Somme - Romantic View, Grave Memories All In One Place

The Somme, in Picardy, is traditionally, the spiritual haunt for World War I tourism; a place where descendents of fallen soldiers go to find the graves of their father and grandfathers.


So entrenched is the Somme in its Great War provenance, that the region would be an unlikely destination for holiday-makers in search of fun and frolics. 

 

Anyone driving through the Somme and in particular the towns of Peronne and Albert will see that the region is true to that perception and won't fail to notice the abundant roadside war graves that spring up around every bend. Or the superb museums such as the Historial Museum of the Great War and Somme Museum 1916 and Memorials such as the Lutyens designed Thiepval Memorial.

But all this deathly activity took place inland in the east of the Somme. Go west, however, towards the coast and the ambience of the region is by contrast, literally teeming with life. The wide expanse of soft sand coast stretches from the Baie de L’Authie to the magnificent Baie-de-Somme where visitors gallop on horses, cyclists hire sand bikes and enthusiasts fly their kites.

As the tide recedes the landscape looks raw and unkempt as the fauna and flora is revealed. Areas of sands and grass are uncovered and cooks head here to pick a crop or two of Astor Maritime (pigs ears) to jazz up their salads or a handful of Salicorne to pickle at home – when done they taste a little like pickled cucumber. 

The nearby bayside resort of Le Crotoy is where Jules Verne was inspired to pen Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, where fishermen lay their nets for the night and when the tide is in on the south of the Bay at Hourdel, you get the magnificent vision of seals tantalisingly bobbing in and out of the water

The highlight of the region though is the bird sanctuary. Nestling on the fringes of the Bay on land reclaimed from the sea in 1973, are the 260 hectares of marshes, sand dunes, pine forests and meres of the Parc Ornithologique du Marquenterre. The landscape is so diverse it offers habitats for 360 species of birds and 24 different species of wildlife. Its location on the crossroads of the migrationary path makes it the perfect stop-off for thousands of birds including lapwings, little egrets and barnacle geese, oyster catchers and shell ducks.

The reserve is open all year round and each season attracts different species. We visited in April and saw white storks who return every year to the same nest to breed and warblers who flew in from South Africa to sing their hearts out in territorial brinkmanship and hopefully to attract a mate.

There are 14 viewing points and each with views of different birds in their habitats but they are placed at a distance to remain unobtrusive so a pair of binoculars is useful, though your guide will come equipped with a telescope. Otherwise you can rent them.

Viewing point number 1 has a view over the mating parades of a colony of black-tailed godwits and the Avocets (the emblem of the RSBP) whose long legs and long curved beaks give them the stature and tool to catch worms.

At number 13 you can see herons nest among 200 pairs of wading birds such as egrets hailing from Mauritania and Senegal. The sight of these elegant winged creatures fluttering over the great black pine tree tops is awesome. Spoonbills are there in the mix too looking funky with spiked hair and spoon shaped beaks.

You don’t have to be an avid bird watcher to enjoy the at-one-with-nature experience the park invokes and the almost meditative calm of watching wildlife wend its way unhindered, through the inevitable cycle of nesting and breeding until the wave of new migrants flies in.

Find out more exotic places in Malaysia and around the world from the friendly travel consultants at Tamimi Travel & tours. It is also advisable to check and pre-book your accommodation to avoid disappointment.