_Return to the car, and go straight on to the fork in the roads to Rosnay and Prémecy. Facing the fork is the entrance_ to the park and =modern Castle of Gueux=, belonging to the Roederer family, which was completely destroyed (_photo below_).
_Turn the car round at the above-mentioned fork and continue straight along G.C. 27._
_Beyond the village of Gueux_ the road crosses numerous lines of trenches. Many shelters and ammunition depots can still be seen along the road. _The National Road from Rheims to Soissons (N. 31) is reached soon afterwards. Near the cross-ways are the_ ruins of an inn.
_At this crossing, leave the National Road on the left and take the narrow road on the right which leads to_ =Thillois=.
[Illustration: THE MODERN CASTLE OF GUEUX]
[Illustration: CROSSING OF THE THILLOIS AND RHEIMS ROADS]
The =Church of Thillois= (late 12th century), now a heap of ruins, stood at the entrance to the village.
In 1914 it was still intact in all its vital parts. Its vaulting was pointed, with groining resting on columns, whose capitals were either Romanesque or Gothic. The nave had a timber roof.
The high-altar screen was a fine piece of sculptured stone-work of late 16th or early 17th century. In a niche above the altar, the Virgin, sitting on an X-shaped seat, was holding Jesus, clothed in a tunic and standing on her knee.
_Leaving the church behind on the right, turn to the left, to reach the National Road. On the right is a_ small 18th century castle, behind a clump of fine stately trees, known as the _Bosquet de Thillois_. It was destroyed by shells.
_Return to the National Road, turn to the right at the cross-roads, leaving on the left the road to Champigny, then return direct to Rheims, entering the city by the Avenue and Porte de Paris._
The fighting known as the _Battles of the Mountain of Rheims_ took place in 1918 over the whole of the area described above, _i.e._ from Bouilly to Thillois, _via_ St. Euphraise, Coulommes, Vrigny and Gueux (_see the Michelin Illustrated Guide: The Second Battle of the Marne_).
The Mountain of Rheims prolongs the region of Tardenois to the east. It is an important military position between the Vesle and the Marne, as it dominates the plain of Champagne. The higher part of it is finely wooded, while on the lower slopes and eastern and southern edges are the famous Champagne vineyards (_see Verzenay, pp. 171-172_).