The chalk cliffs of Cap Blanc-Nez along the French Opal Coast
It is January 1, New Year's Day. Although it's cold and foggy, we planned a walk. Issue of the feast calories what to burn and the good intentions (work on myself!) immediately put into practice. We drive to the French commune of Escalles, just past Calais. What we have heard many times in the news, we now see in real life: refugees running across the highway towards the port of Calais in the hope of an opportunity to cross the Channel. It is very dangerous. They climb over the middle berm and just walk between the cars.
At the village of Escalles there is a passage through the chalk cliffs, along which you can reach the vast sandy beach. You can park your car for free on the Place de la Mairie. Here you also have some restaurants, hotels and holiday homes. If you want to start closer to the beach, you can also drive a little further. There is a large, free parking at the end of Rue de la Mer. You can not miss the hiking trail. You can also walk over the cliffs in the direction of Cap Blanc-Nez to the top where an obelisk stands as a monument to the Dover Patrol. This is where the English Navy stopped the German army during World War 1.
We walk through the opening between the cliffs to the beach. It's low tide, so the beach looks huge. Cap Blanc-Nez (134 m above sea level) owes its name to the white chalk cliffs, similar to the famous 'white cliffs of Dover' across the Channel. It's damp and so foggy that the sea is barely visible. The so-called white chalk cliffs are green from the algae and moss. The beach is almost deserted, except for a hiker and a dog. Because of the rock beneath the sand, the water stays in large puddles here and there. It is sometimes looking out on the smooth stones.
We walk past Cap Blanc-Nez, all the way to the village of Sangatte. (About 1 hour walk on the beach.) We hear the foghorns from the ships on the Channel, but through the fog we don't see any ship sailing.
In Sangatte there is a little search for something to drink. We can't find anything that's open, even though we're going through the whole village. On the outskirts of the village, signposted hikes depart over the cliffs towards Cap Blanc-Nez. We switch two partially together to return. This road is a bit more spicy than the walk on the beach. In the direction of Cap Blanc-Nez it sometimes rises and past this point you have a descent towards Escalles with occasional steps that slowly take you back to the parking lot at Escalles.
