Your base between Abbeville and the bay
Sleeping here means avoiding the narrow streets and paid car parks of the coast while still being there in twenty minutes. Here is what there is to see, and how far away it is.
The Bay of Somme, twenty minutes away
Listed among the world's most beautiful bays and designated a Grand Site de France, the Bay of Somme is best seen on foot, by boat, by bicycle or from an old steam train.
Saint-Valery-sur-Somme
A medieval town clinging to the cliff, with flowered quays, the lanes of the upper town and a long view over the bay. ≈ 22 km.
Le Crotoy
The only south-facing beach on the Picardy coast, with its fishing harbour and painted huts. ≈ 22 km.
Marquenterre bird reserve
A major reserve on the European migration route: spoonbills, avocets and storks, depending on the season. ≈ 28 km.
The seals at Le Hourdel
The bay holds one of France's main colonies of harbour seals, watched from the point at low tide. ≈ 30 km.
The steam railway
The Chemin de fer de la Baie de Somme links Le Crotoy, Noyelles, Saint-Valery and Cayeux in period carriages. ≈ 22 km.
Crossing the bay on foot
Barefoot through the channels, and only with a guide: the experience visitors remember longest.
A word of local advice
In the bay, everything turns on the tide. Check the times before you set out: the guided crossing, the seals and the drama of the channels all depend on it entirely. Ask at reception — we know the calendar by heart.
What to do when the tide is wrong
The country inland is worth the detour, and is usually overlooked by visitors in a hurry to reach the sea.
- Saint-Vulfran collegiate church, Abbeville — a flamboyant Gothic façade, ≈ 4 km
- Château de Bagatelle — an eighteenth-century folly and its gardens, ≈ 5 km
- Saint-Riquier abbey — one of the great monastic ensembles of Picardy, ≈ 15 km
- Valloires abbey gardens — a designated jardin remarquable, ≈ 25 km
- Château de Rambures — a medieval brick fortress, ≈ 30 km
- Crécy forest — woodland and the 1346 battlefield, ≈ 20 km
The battlefields, an hour east
A great many British visitors come to this part of France for the 1916 battlefields rather than for the coast. From here they are a comfortable day out — and you come back to a quiet room and dinner rather than to a busy town.
- Thiepval Memorial and the Ulster Tower — ≈ 1 h 10
- Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial — ≈ 1 h 10
- Albert and the Musée Somme 1916 — ≈ 1 h
- Lochnagar Crater, La Boisselle — ≈ 1 h
- Agincourt (Azincourt) and its visitor centre — ≈ 50 min
- Crécy battlefield, 1346 — ≈ 25 min
Distances are approximate driving times from the hotel.
On the cyclists' route
The Bay of Somme and the Ponthieu are popular with cycle tourists, between the coastal cycle routes and the quiet lanes inland. We regularly take groups on bicycles: somewhere secure to put the machines, dinner on site and a substantial breakfast before setting off again.
A holiday that actually works
Family rooms, a garden to run in, a children's menu, and days out that please adults and children equally: the seals, the steam train, the aircraft taking off outside the window. All without spending the day in the car.