WADE IN THE WATER

An English Cream Golden Retriever looks longingly back at his owners, pleading to take a dip 

in the iconic Baie de Somme on a fine Sunday afternoon at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme. 

The Baie de Somme is on the Picardie coast and classed as a Grand Site de France, 

a prestigious label which needs no translation. This exceptionally beautiful bay with its

surrounding sanctuaries is a stopping point for thousands of migratory birds, 

as well as home to France's largest colony of seals, counting more than 600.

©2022 P. B. Lecron

IN THE SAME BOAT

Nous ramons tous sur le même bateau.
We're all rowing the same boat. This is a neglected one along the bay walk at Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme, a charming port town on the Baie de Somme. 

Vocabulary
ramer:  to row


©2015 P.B. Lecron

FLEECY SKY

Un ciel moutonneux

Puffy cumulus clouds, a sign of fine weather, over the Baie de Somme and its famous salt-marsh fed sheep.

Vocabulary
un mouton:  a sheep
moutonneux: fleecy
le ciel:  the sky
un nuage:  a cloud

Expressions
être au ciel:  to be in heaven
Ciel!  good heavens!


©2013 P.B. Lecron

CUDDLES

Un câlin de cheval

We caught these affectionate Henson horses cuddling in a prairie along the Baie de Somme. The calm and sturdy breed which can live outdoor all year long, was developed in the 1970's by crossing thoroughbred Anglo-Arabians with cold-blood Norwegian Fjords, as well as with some other lines. The impetus for the creation of this the latest new horse breed in France, came from a desire to produce a horse well-suited for touristic equestrianism in the Baie de Somme. 

Vocabulary
un câlin: a cuddle
câlin (-e):  affectionate
un pur-sang:  a thoroughbred


Expression
Viens me faire un câlin:  Come and give me a cuddle

©2013 P.B. Lecron

A SEAL'S LIFE

Two seals bobbing in the bay before high tide, as seen from the quay in Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme on a perfect summer evening. 

Vocabulary 

un phoque:  a seal

un quai:  a quay

la marée haute:  high tide

la marée basse:  low tide

la marée montante:  rising tide

la marée descendante:  ebb tide

©2012 P.B. Lecron

NO PLACE LIKE SOMME

A rainy summer afternoon on the bay walk at Saint-Valèry-sur-Somme, on the Baie de Somme. Rain or shine, we love France's exceptional estuary on its northern coast.

Expressions
Rien ne vaut son chez soi.
There's no place like home.

Où se trouve le coeur, là est la maison.
Home is where the heart is.

©2012 P.B. Lecron

EASY DOES IT: BAIE DE SOMME

For best land-side views around northern France's exceptional estuary: foot or bike it

A laughing gull or mouette rieuse, sitting on the dock of the bay, Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme.

Near Cayeux-sur-Mer.

Shifting sands on the north side of the bay,  Plage de la Maye.

A family of swans or cygnes along the road outside of Le Crotoy.

Majestic dunes near Le Hourdel.

Peace and quiet around Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme.

Cattails or quenouilles in the Marquenterre bird reserve.

Tide's up! Mallards or colverts noodling for grub on the shoreline of Saint-Valèry-sur-Somme.

View across bay looking from Le Hourdel.

Adorable lapwings or vanneaux huppés.

Expect to see storks or cigognes. 

Do as the Saint-Valéry locals do.

Each sunset or coucher de soleil a marvel or merveille.

Vocabulary

une balade, une promenade: a walk

une balade en vélo: a bike ride

Though it's easy to get around the bay by car, opt for more environmentally friendly bipedal locomotion,  or even a guided field tour. See Maison de l'Oiseau as well as Parc Ornithologique du Marquenterre. For information about bike tours and rentals around the Baie de Somme see Baiecyclette. Or consider discovering the site on a fastidiously restored 19th-century steam-powered train, classified as a historic monument, which in addition to its regular schedule offers sunset dinner rides around the bay on certain dates of the year: Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme. 

Click on photos to enlarge them.

©2011 P.B. Lecron

TREASURE HUNT IN THE BAIE DE SOMME

Shellfishing for cockles

Be it hardwork for the two hundred or so families living around the Baie de Somme who make their living from the traditional pêche à pied, or a low-tide leisure-time activity for others, the food-gathering adventure is the same--a treasure hunt for the heart-shaped coques. Iodine and big horizons guaranteed.

Vocabulary

pêche à pièd: shellfishing

une coque, un hénon: a cockel

hénonier, hénonière (pêcheur de coques): cockel fisherman, fisherwoman

Click here to see a video filmed at the Baie de Somme showing how the coques are scooped up.

Photos courtesy of Marianne Lecron 

©2011 P.B. Lecron

DO NOT DISTURB: BAIE DE SOMME

Wild seals are easily frightened, so to prevent young from being startled and separated from their mothers, visitors to the Baie de Somme are advised to observe the animals from afar. Boaters must maintain a distance of at least 300 meters from seals resting on sandbars.

Photo courtesy of Pierre Lechanteux. 

Keeping count of the two species of seals that inhabit the Baie de Somme.

Vocabulary
Ne pas déranger: Do not disturb
Un phoque: a seal

©P.B. Lecron

DESTINATION: BAIE DE SOMME

France's meager wild seal population resides in the Baie de Somme, a nature reserve and migratory bird refuge on the northern coast.

Visit the Baie de Somme vicariously by clicking here to access the above interacitve map.

Unretouched photos made by Marianne Lecron on a tawny November day.


©2012 P.B.Lecron