Along the coast in Calais
Mar 4th, 2012, 10:45 AM
#1
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Along the coast in Calais
Faithful to my habit of posting about places of interest to nobody, I recently spent some time in Calais and made a point to dropping in on my two favorite "nature" places on the northern coast -- Cap Blanc-Nez and Cap Gris-Nez.
Cap Gris-Nez is the closest point in France to England, and if you are lucky you can see the cliffs of Dover on certain days.
Anyway, if you want to see a few photos of this area, here is my report: http://tinyurl.com/les2caps
Cap Gris-Nez is the closest point in France to England, and if you are lucky you can see the cliffs of Dover on certain days.
Anyway, if you want to see a few photos of this area, here is my report: http://tinyurl.com/les2caps
Mar 4th, 2012, 12:26 PM
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We love the drive down the coast from Calais to Boulogne. Even in summer, with hordes of schoolchildren out on trips, the two caps have a magic of their own but clearly an early morning in winter would be better still!
Thanks for another great set of photos.
Thanks for another great set of photos.
Mar 5th, 2012, 02:48 AM
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Great pictures! Looks cold and windy.
When I was living in England as a kid, we played all over pillboxes like these but still couldn't go on a lot of the beaches because there were still mines, 10 years after the war.
I am struck by the open cliff tops. In the US they would probably be fenced to keep people from suing after they walk off the edge.
I live on an island where a lot of the cliffs are eroding badly, so this is very familiar, though there are no $2 million houses waiting to fall in your pictures!
When I was living in England as a kid, we played all over pillboxes like these but still couldn't go on a lot of the beaches because there were still mines, 10 years after the war.
I am struck by the open cliff tops. In the US they would probably be fenced to keep people from suing after they walk off the edge.
I live on an island where a lot of the cliffs are eroding badly, so this is very familiar, though there are no $2 million houses waiting to fall in your pictures!
Mar 5th, 2012, 02:56 AM
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Kerouac, beautiful shots. Especially loved that one of the White Cliffs of Dover. Reminds me of those scenes from Dickens’s TALE OF TWO CITIES.
The characters were frequently crossing and re-crossing on packet boats across the channel to Calais…
The characters were frequently crossing and re-crossing on packet boats across the channel to Calais…
Mar 5th, 2012, 05:21 AM
#9
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<i>I live on an island where a lot of the cliffs are eroding badly, so this is very familiar, though there are no $2 million houses waiting to fall in your pictures!</i>
In France, you cannot own the coastline or block access along it. Even all of the private beaches in places like Cannes must allow anybody to walk along the shoreline. In recent years the government has evicted and demolished quite a few things that were built at natural sites, sometimes to the regret of lots of people. For example, at the Pointe du Raz in Brittany, there was an isolated little hotel standing all alone at the westernmost point of France. It was a lovely place, and even if you never stayed there, it excited the imagination. It was torn down a number of years ago to return the site to nature and to back up the parking lot far from the coastal cliffs (just like they have been backed up at Gris-Nez and Blanc-Nez).
This said, there is <b>one</b> château that breaks the rule on the Côte d'Azur -- the château de l'Horizon, which currently belongs to the king of Saudi Arabia. It was built for an American actress in 1932 (Maxine Elliot -- I've never heard of her). Prince Ali Khan bought it in 1948 and married Rita Hayworth there. Anyway, the king of Saudi Arabia bought it in 1979 but only stayed in it once. It might take a while for the government to have the courage to expropriate him and tear it down.
In France, you cannot own the coastline or block access along it. Even all of the private beaches in places like Cannes must allow anybody to walk along the shoreline. In recent years the government has evicted and demolished quite a few things that were built at natural sites, sometimes to the regret of lots of people. For example, at the Pointe du Raz in Brittany, there was an isolated little hotel standing all alone at the westernmost point of France. It was a lovely place, and even if you never stayed there, it excited the imagination. It was torn down a number of years ago to return the site to nature and to back up the parking lot far from the coastal cliffs (just like they have been backed up at Gris-Nez and Blanc-Nez).
This said, there is <b>one</b> château that breaks the rule on the Côte d'Azur -- the château de l'Horizon, which currently belongs to the king of Saudi Arabia. It was built for an American actress in 1932 (Maxine Elliot -- I've never heard of her). Prince Ali Khan bought it in 1948 and married Rita Hayworth there. Anyway, the king of Saudi Arabia bought it in 1979 but only stayed in it once. It might take a while for the government to have the courage to expropriate him and tear it down.
Mar 5th, 2012, 06:10 AM
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The coast between Calais and Boulogne is certainly very attractive, with big open skies and tremendous views over both sea and land. There are also the remains of German World War II fortifications to explore.
Another attractive feature are the small seaside towns like Wissant and Wimereux. Just the place to stop for lunch. We were there in January on a cold and very windy day and most of the visitors were from Belgium.
It is quite easy to visit this area on a day trip from England. It is surprising how different the landscape is, considering the geology is quite similar.
Another attractive feature are the small seaside towns like Wissant and Wimereux. Just the place to stop for lunch. We were there in January on a cold and very windy day and most of the visitors were from Belgium.
It is quite easy to visit this area on a day trip from England. It is surprising how different the landscape is, considering the geology is quite similar.
Mar 7th, 2012, 11:36 AM
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" It is surprising how different the landscape is, considering the geology is quite similar."
And you'd have thought the history and climate aren't that different either. Both sides of the Channel industrialised roughly in parallel: Britain's credited with the Industrial Revolution, but it's astonishing how closely France followed or often even led. Both have almost identical climates, and Kent and the Pas de Calais are both very dominated by being so close to the other country. Calais was devastated by Allied bombs and bombardment while England's Channel ports were hardly touched by the Nazis - but the Channel port hinterland on both sides avoided serious damage in both world wars.
It's the subtleties of culture - like the Enclosure Acts, Napoleon's utterly different approach to road building from early 19th century England, Britain's draconian postwar planning rules, and the unintended consequences of the Loi Royer - that make the landscapes (and townscapes) so extraordinarily different.
And you'd have thought the history and climate aren't that different either. Both sides of the Channel industrialised roughly in parallel: Britain's credited with the Industrial Revolution, but it's astonishing how closely France followed or often even led. Both have almost identical climates, and Kent and the Pas de Calais are both very dominated by being so close to the other country. Calais was devastated by Allied bombs and bombardment while England's Channel ports were hardly touched by the Nazis - but the Channel port hinterland on both sides avoided serious damage in both world wars.
It's the subtleties of culture - like the Enclosure Acts, Napoleon's utterly different approach to road building from early 19th century England, Britain's draconian postwar planning rules, and the unintended consequences of the Loi Royer - that make the landscapes (and townscapes) so extraordinarily different.
Mar 7th, 2012, 12:29 PM
#14
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For anybody wondering about the Royer law, it was to keep the big new stores outside of towns with populations under 40,000. This is what caused all of the hypermarkets and attached stores to be built well out of town.
Mar 16th, 2012, 11:14 AM
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kerouac, anybody with a brain or a nose can find good restaurants in France, but your value is as a trailblazer. You go where most Fodorites don't go because nobody ever showed them how interesting these places are. You fill in the gaps in the guidebooks.
In fact, if I were a Fodors guidebook editor, I'd read every one of your trip reports and send my ace reporter to that spot the next day so I could add it to the next edition of the guide, restaurants, hotels, and all.
In fact, if I were a Fodors guidebook editor, I'd read every one of your trip reports and send my ace reporter to that spot the next day so I could add it to the next edition of the guide, restaurants, hotels, and all.
