Links with Neufchâteau

NEUFCHATEAU

The Town and its people

Typically French in appearance, it is built by the side of the river Mouzon. It has a long history, and, among a number of buildings of historical note, has an unusual 12th century church. It is one of 90 French towns participating in a Government scheme to retain and maintain the old town centre in its original style.

The population of the town alone is 8,000 (about 50% more than Stony), but the shopping centre (including a market) is roughly four times bigger than Stony’s because the town acts as the local centre for a surrounding population of 45,000 (approximately 20 mile radius).

Neufchâteau has its own hospital with 560 beds, and about ten hotels. None of them are premium, and all are low cost by UK standards, but the one I stayed in was perfectly adequate.

The town has excellent sports facilities, and teams in rugby, football, tennis, swimming, and probably several others. It is also strong on dance having three dance schools.

Traditionally the town is a centre for the manufacture of furniture, particularly period reproduction, and 90% of employment is still related to wood.

Other main employers are:

- Sorepla, the waste recycling company (part of a UK group “ENVIRCO”), which concentrates on sorting and recycling plastic bottles The third largest such plant in Europe), mainly for shipment to Dublin where they are converted into artificial fibres for new clothing: everything is automated and it processes 80 tons per day: we have introduced Sorepla to the CROP recycling plant in Old Wolverton Road

- Vittel mineral water (a few miles to the east

- cheese manufacturer (making Roulade cheese, made only for the UK market).

The surrounding area

Joan of Arc’s birthplace is two miles out of town. A large semi-restored amphitheatre is a few miles away. The area in general is dominated by forests, dotted with lots of traditional small villages. We have a variety of guides and brochures, all in French. Other information is on the Decopole web site (Decopole is the economic association between Neufchâteau and its surrounding villages and small towns).

The journey each way is approx. 440 miles. Neufchâteau is approx. 290 miles from Calais, roughly a 4-5 hours drive. It is in the middle of the Vosges region and is surrounded by a ring of more major towns - Chalons, Metz, Nancy, Chaumont, and Troyes.

There are several ways to get there. All start with the journey to Reims on the A26 : this part of the journey is 170+ miles and takes perhaps 2½ hours.

From then on there are several alternatives. The shortest way is via Chalons and then Bar-le-Duc. The one involving the least mileage off motorways is via Chaumont, but this is nearly twice as long from Reims. Another alternative (used by the Mayor’s son, who lives in the UK), is to travel east along the A4 to Metz, then south to Nancy, and then along the A31 which goes quite close to Neufchâteau.

If you find more pleasant or quicker alternative routes, please let us know.