Chapelle Notre-Dame des Clans des Vailhès, Rural chapel in Celles, France.

The Chapelle Notre-Dame des Clans des Vailhès stands modestly beside Lake Salagou, featuring simple architecture with a single nave and large pediment characteristic of 14th and 15th-century religious buildings in the region.

According to local legend, this chapel was built following a promise made by a wealthy chatelaine and her coachman who invoked the Virgin Mary to escape a violent storm, reflecting medieval popular faith traditions.

The chapel's name comes from the "clans", the bells worn by the mule of the chatelaine who, by legend, founded the sanctuary. Each 15 August, a procession for the Assumption still leads worshippers here from Celles, keeping the building in use as a Mass site once a year.

The chapel stands on the edge of Lake Salagou, reached from Celles by rural tracks that are uneven in places, so walking shoes are useful. It stays closed outside the August 15 celebrations, with no facilities, water or shade at the site. Check the weather before setting out, as the surrounding paths are exposed.

The name 'Clans' does not refer to the mule: it comes from the bells the animal carried, called clans, whose ringing was linked to the miracle in the legend. The chapel is also called Notre-Dame des Clans des Vailhès, after the hamlet of Vailhès in Celles.