Refers to only a few invisible workers tools

Even in December, a day of week, the beach is never completely empty in le Touquet, Wissant or Gravelines. On the vast sand lined with white foam and green water clear until the sea becomes deep enough to turn blue or grey, seen always in the distance a person, or even two. One walking her dog, the other leads to wind-surfing. Wimereux or in le Touquet, can look intently at leisure at the convoluted villas funny who sign the antiquity of these stations. They are empty, in shutters closed. Refers to only a few invisible workers tools. If you like, change of scenery guaranteed 250 kilometres from Paris by motorway. In the summer, it is just to park a car in Cape Gris Nez. In winter, only the regular rotation of the radar of the CROSS monitoring maritime traffic from the top of the cap can distract you from the contemplation of the sea. The opposing currents which meet here throw a strange sea.

Inhospitable, the English channel and the North Sea Few regions live in symbiosis with the coastal nature gave them. Who loves the marine atmospheres can be programmed a weekend here all season "all sea" of the landscape at the Museum through the ports and gastronomy. At Calais, if you move a building at the end of the street, not panic; It is a ferry. And if turning the corner you fall on a tower like a lighthouse, strangely this is not the belfry. It is the lighthouse, stung by city. He is visiting.

Uncontaminated nature

The inhabitants of this region like their coastline. They are built more thankless cities today that they have suffered so much of the war and had to be rebuilt after war emergency. The port Dunkirk Museum shows impressive pictures of the wreck in the port of the last released from France city. They have built stations which do not all have the chic of le Touquet, but between these urbanizations nature is preserved. Going from Etaples to Boulogne, the road away a little of the sea, for sand dunes covered with thickets that need to be the happiness of the hunters, but also hikers. Between Boulogne and Calais, it takes a little bit of altitude. The agricultural landscape along the cliffs overlooking beaches and rocks. The trail of customs to follow walking this ridge line. After Calais, the flatness of the landscape is already Dutch, but nature has not completely given way to highways, factories and port facilities.

This shallow sea, troubled by currents, is frequented by fish, but the nature has not provided much natural shelter for boats of the fishermen. Near le Touquet, they settled at Etaples, Sandy estuary of the Canche. In the morning, sells herring, scallops or shrimp still frétillantes in small stalls along the wharf. In December, clients are not tourists. The "portrait" of the "Saint-Philippe" trawler proudly adorns the truck coming to land a few boxes of saint-jacques. But "Saint-Philippe" dockside. The harbour is subject to infilling and the "étaplois" address at Boulogne. They provide much of the animation of the first French fishing port in "small fish".

The seniority and the pride of this fishing community remains not less sensitive Maréis, warm étaplois fishing Museum. The guides are former fishermen. It speaks of fishing techniques, but school learning or the cooperative also. Fishing is more alive here at the nearby maritime Museum, where it will go rather look at the artifacts or the old hulls, or Nausicaä, the excellent Centre of Boulogne sea, which also addresses the subject.

Fishing time

Where the nature has provided that a range or rocks below cliffs, i.e. on the essence of this coast, on fishing still, of all time and all time, mussels wild, shrimp, or even fish, on foot. On hand even in the wide and small boats designed to handle to be drawn on the range: the flobarts. You see even between Boulogne and Calais, on the beach or on their trailer outside a house in Audresselles, or in Wissant, for example. Today these are tractors that date back. The planks forming the hull overlap as clinker tiles and are riveted to each other. This structure similar to that of the boats give lightness and flexibility. But the form is much more stout than that of the Dragon. This is not going fast, but float in the best in the surf and stability to the fisherman who works.

Of course, it is not flobarts who fish the 300,000 tons of fish each year pass Boulogne. The flobarts, the étaplois, or even large trawlers of industrial fishing, rarely seen at dock. At them all, they landed that 43,000 tonnes, which is already much. The rest are trucks which provide.

Boulogne, must of course visit the upper town, the

only old part kept behind intact ramparts of the 13th century. And see the belfry where served a lookout, paid by the City Hall, Mr. Théodore Tourniquet, to May 3, 1931, the day of his death. But at Boulogne must also cross the port and go to the other side, at Capécure, rue de Margats (the kids in the language of the country), parallel to the wharf avenue. On the Champs-Elysées of the fish, it runs between two rows of huge hangars jagged by the docks of pier of the trucks who lead and win the whole of Europe negotiated, threaded, smoked fish, preserved, packaged here. Today, if you buy nets grenadier, Emperor or sabre in your fishmonger, be aware that these names, all inspired by the passage of Napoleon and his Grande Armée at Boulogne, have been invented here to give a name for new species caught far 1,000 meters of water. Night, empty, the site, which resembles the great avenues of Rungis, is impressive. We promised to come back to a day of week, a Friday, for example, around five in the morning, when the animation in full swing.

Fish King and privateers

Here, even if it is move all species, even if on fishing, is fishing or on a fishing of all the counts of Boulogne dealt with whalebone helmets , a fish always claimed the title of King fish. It is also celebrated as such in November, when approach from the coast and can be fished in abundance. It is, of course, the herring. Fishing is seasonal, but the animal suitable for conservation as everyone knows, it would have allowed the inhabitants of this region to cross without injury the past famines. We understand that it be his day. The sailors of the corner became a little privateers, and even many, explains to the port Museum of Dunkerque, if that war and the presence of the enemy fleets prevented them quietly fishing herring.

Privateers, in Dunkirk, it is a real religion. Especially one of them, Jean Bart (1650-1702), who is his statue in the city and who is sang in chorus and knees "Cantata to Jean Bart" in the famous Carnival of Dunkirk: "Jean Bart, salvation in your memory. "From your achievements, you fill the universe", etc. It is a name so seller that had given it to various more or less alcoholic beverages, and even a shoe, which you can see the advertising at the Museum.

At Dunkirk, the vessels of 84 guns were replaced long long freighters. But at the entrance of Gravelines, between Calais and Dunkerque, was in built in a field. The "Jean-Bart", of course. The construction of this monster of 57 metres long oak will last ten to fifteen years, but the keel, the stem, the stern and a couple are already in place. You want to know everything about the manner in which it has reconstituted its plans and its model, see drawing or cutting a huge room, meet the Association Tourville enthusiasts Not only visits are allowed, but they are desired. Take the opportunity to tour of Gravelines from outside (the moat are navigable in the summer season), to see a small town completely fortified by Vauban.

Looks to England

The region owes much to the fish and the war. It would not bother to dig ports and channels in the banks of sand, dunes and marshes if this coast was not watching to England (the port of Calais began to develop during the English occupation, from 1347 to 1558), and if these cities were not lock to the hexagon to the North. Boulogne, serious things began with Julius Caesar, who assembled here at Portus Itius, its fleet to invade the Britannia. A few centuries later, Napoleon wanted to follow his example hence the name of the fish fillets. Between 1803 and 1805, he here assembled a huge army, build a sort of landing craft, dig and enlarge the port with the idea to deplane face 150,000 men and 9,000 horses. Not less. Some marine and a little too voluntarist, he forgot some details as the tide, which prevented to leave more than 100 boats every twelve hours while we wanted to focus 1,200. The port and economic development of Boulogne used however to the presence of this army. It remains the column of the Grande Armée, erected to commemorate the first awarding of the Legion of honour.

Before Napoleon, Louis XIV and Vauban cared in this region in a more defensive perspective. They wanted to reshape the boundaries to better defend the country. It's like this that the Flemish Dunkirk became French, bought in 1662 to the English. It was his happiness and its woe. The French dug ponds, and Vauban fortified the city so that it became impregnable, and so unbearable for its former owners. The treaties of Utrecht (1713-1715) demanded the France that it destroyed fortifications and fills the Harbour entrance! Fortunately a providential storm of December the resulted in 1720. It does not appear to be commemorated.