As we approached the end of our 4-week trip we headed north towards the tunnel. Realising that the sun was still shining for a few more days and it was decidedly autumnal in the UK, we took a slight detour to Le Crotoy for a few days (phonetically pronounced Le Crotwa - say it fast), just an hour’s drive from Calais but with a feel that you’ve stepped back in time to this unspoilt pretty village that sits at the edge of the Baie de Somme Nature Reserve that is home to a wide variety of bird species. The area came via recommendation from a fellow camper, and it did not disappoint.
In the 17th century, Le Crotoy was one of the major fishing ports along the channel coastline. Today the resort remains a charming small port with just a few fishing boats lining the harbour that fish for shrimp. Sadly, over 60% of houses in this area are second homes and remain empty for large periods of the year which has a profound effect on local businesses. We were there at the end of September, and it was still a hive of activity. Most of the campsites close at the end of October so I expect it becomes a bit of a ghost town, as most others do along this coastline due to second homeowners locking up for the winter.
Exploring Le Crotoy Town
Our campsite wasn’t great for walking from and I wasn’t feeling great for cycling so we drove into town and parked up right on the seafront where there is plenty of parking for cars, motorhomes park at the end of the harbour near the huge aire-de-camping-car. We walked around the harbour into the town along the promenade, passing the first few of many seafood restaurants and I realised I was going to be in food heaven for the next few days!
The sandy beach is the only one on the north coast of France that faces south. When the tide is in most of the beach in front of the main square disappears, but if you follow the promenade around a small headland, passing by the old home of the famous perfumer, Guerlain, who put Le Crotoy on the map with his Parisian friends, you come to a wider section which stretches for around a mile, shored up by boulders. Due to its southern facing position, the town has attracted many famous artists and writers such as Manessier and Jules Verne over the years, you will see why when you sit and admire the way the landscape changes with the light and tides.
We walked up the main street where they had strung beautiful butterfly bunting across the buildings. There was a mix of traditional houses, independent boutique style shops, and the usual food stores including a very nice bakery. We couldn’t resist having a late lunch of moules frites (mussels) at Restaurant du Port, food ok, service sketchy. As seafood is my favourite food of all time but a rarity to find fresh in the UK, I decided I needed to eat it daily to last me through winter at home!
A Beach/Promenade Stroll
The next day we went back into town timing it at low tide so we could walk along the beach to the opposite end of Le Crotoy and back. There is a car park when you reach the end of the beach and some street parking for motorhomes. We bought a drink from the street vendor (Friterie de la Somme) that is based on the edge of the car park and enjoyed watching the world go by for a while.
We walked back into town along the promenade and had a lunch of whole dressed crab with fresh bread and mayonnaise, hubby had a burger, at Restaurant A l’Estacade (food ok, service poor) then bought a half-kilo of huge shell-on prawns from the fishmonger next door, Poissonnerie chez Didier, which seemed extremely popular with the locals, this is always a good sign in my book. The plan was to have half for tea with some fresh bread and the rest the next day, but I have to confess we ate them all in one sitting they were just so amazing, oink oink greedy seafood piggies!
There was a bit of excitement in the harbour and a lot of shouting and gesticulation from the fishermen as one of the fishing boats coming in appeared to be listing dangerously to one side and launched itself at the beach. However, it turned out this was a pre-planned cleaning operation and as soon as the tide went out, they set about jet washing it from top to bottom. Not a safety sign in place or protective piece of gear worn, only in France; beats the UK red tape!
Seafood in Abundance
During the week we’d been eyeing up La Halle aux Poissons so we treated ourselves on our last day to a feast of seafood. This is not a restaurant; however, it has a small number of tables on the pavement outside the seafood vendor’s stall, and you need to be queuing at 11.45am to get a table at 12 noon when they start serving. Once the tables are full, that’s it, no second service etc. The menu is limited to 3 sizes of seafood platter or a mix with salad. They sell only white wine or water; the wine is by full or half bottle and was very good. The waiter is the owner from behind the stall and you pay the stall assistant at the end, very simple service but absolutely delicious seafood.
We had the smallest platter at 25 euros each as I wanted dressed crab, and this was the only one that had it included. When we ordered a platter each the owner looked a bit perplexed and asked if we were sure, we said absolutely. They brought our tools and we knew it was going to be good! When it arrived, we realised why he’d questioned our order, the platter was huge and no word of a lie, it took us 2.5 hours to work our way through it, but we left nothing! We then deduced that what we had thought was 25 euros each for a platter for two, was actually 25 euros for the whole platter which served two people, once again oink greedy piggies! These were also available to take away, so if you’re planning on staying on the aire at the end of the harbour, I highly recommend one of these, you won’t be disappointed.
We had planned to have a ride on the Chemin de Fer historic train, travelling through the marshes and meadows of the Somme Bay where you can see the wildlife and salt meadow sheep that graze the area. This goes to Saint-Valery-sur-Somme but unfortunately our lunch had taken so long to eat that we missed the last departure! Never mind, we like to have something to return to in future trips, and this will be an area we return to, especially to get out and explore on the fantastic off-road cycle routes.
Where We Stayed
As we were finishing our trip in the car rather than our motorhome (a story for another day), we chose a campsite that had mobile homes as well as pitches. We stayed on Camping Le Tarteron on the outskirts of Le Crotoy, only 1 mile from the harbour. It is very easy to cycle into Le Crotoy with only a short stretch of main road, but no pavement for walking.
It opens from 1st April to 31st October, has a mix of seasonal mobile homeowners, a few rentals and camping pitches. The owner was very friendly, didn’t speak much English but we got by with my limited French, a few hand gestures and lots of smiles. The mobile homes were amazing, super clean with outdoor furniture and a lockable shed to store your bikes/fishing gear. The camping pitches are based in one area, and of a very good size with excellent grass to say it was end of season and overall, the site was exceptionally neat and well kept. The toilet/shower blocks were of a good standard and very clean.
There is an indoor swimming pool that has been upgraded during last winter, great for adults and children, and the hubby loved the fishing lake so much we drove to a Decathlon 30 minutes away to get him a new landing net so he could enjoy the free onsite fishing. It was worth the drive as I got to spend my afternoons/evenings relaxing in the sun on my chalet deck! There is also an onsite micro-brewery, sadly this was closed the 5 days we were there so we couldn’t partake but were told by residents that it is very nice beer. You can order fresh bread in advance for collection from reception each morning. This is an excellent site, and very reasonably priced at 25-30 euros per night with electric out of season, dogs are free of charge on camping pitches. We will definitely use this site again when staying in the area.
If you prefer an aire, then the camping-car aire is literally on the harbour-side in Le Crotoy. It is large but looked to have a lot of potholes and uneven surface, and the motorhomes were packed in with very little space between as it doesn’t appear to be marked out. Not for us, but it was quite full, so I think it is popular, probably due to its location right in the town and only 5 minutes from the beach.
Where We Ate
I want to be clear that this is the only place I’ve stayed in 15 years of camping where we ate out every day, usually we would only do this once or twice a week, but the seafood was just too good to miss out on, and so well priced. On average we spent 40 euros on a substantial lunch for two people with drinks and dessert.
I’ve mentioned a few restaurants throughout the blog; these are the ones I’d eat at/buy from again based on value for money, quality of food and service:
Poissonerie chez Didier – takeaway seafood excellent, quality and price excellent.
La Halle aux Poissons – by far the best value for money in quantity and quality of food that we ate throughout the week. Highly recommend this place but get there early to avoid disappointment.
Summary
The Baie de Somme region, and particularly Le Crotoy, should be on your visit list if you’ve not been before. It is perfectly placed for a start or finish to your holiday if you’re travelling via Calais. We loved the traditional feel to this fishing port and if you like seafood as much as me then you will enjoy the vast array available from restaurants and fishmongers. We did visit other towns in the area as well as munching our way through the seafood restaurants of Le Crotoy, but this blog would be endless if I included them, so I’ll make a second blog covering Saint-Valery-sur-Somme and Cayeux-sur-Mer.
Enough waffle for this week, if you have been to the area, please drop me a comment on the blog letting me know what you thought of it. If you enjoy reading my blogs, please like and subscribe to my website so you get notified when the next blog is published. It’s completely free, I don’t fill your inbox with unwanted spam, and it really means the world to me to know my experience has helped someone else.
Happy Travels
I too am a seafood lover and this is just up my street (okay rue). Thanks for the restaurant tips and if you find yourselves in the village of Audresselle, not too far away, there is a wonderful seafood restaurant there. It’s a house with a home made plastic gazebo on the front but the food is absolutely delicious and the wine excellent. Happy camping.