13.5km – Medium difficulty (but tougher in the snow) – Start at the castle in Clervaux; plenty of public parking available or – even better – take the train!
If it’s snow you’re looking for then the Eislek in January and February is a good place to find it! Seeing that a good 5-10cm had fallen in the Mullerthal overnight, we just knew that it would be even more up in the Ardennes, so we piled on the layers of thermals and headed… north!
Parking in the shadow of Clervaux’s snow-white castle instantly evoked happy memories of visits to Luxembourg’s cultural crown jewels – the magnificent UNESCO-listed “Family of Man” photo exhibition. Alas, it’s closed during January and February, so it was on with the hiking boots and onwards to the trail instead.
The Clervaux Eislek Pad – one of eighteen brand-new “EP” hikes in the region – essentially combines the grandiose monuments of this attractive town with the peaceful wooded hills surrounding it. The first few kilometres are all about the town itself, with views over the castle, the impressive Church of St Cosmos & Damian, the cutesy Loreto Chapel and tantalising glimpses of Clervaux Abbey above the sugar-frosted treetops.
Just after the railway station, the path begins to climb steeply, first through forest, then up to a plateau and eventually into the village of Eselborn. This is the highest point of the hike (+/- 500m) and the snow lay deep and thick and even.
From there it’s a gentle descent down into peaceful forest. The footprints on the path in front of us quickly disappeared, and for several kilometres we plodded contently through virgin snow and a Narnia-esque environment.
At one point, sensing movement ahead of us, I signalled for my teenage son to stop. The fox appeared a few seconds later, rusty-brown and well-fed, practically skipping to make progress in the deep snow. We stood icicle-still, a whisper of a frigid breeze brushing our faces. The fox couldn’t see us, couldn’t smell our scent; any tiny sounds we were inadvertently making were instantly muffled by the snow.
Closer and closer it padded, oblivious, until I finally risked to slowly raise my camera and snap a shot. The click of the shutter led to an immediate pricking of the ears, a glance at the interlopers, then a quick scamper into the bushes.
If I’m feeling critical, I could say that – wildlife aside – there really isn’t much to see between Eselborn and Clervaux. This section of the trail could have been any other hiking path in this part of the Ardennes: calm, pleasant, a bit lumpy… and occasionally very wet (wear hiking boots for this one folks, even in summer). Oddly, the Eislek Pad technically doesn’t go to Clervaux’s most impressive monument either – the imposing neo-Romanesque bulk of the Abbey of St Maurice and St Maur. We simply couldn’t come all this way without getting a closer look, so took a short (200m, signposted) detour to the main entrance… and gazed skywards.
Back on the trail, the impressive “KlĂ«ppelkrich” monument (right) – remembering local “peasants” killed in an uprising against French occupation in the late 18th century – marks the beginning of the steep and icy descent back towards Clervaux, where plenty of cosy cafĂ©s and good restaurants await those with weary legs and a newly-satisfied soul.
(c) 2022 Jonathan Orr
Luxembourg Outdoors 