Northern France _ Bay of Somme _ Walk across the Bay of Somme© Benoit BremerThis is a real restaurant for birds – one where you’ll find all the plant and animal matter that the sea has discarded. On it you’ll find clues to the species that live in the choppy waters of the Channel and the salt marshes of the estuary. Can you recognise obione leaves, samphire fragments, sand urchin ‘skeletons’, and the eggs of rays, dogfish and whelks? Sometimes you might luck out by coming across a rare seahorse skeleton…
Northern France _ Bay of Somme _ Le Crotoy _ statices sauvages © CRTC Hauts-de-France - Stéphane BOUILLAND
Northern France _ Bay of Somme _ Walk across the Bay of Somme © CRTC Hauts de France - Nicolas Bryant
Northern France _ Bay of Somme _ Nature outing with a guide © CRTC Hauts-de-France - Stéphane BOUILLAND
Northern France _ Bay of Somme _ Le Crotoy © CRTC Hauts-de-France - Stéphane BOUILLAND
Northern France _ Bay of Somme_ Cap Hornu ©CRTC Hauts-de-France _ Maxime Truffaut
Northern France _ Bay of Somme _ Saint-Quentin-en-Tourmont _Marquenterre bird reserve ©CRTC Hauts-de-France - Stéphane BOUILLANDNorthern France _ Bay of Somme _ Le Crotoy _ statices sauvages © CRTC Hauts-de-France - Stéphane BOUILLANDNorthern France _ Bay of Somme _ Walk across the Bay of Somme © CRTC Hauts de France - Nicolas BryantNorthern France _ Bay of Somme _ Nature outing with a guide © CRTC Hauts-de-France - Stéphane BOUILLANDNorthern France _ Bay of Somme _ Le Crotoy © CRTC Hauts-de-France - Stéphane BOUILLANDNorthern France _ Bay of Somme_ Cap Hornu ©CRTC Hauts-de-France _ Maxime TruffautNorthern France _ Bay of Somme _ Saint-Quentin-en-Tourmont _Marquenterre bird reserve ©CRTC Hauts-de-France - Stéphane BOUILLAND
Northern France _ Le Crotoy _ Platalea leucorodia - Eurasian Spoonbill ©CRTC Hauts-de-France - Stéphane BOUILLANDAfter identifying all these marine treasures, carry on towards Hourdel lighthouse, with your guide leading you along the invisible boundary of the Réserve Naturelle Nationale de la Baie de Somme, which protects the fragile species on the northern half of the estuary. It’s in this tranquil space that birds rest and feed. From a distance, with binoculars, look at the colours and sizes of the different species, including the protected common shelduck, remarkably hued and the size of a small goose. This unusual bird uses old rabbit burrows in the dunes to hatch its eggs (that would make for a very difficult Easter egg hunt, kids!). The Eurasian curlew, a great migrator on the way back from Africa, can be recognised by its long curved beak. And then there’s the elegant Eurasian spoonbill, which has only been coming to the bay for a few years now.
Northern France _ Bay of Somme _ Walk across the Bay of Somme© Crt Hauts De France - Nicolas Bryant
Northern France _ Bay of Somme _ Saint-Quentin-en-Tourmont _ Marquenterre _Bird Reserve © CRTC Hauts-de-France_Anne-Sophie Flament
Northern France _ Bay of Somme _ Saint-Quentin-en-Tourmont _ Marquenterre _Bird Reserve © CRTC Hauts-de-France_Anne-Sophie Flament
Northern France _ Bay of Somme _ Saint-Quentin-en-Tourmont, Marquenterre bird reserve ©CRTC Hauts-de-France - Anne-Sophie FLAMENT
Northern France _ Bay of Somme _ Saint-Quentin-en-Tourmont _ Marquenterre _Bird Reserve © CRTC Hauts-de-France_Anne-Sophie Flament
Northern France _ Bay of Somme © CRTC Hauts-de-France-Stéphane BOUILLANDDID YOU KNOW?
After the Baie du Mont Saint-Michel, the Somme Bay has the second-largest volume of water in Europe. The sea rises to 10m and travels 14km to completely fill the bay on days of high tide – travelling at the speed of a galloping horse.
France, Pas-de-Calais (62), Côte d'Opale, Berck-sur-mer, phoque gris (Halichoerus grypus) , les phoques sont aujourd'hui l'une des principales attractions touristiques de la baie de Somme et de la côte d'Opale // France, Pas-de-Calais (62), Opal Coast, Berck-sur-Mer, grey seal (Halichoerus grypus), seals are today one of the main tourist attractions of the Bay of Somme and the Opal Coast
Northern France _ Berck-sur-Mer_ Authie Bay_ Seals © CRTC Hauts-de-France - Stéphane Bouilland
Northern France _ Bay of Somme _ Seals © CRTC Hauts-de-France - Jean-Luc VerbruggheCrabs, worms, urchins, young salmon, prawns and fish are all choice dishes for the sporty seals that are the real stars of the bay. Also migratory, these 150kg creatures look like sunbathing bananas at low tide, laid out on the sand banks. Some of the females will be ready to give birth in June. The harbour seal, which had almost entirely disappeared from this coast, has returned to colonise the wide sand banks of the Somme Bay since it has become a protected space. From a distance, admire their smiley faces and half-closed eyes expressing their pleasure at the warm spring sunshine on their bodies.
Taste the bay at Le Bistrot de la Baie
Le Bistrot de la baie restaurant in Le Crotoy is ideal for ‘tasting the bay’ with kids. Its traditional local cuisine includes delicious mussels grown on bouchots (wooden stakes) in the north of the bay in 20 different recipes. The speciality, cream sauce, combines the flavour of mussels with other ingredients such as samphire, strong local Maroilles cheese and beer. There are also kids’ portions, or they can wait excitedly for the arrival of the catch of the day.
