Merovingian or Carolingian Pre-Norman of the site.
Auge landscapes
On each side of the church are two mansions: to the south, that of the Cour Gasnel, to the north, the manor of Gerrots. They both bear witness to the typical architecture of beautiful Auge residences.
Appreciate the cows grazing in the pastures, the horses grazing and the apple orchards: you are indeed in the heart of the Pays d'Auge.
The mound of the Courtyard of the Domaines de Gerrots
Another site testifies to an older history. In a private property 1 m east of the church of Gerrots, you may be lucky enough to see the castle mound of the Cour des Domaines, from the road to Rumesnil or the town hall. The feudal mound measures 30 m in diameter. It is surrounded by two enclosures and ditches 7 to 8 m deep which were once fed by the waters of a small nearby stream. All that remains of this old castle is the motte castrale, the barnyard and the ditches which have been classified as historical monuments since 1981.
Continuing straight, you reach the Cider Route. It awaits you for the rest of your journey and to taste the famous Norman products: cider, pommeau and calvados.