South of Boulogne the coast is even wilder and more magnificent than the Côte d'Opale but without your own transport it's hard to get down to the beach: a band of unstable dunes forces the D940 coast road and the Calais–Paris railway to keep a few kilometres inland. With the exception of Étaples, the seaside towns are artificial resorts of twentieth-century creation – only of interest in that they provide access to the beach. The beach, however, really is worth getting to, and its eerie beauty is best experienced by walking the coastal GR path or any one of the several marked trails which the local tourist offices promote, or by visiting the Marquenterre bird sanctuary. For car-drivers, a lane at Dannes leads directly into the dunes.The quickest route south is the A16 Boulogne to Abbeville motorway, which continues all the way to Paris. More interesting, if you have time and want to take in the battlefield of Agincourt, would be a winding cross-country route exploring some of the English-looking side valleys on the north side of the River Canche – such as the Crequoise, Planquette and Ternoise – whose farms and hamlets have been largely bypassed by the onward march of French modernity. For more detailed information on the whole region consult www.somme-tourisme.com.
Pages in section ‘South to Amiens’: Le Touquet, Montreuil-sur-Mer, Agincourt and Crecy battlefields, Marquenterre bird sanctuary, Somme estuary, Abbeville.
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