Walking through the marshes of Clairmarais.
It's early January. The morning gray does not really want to disappear. The clouds lean heavily on the lower layers and occasionally release a light miner. But the fog is gone, the temperatures are a few degrees above zero and we see where we are again.
We drive to Nieurlet, a village in the north of France, not far from the city of St. Oh, Omer. We park our car at the church. There are signposted walks through the marshes near the hamlet of Clairmarais. We choose the Circuit de Booneghem. Internet keeps it at 6 km, but the signpost promises us 8.5 km. Not very, 2 hours of walking we see completely sitting. Especially if you can walk in the middle of nature and don't encounter a car!
The past few days have been pretty wet. Keep in mind that you walk over swamp area, then you get plodging like in the picture. (On the right you see the path.) But nature is beautiful.
Although it is in the heart of winter, there is plenty of life. We constantly hear birds around us. Swans are there massively. Ducks and seagulls are busy in the weather. Occasionally, we also spot a heron.
Occasionally you have to cross a canal to follow the walk. There is not always a bridge, but sometimes there is a transfer boat. Here you need to pull yourself through a chain to the other side if you want to keep dry feet.
