Wanderings by Tendances & Co n°10 by Groupe Nord Littoral

Wanderings

ISSUE 10

BY TENDANCES & CO

T R AV E L - C U LT U R E - G A ST RO N O M Y - AC T I V I T I ES I N N O R D-PA S-D E-C A L A I S

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss the upcoming Wanderings in May 2020 BY TENDANCES & CO

Events, gastronomy and ideas for cultural days out

Your biannual guide to Nord and Pas-de-Calais

Wanderings BY TENDANCES & CO

Let yourself be captivated!

ave you crossed the Channel before? When driving, you keep to the right. When dining, you appreciate good cheese, wine and French gastronomy. When speaking, you try to use Molière’s language, like the French when they try not to mangle Shakespeare’s language! For the 10th issue of Wanderings, in partnership with the Kent Messenger group, we invite you to enjoy our gastronomic specialities, points of view, and activities you can explore in Hauts-de-France. Because you know, you don’t have to drive all the way across France to discover our national treasures. Here is a new reason to stay in Calais: the sea dragon. This beautiful beast, a water and fire breather, will surprise adults and children. It will transport you across the most welcoming city for our English neighbours before you complete your trip in the north of France. A fantastic world opens its doors to you. All you have to do is cross the Channel by boat or by train. Open this magazine and let yourself be captivated by our region. We’ll see you soon. Promise, we won’t talk about politics, just share good laughs together!

David Guévart Nord Littoral Group

CONTENTS ■■PAGES 5-7

All of a sudden, a dragon appeared in Calais!

■■PAGES 14-15

PAGES 26-27

■■PAGE 16

Bailleul: a town full of charm nestled in the countryside

■■PAGES 17-24

Helen and Warwick Gordon: One foot on either side of the Channel

Which festive town will you visit this Christmas?

■■PAGES 8-9

Enjoy the sights and tickle your taste buds in Calais with our choice of restaurants

■■PAGE 10

Take a wine tour of France without leaving Calais

■■PAGE 11

Calais lights up winter to chase away the cold

■■PAGES 12-13

Unmissable events to get into the Christmas spirit

Simon Gordon: Born in Birmingham but made in Calais

Top 10 lists to celebrate our 10th issue

Elegant restaurants to treat yourself to

■■PAGES 28-29 ■■PAGES 30-31

■■PAGES 32-33

Events

■■PAGE 25

Food to bring back and impress your friends with

■■PAGE 34

What to do on a Sunday during winter

Circulation 10,000 Editor: David Guévart - Commercial Director: Jérôme Dimarcq - Words: Géraldine John Design and Production: Groupe Nord Littoral - Advertising: Groupe Nord Littoral Reproduction of this magazine in whole or in part without the written permission of the publishers is strictly prohibited. A Groupe Nord Littoral publication, 91 boulevard Jacquard, 62100 Calais. T.: +33 (0)3 21 19 12 12 - Partner: Kent Messenger. Printed by Presse Flamande - Hazebrouck

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Channel Outlet Store

©CÉDRIC DANONVILLE

The outlet shopping centre near Calais

Welcome to The Channel Outlet Store,

In a bright and welcoming environment, let yourself be tempted by our exceptional brands for the delight of the entire family. OPEN from Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 7 pm

©CÉDRIC DANONVILLE

a fashionable and trendy complex with 30% discounts on prices, all year round. Easily accessed from Lille, Belgium and England, and just a stone’s throw from the beach, the Channel Outlet Store is the Opal Coast’s leading shopping destination with more than 100 famous brands.

SPECIAL OPENINGS IN DECEMBER Open 7/7 until December 29th included for Sundays & public holidays check our website. Comment rendre à Channel Outlet Store How to getvous to Channel Outlet Store OSTENDE

MER DU NORD

LA PANNE DUNKERQUE

E40

BELGIQUE

CALAIS

COQUELLES

BOULOGNESUR-MER

ST-OMER LILLE BÉTHUNE

LE TOUQUET

ABBEVILLE

ARRAS

Ouvert du lundi au samedi de 10 h à 19 h Boulevard du Parc - 62231 Coquelles A16 sortie 41 à 5 minutes de Calais Parking gratuit

Channel Outlet Store

Boulevard du Parc - 62 911 Coquelles Cedex Tel: +33 (0) 3 21 17 07 70 Highway A16 – Exit 41 – Direction Calais www.channeloutletstore.com/en/

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Cover story

All of a sudden, a dragon appeared in Calais! On November 1, Calais discovered a new inhabitant. A monumental Dragon machine designed and created by La Machine company and François Delarozière, artistic director.

The legendary animal of epic dimensions was dormant at the bottom of the seas. It has now awoken and taken up residence on Calais’ shores. Come to protect the city, it has fought to stay in Calais and has walked through the town’s streets. For three festive days in November, the machine - controlled by 14 people - and its world were presented to the public for the first time.

Specifications

Height: 15 m Length: 25 m Weight: 72 t Speed: 4 kmph It can spread its wings and exhale smoke. Its head is mobile and animated.

As of now, the Dragon has settled permanently in Calais. It has decided to settle on the seafront, at the end of Winston-Churchill avenue, in a temporary shelter where the public can come to admire it.

Guardian of the world, the Dragon of Calais is placed under the guardianship of the Compagnie du Dragon. The beast will patrol along the seafront with passengers from December 17.

To be able to transport people, it will undergo a certain transformation. An access to a covered panoramic deck that can receive 50 people has to be built on its back.

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Cover story

Discover the Dragon of Calais. Watch as it sleeps! On the seafront in a modular, ephemeral and colourful city, located at the end of Winston-Churchill avenue, the Dragon machine of Calais is nesting.

Its shelter was designed to be an immersive window that allows the public to observe it from afar. The facade is made up of transparent polycarbonate sheets. At night, with subtle fluctuations of light, the shelter takes on the appearance of a magic lantern. It is perceptible from sea and from town, with the Dragon sound asleep inside, but always on the lookout for potential danger and keeping an eye on the port. Around the dragon’s shelter, a unique area has been built. It will become an urban spot where people can meet for drinks and chat with friends all while being enveloped in the dragon’s protective aura.

A platform made to measure On the eve of Christmas 2020, the Dragon moves into its permanent shelter named La Nef, or nave, a cocoon made of glass, sculpted wood and steel. The building is automated and will live at the same pace as the Dragon. Everyone will be able to follow the Dragon’s daily life from outside. When the machine is moved out for maintenance, the public can occupy the shelter to spend some quality time or take advantage of open-air activities.

There, you’ll find a shop selling by-products from the Dragon of Calais’ world, eateries and a ticket shop to schedule your future boarding of the beast. The machine built for performances will

become a machine made for a city. A spectacular attraction that, from December 17, will carry the public in a fantastical world built on ancient legends and on the asserted modernity of a thriving city. It will be a cultural, artistic and totally surreal voyage.

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Cover story

From December 17, embark on a fantastic adventure! The performance machine has been converted into an incredible machine for the city, a monumental permanent attraction designed to engage with a semi-urban environment liberated from the grip of the automobile: the seafront. This area is the Dragon’s play area. Each day, the machine wakes up and walks back and forth from its shelter to the outskirts of the Village Gourmand, on the seafront. It takes with it around 50 passengers comfortably settled on a covered panoramic deck built on the Dragon’s back. From there, you can admire the new seafront developments, see the town from a new point of view, and have an uninterrupted view on the esplanade that joins the sea, the pier and the port. Enjoy a twenty-minute voyage at the heart of this sea dragon’s world, that has become the guardian of the stability of all worlds, and a strong link between an existing historical heritage and the willingness to modernise and rethink the city of the Six Burghers to establish the city firmly into the 21st century. As the months pass, the Dragon will prolong its walk towards the Risban Fort, a witness to Calais’ heritage that will also benefit from a new lease of life thanks to developments. From December 17, embark on a fantastical adventure that will accompany Calais’ urban mutation. Soon, more machine animals will join the Dragon and settle in iconic places throughout Calais and interact with their environment. Online tickets at compagniedudragon.com. Ticket prices: e9.50 for adults and e6.50 for children. By Christine Delpierre

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Gastronomy

Enjoy the sights and tickle your taste buds in Calais with our choice of restaurants Whatever your reason for visiting Calais, don’t forget to treat yourself to a good meal - is it not a pleasant break from time to time? Never too far from the ferry or Eurotunnel, a wide choice of gourmet restaurants offers the opportunity to complement your stay with a touch of gustatory pleasure.

Close to the theatre is what the inhabitants call the “Saint Pierre” quarter. It is here that the lacemaking industry was developed throughout the 19th century, coming straight from England in 1816. At the heart of this district, the City of Lace and Fashion is the place to learn everything about this industry. The Christmas market takes place around the theatre, a stone’s throw from the restaurant La Buissonnière with its inventive and refined cuisine, in a Belle Epoque decor.

Meccano Lab, 52 boulevard Jacquard. Town hall, belfry and statue of the Burghers of Calais, place du Soldat Inconnu.

City of Lace and fashion, 135 quai du Commerce. cite-dentelle.fr La Buissonnière, 10 rue Neuve. restaurant-calais.com

If you are accompanied by your children or grandchildren, do not miss out on the Meccano Lab, a space dedicated to the famous toy created in 1901 in Liverpool and still made in Calais today. When night falls, the town hall illuminations will not fail to intrigue and amaze. At the top of the belfry you’ll have a breathtaking view of the city. At the bottom, the Christmas decorations lead to a magical photo opportunity… Unless you’d rather snap a memory with the Burghers of Calais, immortalised in bronze by the famous sculptor, Auguste Rodin.

Local cheese.

Passing the train station and then the Tourist Office with its souvenir shop, you enter the other part of the city centre, closer to the port. Next to the Tourist Office, the Richelieu Park is home to a statue representing two great figures of the 20th century: Sir Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle. Along the park, the Museum of Fine Arts dedicates a room to the works of Auguste Rodin but also offers beautiful contemporary exhibitions. From there, you are close to Histoire Ancienne, whose chef Patrick Comte offers a bistronomic cuisine. The decor recalls Parisian bistros with its Art Deco atmosphere.

The decor of Histoire Ancienne recalls Art Deco Parisian bistros.

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Tourist office, 12 boulevard Clemenceau. calais-cotedopale.com Museum of Fine Arts, 25 rue Richelieu. Histoire Ancienne, 20 rue Royale. histoire-ancienne.com

Gastronomy

Didier Routier, chef of the restaurant La Sole Meunière.

ferry port and the Dragon. In terms of taste, you’ll have a difficult choice to make between Aquar’aile, which boasts a panoramic view from high up and the cruise ship atmosphere of the Côte d’Argent. Aquar’aile, 255 rue Jean Moulin. aquaraile.fr Au Côte d’Argent, 1 digue Gaston Berthe. cotedargent.com

Oh! Mouettes, 10, rue Jean Pierre Avron. ohmouettes.com Le Grand Bleu, 8 rue Jean Pierre Avron. legrandbleu-calais.com The big event of this end of year is the arrival of the Dragon of the seas! So where (and how!) will you take a stroll along the seafront? Will you walk along the Risban fort, go to the beach or the pier? Or perhaps you’d rather climb aboard the dragon’s back for a more, shall we say, unique experience? Whichever mode of transport you choose, you won’t be far from two restaurants offering a bird’s-eye view of the seafront, including the

Chef Mathieu Colin of Le Grand Bleu highlights seafood.

La Sole Meunière, 1 boulevard de la Résistance. solemeuniere.com Le Channel, 3 boulevard de la Résistance. restaurant-lechannel.com

Feel free to stroll along the quays of the outer harbour, which for centuries was the port of Calais before the increase in ferry traffic during the 20th century. Several monuments recall the maritime history of Calais, the most emblematic being the monument for lifeguards at sea, which faces the Channel. Behind it, and so with a view of the entrance to the port, fish and seafood are highlighted in the restaurants Oh! Mouettes and Le Grand Bleu.

Rue Royale, place d’Armes and its adjacent streets are where inhabitants head for a good night out. It is here that you will find the largest concentration of restaurants and bars, along with the casino. Place d’Armes was the heart of medieval Calais before its destruction during the Second World War. It is dominated by three points of view: the bell tower of the Church of Notre-Dame (main remnant of the English presence from 1347 to 1558), the lighthouse and the Tour du Guet - a watchtower that has been watching over Calais since the 13th century. But place d’Armes is also in this special time of year where the Christmas village is settled, with its indoor ice rink. Once you have crossed rue de la Mer, two local gastronomic institutions, the Sole Meunière and Le Channel, honor products of the sea without neglecting products from the surrounding countryside, with a view of the port thrown in for good measure.

Enjoy the seafood at Oh! Mouettes.

Enjoy a magnificent view of the seafront Aquar’aile restaurant.

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Shopping in Calais

Take a wine tour of France without leaving Calais

Wine shopping in Calais is music to anyone’s ears.

Wine and other French specialities can all be found in Calais thanks to the town’s large commercial offer and retail space. The town of Calais has had a privileged relationship with England for a very long time. From the top of the White Cliffs of Dover, one can easily contemplate the sumptuous twin cliffs of Cap Blanc Nez and Cap Gris Nez in France. Calais is the last bit of French soil before reaching Britain, and once a jewel of the English crown. Did you know that in Calais you can take a miniature tour of France’s specialities? For over 30 years, Calais has had the largest commercial offer of wines, beers and spirits. This is represented by no less than 10,000 m² of commercial surface and more than 40 retail outlets. You will find wines from all regions of France, Europe and even the world, and just like in the largest cellars of the Bordeaux region, you have the opportunity to taste before making your choice. There is something for every taste and every budget, from table wine to the most prestigious, with prices generally two times cheaper than in England. You will also find many specialities of French gastronomy: pâtés, terrines, cheeses and much more. Coming to Calais to buy your wine and other French specialities is the guarantee that you will bring back fresh, quality products home, ready to spend pleasant end-of-year holidays. Do not miss out on these retailers and their great offers to save even more when visiting Calais. Please drink responsibly

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Retailers

Carrefour Cité Europe Boulevard du Kent 62231 Coquelles A16 motorway, junction 41 or 43 and follow signs for Cité Europe Terre de Boissons Boulevard du Kent 62231 Coquelles +33 (0)3 21 17 09 64 Auchan Calais Avenue Roger Salengro 62100 Calais Calais Vins 28 Rue Gutenberg 62100 Calais +33 (0)3 21 36 40 40 A16 Motorway, junction 44 (Calais St Pierre) Pidou Superstores 190 Rue Marcel Dassault 62100 Calais +33 (0)3 21 96 78 10 594 Avenue Henri Ravisse 62730 Marck +33 (0)3 21 36 43 43 The aforementioned retailers offer a £10 discount when you spend £100 on wine before December 31, 2019. Present this magazine to redeem the offer. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer.

Christmas in Calais

Calais lights up winter to chase away the cold

There’s something for everyone to enjoy. Whether you are from Calais or further afar, the festivities and events this Christmas will knock your socks off. This year, Christmas starts on November 30, with the Christmas lights switch-on at 5.30pm in front of the town hall. The animated display will magically come to life inside the building, the

ice-skating rink will open in La Halle and the chestnuts will start roasting in the Christmas village. On December 22, the parade returns by popular demand! Be amazed by a magical show as it progresses through the streets of Calais. Wonder at the floats and magical scenes that bring you into a unique polar world. Elves, snowmen, animated toys, dancers, acrobats, Christmas soldiers, bears, and, of course, Father Christmas will lead you from place Crèvecoeur to place d’Armes from 5.30pm. Just follow the Christmas train!

Building upon the success of previous years, Calais continues to impress during the end of year festivities.

If you’re still tracking down Christmas presents for your loved ones, head over to the Christmas market set up in front of the theatre from December 7 to December 22. In the 50 or so huts you’ll find local food and handcrafted decorations all whilst breathing in the smell of roasting chestnuts and mulled wine. A confectionary stand will keep you going in the sweets department and children can have a go on the merry-go-round. The market is open Mondays to Fridays from 5pm to 8pm, Saturdays from 1pm to 9pm and Sundays from 1pm to 8pm. Meet Father Christmas each Saturday and Sunday from 2.30pm to 6.30pm. WANDERINGS BY TENDANCES & CO

Christmas in Calais

Unmissable events to get into the Christmas spirit November 30 to January 5

Animated display

Town hall Wonder at the town’s huge animated Christmas display located in the town hall. This year’s theme is Father Christmas’s ski resort

Christmas tree forest Town hall Stroll through this pine forest, take in the wonderful smell and admire the 12-metre-high Christmas tree!

Christmas village

Place d’Armes Hot chocolate, sweets and pastries, roasted chestnuts… Indulge in the Christmas atmosphere in the seasonal village where the 1900 Carousel takes pride of place once again. €2 per ticket - €10 for 10 tickets

La Halle, place d’Armes The Halle on place d’Armes is turned into an ice rink for the whole Christmas period. Slip into your skates and slide onto the ice to perform all sorts of acrobatic twirls! €1.50 for 30 minutes Term-time opening Monday, Tuesday, Thursday: 12pm-2pm / 4pm-8pm Wednesday, Sunday: 11am-8pm Friday: 12pm-2pm / 4pm-10pm Saturday: 11am-10pm School holiday opening (December 21 - January 5): Sunday to Thursday: 11am-8pm Friday and Saturday: 11am-10pm Closed on Christmas day and New Year’s day Early closing at 6pm on Christmas and New Year’s eve 12

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Skating rink

Christmas in Calais Saturday, November 30 Lights switch-on

Town hall Christmas lights switch-on and show From 5.30pm

Sunday, December 8 Gospel concert

Place d’Armes 3pm-6pm. Every 20 minutes

Wednesday, December 11 Christmas village

Forum Gambetta Spend time in the Christmas village where young and old can create Christmas decorations, listen to music, dance and sing along with local organisations. 2pm-5.30pm

Saturday, December 14

Red Zone moto club procession

Town hall 19th procession of the Red Zone Moto club. Around five hundred motorbikes will ride through the streets of Calais all the way to Place d’Armes with their riders all dressed up. Their aim is to collect presents for a charity that accompanies hospitalised children.

Ice show

Place d’Armes Ice & Fire ice sculpture show. 2.30pm-5.30pm. Illumination at 6pm

December 15

Street performance and firework show

Place Crèvecoeur Marvel at the fire jugglers and fire breathers who will walk along the boulevard La Fayette before the start of the laser show and fireworks at 6pm. From 5pm Free

December 21 to January 5

Playmobil exhibition, 5th edition

Forum Gambetta This year, the city of New York inspired Jean-Michel Leuillier, who owns the world’s largest Playmobil collection. Thousands of small plastic characters and decorations will enthrall children and adults. 10am-12.30pm / 2pm-6pm Closed Christmas day and New Year’s day. Free Find the full programme on noel.calais.fr WANDERINGS BY TENDANCES & CO

Christmas in the region

Which festive tow n you visit this Christ m Christmas markets are an important part of end-of-year festivities in northern France. Arras is the largest one North of Paris and a real institution in the region. Some last a couple of days and others a whole month. It is a chance for artisans to show off their work, for tourists and locals to find original gifts and for children to wonder at the magic of Christmas.

Montreuil-sur-Mer December 14 and December 15 Take a walk through the Christmas card that is the fortified town and walk along the battlements. The market takes place along the picturesque rue du Clape-en-Bas.

Gravelines December 7 to December 29 Voted best Christmas market on the Opal Coast, Gravelines’ market has more than 100 traditional huts housing producers coming from all over France. Expect merry-go-rounds, concerts, a Ferris wheel, parades and a visit from Father Christmas… The market takes place on place Albert Denvers. Monday to Friday: 3pm to 8pm Weekends: 11am to 9pm For more information visit tourisme-gravelines.fr

Wimereux December 13 to December 15 Find everything you need from decorations, presents and ingredients to prepare a feast. The market takes place at the Salons des jardins de la Baie Saint Jean, rue Sainte-Adrienne. Friday 13: 5pm to 8pm Saturday 14: 10am to 7pm Sunday 15: 10am to 6pm

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Boulogne-sur-Mer December 13 to December 15 Enjoy some gingerbread and mulled wine surrounded by sweet smells in Boulogne-sur-Mer’s fortified old town. The market will take place in the clos de l’Evêché at the foot of a magnificent Christmas tree, where children can perhaps get a chance to meet Father Christmas himself! Friday from 2pm to 8pm Saturday from 10am to 8pm Sunday from 10am to 7pm For more information visit tourisme-boulognesurmer.com

©©Arras Pays d’Artois Tourisme

Bourbourg December 23 and 24

w n will st mas?

Bailleul November 29 to December 1 and December 6 to December 8 Nicknamed “Belle de Flandre”, the town of Bailleul is putting forward its local producers during the annual Christmas market for two weekends during the Christmas period at the foot of the belfry in the town centre. Enjoy the ice rink from November 29 to January 5. For more information visit ville-bailleul.fr

of of

Arras November 29 to December 30 In the prestigious setting of the place des Héros, the town’s main square, the Arras Christmas market will delight children and adults alike for a whole month. It is set in a Christmas tree forest where artisans and exhibitors welcome you in an authentic and festive atmosphere. Find all your gift ideas in one place and enjoy roasted chestnuts or a cup of hot chocolate while strolling along the wide paths lined with winter huts where you will discover crafts, jewelry, wooden toys and many decorative objects. For more information, visit noelarras.com

Béthune November 23 to December 31 Feel as though you are part of a fairytale in Béthune’s traditional Christmas village set up on the main square. The town has aptly renamed itself the city of Christmas for the occasion. Amble between the lit facades of Béthune’s town centre and the towering belfry and enjoy the magnificent ferris wheel, Christmas train and the ice rink. For more information visit tourisme-bethune-bruay.fr

Calais December 7 to December 22 Calais lights up Christmas this year with 50 huts housing local producers, plus one very special hut with one very special guest… The market is located in the heart of Calais, in front of the theater. Monday to Friday: from 5pm to 8pm Saturday: from 1pm to 9pm Sunday: from 1pm to 8pm For more information visit noel.calais.fr

Le Touquet December 7 and December 8 For several years, Le Touquet-Paris-Plage has organised a fantastic end-of-year event. In the famous beach resort Christmas lasts over a month, starting at the end of November and ending on January 6. During this festive period, the whole town is transformed into a magical kingdom with a parade, a visit from Father Christmas and a Christmas market at the Marché Couvert, near the town hall. For more information visit letouquet.com

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Local figures

Simon Gordon Born in Birmingham but made in Calais

Simon Gordon has worked for more than 14 years at the Hovercraft restaurant in Calais. Famous for its welsh - a much cheesier version of Welsh rarebit - the Hovercraft is an institution in Calais. Funnily enough, Simon Gordon is too.

word of French…” That has long since changed: the restaurant manager now speaks fluent French and has developed an “international accent”. “People think I’m South African, Spanish, Belgian, American, German… I prefer to let them think I’m Canadian, it’s romantic and more exotic,” he jokes.

When you walk into the Hovercraft, you’ll automatically meet Simon Gordon. He’s either leading you to your table or joking with regular patrons. He’s been running the restaurant for a while. “I started as a cook, then became a waiter and now I’m second in command,” he says. His boss, Dan Sowden, is also British. The two became friendly when Simon was coming over to Calais regularly 15 years ago. When he decided to move here, Dan Sowden offered him a job. Simon Gordon is originally from Birmingham. At 21, he moved to the Isle of Wight and barely a year later he moved to Calais. “I had never thought about leaving Birmingham let alone the country!” he says. “Nothing was keeping me in England at the time, but I didn’t know one

Going it alone

Simon Gordon studied art and design out of passion. He then dove into the catering world. While working at McDonald’s, Simon Gordon passed a GNVQ in catering and hospitality. He realised he wanted to run his own pub during a two-day course and “caught the management bug” while working in a resort on the Isle of Wight on a day when none of the staff turned up. While working at the Hovercraft, Simon Gordon imagined once again running his own establishment. The project began to take shape two years ago. “I wanted to stay in Calais, definitely, and I wanted to bring a unique concept,” he explains. The result is Le Touchdown, a 360 square-metre sports bar with a pub feel,open

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in midnovember. He got the idea from Hooters in the US. “I kept thinking this could work in Calais, clients are looking for consistently good meat and good value for money,” he analyses. Clients are also searching for somewhere to watch the football on a Saturday will having a fryup. “I’m bringing English breakfast back to Calais,” he announces boldly. Le Touchdown is located in rue Marcel Dassault, close to the ferry terminal and next to the wine shops. “It’s perfect if you just want a takeaway coffee before getting to the Tunnel or ferry,” he points out. As well as good burgers, sliders, a pasta dish, a fish dish and fryups, Simon Gordon offers muffins, bagels, croissants and everything else you need for a continental breakfast. “I want to draw everyone in, not just people who like sports.” Staying in Calais was the most important factor. “I wanted to build something I could tell everyone was made in Calais. The town has a bad image, but I grew as a person here and the inhabitants accepted me. I’m hoping to make a franchise out of Le Touchdown so everyone associates it with Calais.”

Top 10

Top 10 lists to celebrate our 10th issue We’re celebrating 10 issues of Wanderings this year. Ten issues of sharing our rich history, culture and gastronomy with you. To help you celebrate our 10th issue with us, we have compiled our top 10 picks of regional assets. Prepare to indulge with our 10 mouthwatering northern pastries, unless you’d prefer to find a beer and cheese pairing or know where to go to find the best panoramic view of the region? Or you might simply want to know what kind of food you’re likely to find in your plate while you’re visiting us. We hope you enjoy our region as much as we do.

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Top 10

Change your point of view with these high-reaching points of the region Northern France is a relatively flat area. This is good for marshlands and bike riding, but not so great for a view. Fear not: there are some high points in Nord and Pas-de-Calais and, luckily, they stick out like a sore thumb, which makes for uninterrupted views for miles!

Montreuil-sur-Mer battlements

It takes an hour to walk around the Montreuil battlements, and the view of the Canche bay is worth it. The town itself is made up of winding cobbled streets and writer Victor Hugo wrote his famous novel Les Misérables whilst visiting the walled town. The 13th century ramparts and the citadel are classified as Historical monuments and are open to the public. The citadel houses the Roger-Rodière museum, which traces the history of Montreuil-sur-Mer.

Calais lighthouse

The slag heaps

All the slag heaps of the mining b red and vary slightly in height. Th the extent of the efforts carried o a mountain range, slag heaps ha skylines in Nord and Pas-de-Cala has a recorded number of 350 “te made up of an accumulation of co Slag heap number 3, in Noeud-le turned into a leisure park called L an artificial ski slope and culmina

Calais’ lighthouse was built close to the town centre in 1848. Today the lighthouse is automatic, so there is no longer a guardian. At the top, a balcony allows you to admire the landscape including the Blanc-Nez cliff, the city of Calais, the countryside, the Tunnel, the harbour and ferry port… Above the balcony is the lantern. It is not accessible to the public. Its light beams have a range of 23 nautical miles or 43 kilometres, more than enough for the Strait of Pas-de-Calais. Rumour has it the lighthouse is haunted… So maybe avoid going at night! Address: Place Henri Barbusse, Calais During winter, the lighthouse is open Wednesdays and Saturdays from 2pm to 5.30pm and Sundays from 10am to 12pm and from 2pm to 5.30pm. Entry is €5 for adults.

Cap Blanc-Nez and Gris-Nez

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There are two main cliffs on the Opal Coast between Calais and Boulogne: the Blanc-Nez (white nose) and the Gris-Nez (grey nose). They are commonly grouped together and called the 2 Caps. Both are wheelchair accessible and offer a panoramic view of the coast. On clear days you can see the White Cliffs of Dover. The Blanc-Nez is closer to Calais and is 134 metres high. It is the northernmost tip of the country. A monument to the Dover Patrol is erected on the site. At low tide, you can walk down the “cran d’Escalles” in the village of Escalles at the foot of the cliff and see the Blanc-Nez from below. The Gris-Nez is the closest French point to England. It houses the CROSS, the regional operations centre for maritime surveillance and rescue. It coordinates search and rescue operations at sea from the border with Belgium to Normandy.

Top 10 Mont Noir

Vimy memorial

It is one of the hills of Flanders, an otherwise very flat region. The Mont Noir is located a few kilometres from Bailleul. It takes its name from the presence of a high concentration of black pine in the wood that covers the hill. It is on the actual border between Belgium and France and is part of Saint-Jans-Cappel, in France and Westouter, in Belgium. Its Flemish name is Zwarteberg. On the Belgian side, aside from many shops that people from all over the region flock to on weekends, there is a chair lift that links it to another hill!

There are 650 military cemeteries throughout Nord and Pas-de Calais as well as memorial sites. The Canadian National Vimy Memorial, opened in 1936, is one of them. The crest of Vimy and the iconic white marble memorial dominate the mining basin. The site commemorates the battle of April 9, 1917 when Canadian soldiers wrested Vimy from German forces. Along with preserved trench lines, there are underground passages and several other memorials contained within the park. Address: Vimy Memorial, Parc Mémorial Canadien, Chemin des Canadiens, D55, Vimy. The site is open year round.

the mining basin are numbein height. The heaps testify to rts carried out by miners. Like lag heaps have created new Pas-de-Calais. The mining basin ber of 350 “terrils”. They are mulation of coal mining deposits. , in Noeud-les-Mines, has been park called Loisinord. It is now e and culminates at 129m.

Arras belfry

The Belfry is erected from 1463 following the Gothic style. Its construction was completed in 1554 under the leadership of the architect Jacques Le Caron. As a tribute to Charles Quint, a lion and a crown are built at the top. As early as 1502, without waiting for the completion of the belfry, the aldermen undertook the construction of the town hall in a Flamboyant Gothic style, in which were assembled the merchant hall and the aldermen hall. In 1914 the belfry - offering an uninterrupted view of the front line - was targeted by the German artillery. It was hit by shells and collapsed. The town hall and belfry were rebuilt identically. Address: 4 Place des Héros, Arras The belfry is open year-round and its ascension costs a little over €3. Check opening times on the town website arras.fr.

Mont des Cats

Another hill of the Flanders region, the Mont des Cats (the t is silent) is near the towns of Godewaersvelde, Méteren and Berthen. The name originates from the name of a Germanic people, the Chattes, settled in the region since the fall of the Roman Empire. A second hypothesis is that the lords around the 15th century and later belonged to the noble family Des Chats, giving their name to the place. An abbey sits at the top. Trappist monks make the Mont des Cats cheese there. Just opposite is a radio and television transmitter whose mast reaches an altitude of 364 metres. From the top, you have an uninterrupted view of Flanders.

Mont Saint-Guémy

The ruins of the chapel of Saint-Louis give the place a certain mystery. It is perched upon a hill in the hamlet of Guémy, near Tournehem-sur-la-Hem, and versions differ on why the 15th century chapel was built by Antoine de Bourgogne. Is it a tribute to the Holy Virgin or to King Saint-Louis? Whatever the true reason, it is a wonderful place to hike up to and take in the fresh air of the Hem valley. Address: Chapelle Saint-Louis, D225, rue du Mont Saint-Louis, Tournehem-sur-la-Hem

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Top 10

Emblematic ingredients of northern France As you’re driving through Calais and the rest of Pas-de-Calais, you might have noticed some butchers have a horse as an emblem, like the famous Huchin-Prince butchers. This is to indicate they sell exclusively horse meat. They are called “boucherie chevaline”. Northerners are big consumers as it’s cheap and low in fat. Horse meat became popular in France in the 19th century, mostly in towns and in working-class areas. Today, consumption is in decline and the meat is mostly eaten out of habit and tradition.

Endive

It’s been more than a century and a half since the first ‘‘white pearls’’ were discovered by chance in the Brussels region. Around 1920, the endive was introduced in France by Belgian seasonal workers. Today, with 190,000 tons per year, representing 83% of national production and 50% of world production, the Hauts-deFrance region is the world’s leading endive region. From May to November, the roots of endive are grown in open fields. Harvested at maturity, they are kept in a cold room to extend the production period. Then they are placed away from light in a warm and humid atmosphere to promote accelerated growth. Endive is traditionally eaten as a salad or gratin.

Horse meat

Sugar beet

Cauliflower

The marshland of the Audomarois region is perfect for growing all sorts of vegetables, but especially cauliflower. The canals of the marshland are accessible via flat-bottomed boats, that some producers still use to sell cauliflower in. Saint-Omer is nicknamed the city of cauliflower and its production is exported all over Europe. Its taste is a touch lighter than that of its counterpart in Brittany.

Every year, from September to January, is sugar beet season in the north. Trucks make endless rotations from fields to two of the main sugar refineries in Attin, near Montreuil-sur-Mer, and Lillers, near Béthune. Sugar beet is grown all over Nord and Pas-de-Calais and is a main industry, France being one of the world’s largest sugar beet producers and the Hauts-de-France region the most important producer in France. The Lillers sugar industry is vast: it extends from the Belgian border to Dunkerque, as far as Boulogne-sur-Mer, descending on Hesdin and Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise, then east of Béthune and finally to the west of Lille. This corresponds roughly to 23,000 hectares of sugar beets.

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Top 10 Herring

This thin, oily fish is found all over the Atlantic and celebrated in both Calais and Boulogne when the schools of herring reach northern France in the middle of October. In Boulogne, tradition dictates that the fish be gutted, cleaned and placed in salt for twelve days until the salt is absorbed. The fish are then smoked, stacked and dispatched.

Chicory

Originally, chicory was a medicinal plant. It became popular in France during Napoleon’s continental blockade on coffee imports. Unlike coffee, chicory contains no stimulants. It can be found in three forms: granulated or ground and added to coffee to mellow the taste, soluble and served as a breakfast drink or as a liquid extract and added to water but mainly used in cooking. It is closely related to the endive and grown in the French part of Flanders. The roots are roasted and ground in a way that keeps the flavour intact.

Potatoes

Fricadelle

In every friterie, or chip shop, of Nord and Pas-de-Calais you will find chips (obviously) and an array of odd-looking meats. The general rule is to never wonder what’s in each meat… Perhaps the most representative of chip shop meats is the fricadelle, a battered sausage that’s cooked in the fryer along with the chips.

These are a Dunkerque speciality: rollmops are salted herring fillets complete with the skin, which are rolled around pieces of gherkin and onion, held together with cocktail sticks and marinated in a mixture of vinegar, water and spices. They can be eaten raw as an appetiser or with boiled potatoes.

Rollmops

Genièvre (gin)

The production of gin spread in France from Holland during the 16th century. After a prohibition in the 1700s, gin made a comeback after 1806 when Napoleon announced a blockade of England. A large number of distilleries set up shop in Nord and Pas-de-Calais and found their main custom among the miners. Only a handful of distilleries survived the closing down of the mines and the drop in consumption, the most famous being the one in Houlle. Based on rye, barley and oats, genièvre is suited to many culinary uses, from flavouring goose liver pâté to marinating salmon, or as a digestive between courses.

It’s no surprise that Nord and Pas-de-Calais are leaders in national potato production… and consumption. Northern France is known for its “baraques à frites” or chip shops and northerners eat almost double the amount of potatoes the rest of France does. The best known variety is the Bintje. It’s a large and oval potato that can be boiled, roasted, put into soup, mashed, and obviously turned into chips.

Please drink responsibly

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Top 10

Perfect pastries to satisfy your sweet tooth Rond de Saint-Nicolas

‘Tis the season for this particular biscuit. The rond de Saint-Nicolas is only produced from mid-November until the end of December. Saint-Nicolas is celebrated on December 5 and it is still a big tradition in Northern Europe, including Nord and Pas-de-Calais. The biscuit base is made up of almond powder and the biscuit is cooked until hard, but not too hard. Once it has cooled, white icing is added on top and a pink N is hand drawn. This pastry is only known in Calais and Boulogne. If you go to Lille, your chances of finding one are slim and people may not even have heard of it…

Pudding

Trade, tourism, conquests and military clashes... Opportunities were not lacking for the recipe of English plum pudding to cross the Channel over to northern France. Its qualities of conservation in harsh maritime weather undoubtedly won the pudding some points and it’s probably why it is still made by families across Calais and Boulogne and become an iconic Christmas dessert.

Tarte à gros bords or Libouli

Séverine and Bertrand Bouin from La Galette Calaisienne bakery

Croustillons

Croustillons hollandais are an integral part of any fun fair over the winter period, but also during the summer. They are essentially warm donut holes covered in sugar and are easy to eat as you’re debating which ride to go on next.

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The libouli (boiled milk, in patois) pie or the tarte à gros bords (which translates roughly to “large-edged pie”) or tarte au papin is a culinary specialty of Nord and Pas-deCalais, more precisely in the Boulonnais and Flanders regions. Papin derives from the Flemish “pap” which means porridge. This pie, which resembles flan, has many names depending on the area it’s made in, but everyone follows the same recipe. It has thick edges, because years ago housewives did not have the means to buy a pie plate, so they put the dough on a sheet and made thick edges by folding the dough roughly to prevent the cream from escaping. One could not imagine a Sunday of ducasse (village fair) without one of these pies.

Top 10 Waffles

French waffles aren’t anything like Belgian waffles. For a start, they’re flat as pancakes. Two varieties exist: the gaufre de Dunkerque, which is a wafer-thin biscuit flavoured with rum, and the classic waffle. This one is made of two thin soft wafers with vanilla cream spread between them. You can sometimes spot pastry chefs in good pastry shops spreading the cream by hand before sticking the two wafers together.

Catherine Havran created her waffle-making company P’tit Fer Sucré in Steenwerck in 2017

Speculoos

You will almost certainly have already tried speculoos in France as it’s commonly given as a small biscuit to accompany a hot drink in cafés. You might not have known that it is a northern specialty. It was traditionally eaten around Advent, but the cinnamon-based biscuit is now eaten year-round.

Calais

This pastry is a speciality of - you guessed it - Calais and you can only find it there. Its uniqueness lies first and foremost in its oval shape, utterly innovative at the time of its creation. The ingredients are mainly almond and coffee. The base is biscuit and is topped with coffee-flavoured buttercream. The name of the cake is finally iced on top..

Tarte au sucre

Butter and, of course, sugar, are the main ingredients needed to bake a sugar tart. Locals use unrefined sugar, called vergeoise or cassonade. It is a brown sugar that is less sweet than white sugar.

Merveilleux

For the best version of the Merveilleux (which means wonderful), head to any pastry shop that has a huge chandelier in the middle of the room and marble tops. Chances are, it’s a shop named Aux Merveilleux de Fred, created by Fred Vaucamps. You’ll find his shops in Lille, Saint-Omer but also in Paris, London and even New York. The pastry itself is a meringue topped with cream and chocolate flakes.

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Top 10

Our pick of locally brewed beer and (sometimes smelly) cheese BRASSERIE DU PAYS FLAMAND

Anosteké

©©Flikr/ Dianne Rosete

The Anosteké has one many a prize in the last ten years at the World beer awards. The name derives from “tot anoste keer”, a Flemish expression meaning “see you next time”.

425 rue André Plockyn, Blaringhem brasseriedupaysflamand.com

BRASSERIE SAINT-LOUPOISE

Titanic

Ludovic Dez uses a milk tank to brew his beer. This gives his Titanic - an Indian pale ale mixing American and British hops as a nod to the ill-fated ship - a particular taste.

52 rue du Fernand-Lemercier, Huby-Saint-Leu brasserie-saint-loupoise.fr

BRASSERIE ARTISANALE DES 2 CAPS

2 Caps

Fifteen years ago, Christophe Noyon set up his brewery in Tardinghen and has gained in popularity all over northern France. His best known beer is the 2 Caps, named in honour of the cliffs bordering the brewery.

Ferme de Belle Dalle, Tardinghen 2caps.fr

BRASSERIE DE SAINT-SYLVESTRE

3 Monts

This brewery has been managed by the same family for generations. Its flagship beer is named in honour of the three Flanders hills.

121 route de la Chapelle, Saint-Sylvestre-Cappel 3monts.fr

BRASSERIE SAINT-GERMAIN

Page 24

This brewery is named after the patron saint of the bell tower in Aix-Noulette, near Béthune.

26 route d’Arras, Aix-Noulette page24.fr Please drink responsibly

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Five cheeses to finish your beer with Mont des cats

The trappist monks of the Mont des Cats abbey, founded in 1826, produced cheese for the community, but were soon making it for neighbouring villages. You can visit the abbey atop the Mont des Cats hill.

Bergues

The original production zone of this cheese is within a 10 kilometre radius of the town of Bergues. The dozen producers of this soft cheese each add their own flair to a common recipe: it is sometimes yellow or pink and more or less gooey and strong.

Sablé de Wissant

Sablé de Wissant is a raw cow’s milk cheese. It is an uncooked pressed cheese and its orange rind is regularly brushed with Wissant’s white beer during production. It’s shaped like a square cobble, or “pavé” in French. Its taste is on the mild side.

Ecume de Wimereux

As the water tos and fros on Wimereux beach, a thick foam appears. It’s all the inspiration the Bernard brothers from the Ferme du Vert in Wierre-Effroy needed to create a cheese with white rind and a salty taste that mirrors this particular maritime scenery.

Fort d’Ambleteuse

Named after a fort built by Vauban, the Fort d’Ambleteuse is a soft pasteurized cheese. Its yellow-orange rind is washed with Brunembert cider, sourced from a village a few miles from Wierre-Effroy where the cheese is made.

©©Flikr/ Dianne Rosete

Christmas dinner

Food to bring back and impress your friends with Make your Christmas dinner fancier and more French this year with these typical northern ingredients.

Hors d’œuvre

Starter

For starters, you can’t escape the fact that it’s scallop season. Most fish stalls will be selling them and you’ll want the freshest ones possible. These can be found in Calais, Boulogne and other towns along the coast, sold directly by the fisherman in “aubettes”, small stalls near the docks. They will be able to advise you on preparing them and cooking them.

by gourmets and famous chefs, such as Joël Robuchon, who used it in his mashed potatoes recipe. It can be boiled and eaten with its skin, cooked in a frying pan with butter or oil, eaten in a salad or made into mash.

Cheese © Michel De Smedt

If you’re looking for a meaty hors d’oeuvre to go with your vol-au-vent - and you’re feeling particularly adventurous - try the andouille sausage from Aire-sur-la-Lys. When smoked, the sausage turns brown and is eaten cold as an amuse-bouche. It is seasoned with sage, which is what distinguishes it. Mostly composed of tripe and pig intestine, it is originally a poor man’s food. Most butchers sell andouille, but only a small number of producers still make it in Aire-sur-la-Lys.

Dessert

Main Course

For your mains, look no further than a Licques turkey. This quality poultry is known far and wide and can be bought in most supermarkets or directly from producers in Licques. As a side dish, the ratte du Touquet is perfect. This small and gnarled potato is grown exclusively in the north of France by a handful of farmers. A firm-fleshed potato with a delicate chestnut taste, it is particularly appreciated

For the cheese course, set your sights on local northern cheeses. From hard to gooey, you’ll definitely find one or two (or ten!) to make up your cheeseboard. The most typical, but definitely the smelliest one, is Maroilles. It is a square, orange and extremely potent cheese made in the North but available in any supermarket and cheese shop. If you want something that’s less likely to asphyxiate you on the train or ferry back, try the Mont des Cats: a cheese made at the Mont des Cats hill in French Flanders by the Trappist monks of the Mont des Cats Abbey. It is an uncooked pressed cheese.

For dessert, bypass the traditional bûche and pick up a French plum pudding in a bakery in Calais or Boulogne. Now, it might be called a plum pudding, but the French version doesn’t actually contain any, plums being the Victorian name for dried raisins. Each family has its own recipe, handed down through generations and jealously guarded. It is very close to the British pudding and became a part of Christmas in Calais and in Boulogne during the years of British occupation five hundred years ago.

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Eating out

Elegant restaurants to treat yourself to If you’re looking for an upmarket restaurant to treat yourself this Christmas, New Year and beyond, here is a selection to make your mouth water.

LE SWEET, DUNKERQUE Located on the Citadel quay, the Sweet offers a unique view of the port of Dunkerque. The style of the restaurant perfectly matches the fine and gourmet cuisine of Chef Kevin, who offers refined recipes made from local products: The chef and his team revisit traditional recipes to bring them up to date. Aside from the location, the highlight is the regular change of menu - every three weeks - so you can keep coming back.

Le Sweet, 2 bis quai de la Citadelle, Dunkerque. Tables can be booked via the website: lesweetrestaurant.fr or by calling +33 (0)3 28 63 04 29. Menu prices range from €17 to €34.

LA FRINGALETTE, SAINT-OMER The smell emanating from La Fringalette is delicate, sweet and inviting. It is the only restaurant in Dunkerque street, Saint-Omer’s main shopping street. Originally a tea room and renowned for its homemade ice cream, pancakes and waffles, La Fringalette now also owes its success to its restaurant, which serves osso buco, ribs, traditional carbonnade flamande and fillets of saithe. For fifteen years Chef Gautier Portemont has been in the kitchens serving up these local, fresh products. The meat comes from Fruges, fruits and vegetables are local, and the fish is from a fisherman in the Boulonnais region who delivers La Fringalette three times a week.

La Fringalette, 33 rue de Dunkerque, Saint-Omer. Book a table by calling +33 (0)3 21 98 56 32.

LE PRINCE RUSSE, BERCK-SUR-MER Located just a few steps from the beach, the Hotel Régina & Spa welcomes you all year round in a refined setting. The restaurant Le Prince Russe invites you to enjoy a lunch break or dinner in a most pleasant setting. Cozy and bright, the setting is beautifully enhanced by shades of blue and white. In the kitchen, Chef Eric Roubaud has had a steadfast presence for 17 years and brings a touch of modernity to each of his dishes. Think dishes like salmon tartare flavoured with lime, avocado salad with citrus, homemade fish soup and garnish, brandade of the sea with saithe, and white chocolate and coconut éclair.

Hôtel Le Régina & Spa, 40 rue de Lhomel, Berck-sur-Mer. Book a table by calling +33 (0)3 21 09 13 55. Visit the website: hotelreginaberck.com. Menu prices start at around €21. 26

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Eating out LA TABLE DU MANOIR, LE TOUQUET This fabulous restaurant is located in a manor house within Le Touquet’s golf resort. Chef Fabrice Cherault and his team welcome you to a magnificent restaurant with a winter garden decor. In this exceptional luminosity, in the heart of a green environment, discover a gourmet and creative cuisine. The restaurant makes a point to offer fresh, local and seasonal products. Its specialty is obviously fish and seafood. Customers appreciate the chef’s sober but delicious cuisine. You’re likely to find turbot, sea bream and homemade foie gras on the menu.

La Table du Manoir, 2170 avenue du Golf, Le Touquet. Book a table by calling +33 (3) 21 06 28 28 or emailing hotel@letouquetgolfresort.com. Visit the website: letouquetgolfresort.com. Menu prices start at €38.

L’ATELIER DES SAVEURS, NŒUX-LES-MINES

Delightful delis

For more than nine years, the restaurant L’Atelier des Saveurs has been welcoming its customers through its doors. With each passing season, Chef François Santerne offers an instinctive, gourmet and tasty cuisine, combining audacity and tradition. Caroline, his life partner, and the team guarantee a warm welcome. The chef has the title of "Maître restaurateur", the only title issued by the State for French restaurants. The restaurant is also listed in the prestigious Michelin guide. Last year’s Christmas and New Year’s eve menus included scallops, guinea fowl, foie gras, roasted pigeon and ratte potatoes.

If you didn’t have a chance to try the region’s restaurants, visit some of our best delicatessens to bring back delicious charcuterie and meat, dairy products (like ice-cream!) and other local fare.

L’Atelier des Saveurs, 94 rue Nationale, Nœux-les-Mines. Tables can be booked via the website: restaurant-latelierdessaveurs.fr, by emailing latelier-des-saveurs@orange.fr or by calling +33 (0)3 21 26 74 74. Menu prices range from €22 to €32.

Aux Caves de Cassel 43 Grand Place, Cassel T.: +33 (0)9 87 73 92 93

Wine, cheese, local fruit and vegetables, dairy products, charcuterie...

Au Flamand Gourmand 133 rue de la Gare, Bailleul T.: +33 (0)3 28 48 26 59

Typical northern dishes, meats...

La Marée

13 rue Capiaux (behind the church), Barlin T.: +33 (0)3 21 25 74 95

Seafood

Aux Pêcheurs d’Étaples

Quai de la Canche, Étaples-sur-Mer T.: +33 (0)3 21 94 06 90

Seafood

La Talmelière

421 rue de Paris, Écuires T.: +33 (0)3 21 81 78 74

Bread and pastry

Comtesse du Barry

42 rue Adolphe Thiers, Boulogne-sur-Mer T.: +33 (0)3 21 32 03 24

French gastronomy

AUX PÊCHEURS D’ÉTAPLES, ÉTAPLES-SUR-MER Seafood doesn’t come fresher than this: gourmet restaurant Aux Pêcheurs d’étaples picks out its catch of the day from the fishmongers housed just below it. Chef Gérard Auvray then turns it into a meal you won’t forget. The restaurant only works with “noble” products such as turbot, lobster, spiny lobster and sole. It also boasts a panoramic view of the Canche Bay and its small leisure port. The delicious coquille Saint-Jacques, or scallop, is in season until mid-April. Aux Pêcheurs d’Étaples elevates the shellfish by grilling it and serving it with a delicious sauce. For Christmas, the inevitable dish is a platter of all the best “fruits de mer” the sea has to offer.

Aux Pêcheurs d’Étaples, Quai de la Canche, Étaples-sur-Mer. Book a table by calling +33 (0)3 21 94 06 90. Website: auxpecheursdetaples.fr. Menu prices range from €25 to €65.

Plaisirs gourmets

Place de la Fontaine, Neufchâtel-Hardelot T.: +33 (0)3 21 99 75 71

Wine, oil, pâtés…

Les saveurs de Claire

114 rue du Général Leclerc, Audruicq T.: +33 (0)9 82 21 24 50

Regional fruit, vegetables, honey, cheese…

La fine bouche

8 rue Parent Réal, Ardres T.: +33 (0)3 21 35 47 67

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Bailleul

Bailleul: a town full of charm nestled in the countryside Halfway between Dunkerque and Lille, but firmly established in the French Flanders countryside, Bailleul - or Belle in Flemish - has a rich heritage.

The first sign you are approaching Bailleul is the belfry, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. From the top, enjoy a panoramic view of the town and appreciate fully that it was totally rebuilt after World War I following neo-Flemish architecture and is now a bustling town. You can also see the hills of Flanders and a few windmills from neighbouring villages. The gothic hall at the foot of the belfry is also listed. It is one of the only surviving relics following the destruction of the town in March 1918, and is open to the public from 2pm to 5.30pm every day. You won’t find a more typically French street than rue du Musée, just behind the town hall. In order, there is a baker, a butcher, a fruits 28

and vegetable seller, a pharmacy, a handful of houses with beautiful Flemish facades, a tearoom with chocolate, cakes, hot chocolate and French macarons, and a café.

Diversity of styles

The church Saint-Vaast was built following the Roman-Byzantine style. It stands behind the belfry and town hall. Designed by Louis-Marie and Louis-Stanislas Cordonnier, the church was inaugurated in 1932. It was not, like much of the city, rebuilt in identical fashion. It has an eclectic style, ranging from Romanesque to Art Deco, and Egyptian art. Note the 23 stained glass windows made by Tambouret, master glassmaker in Amiens, representing the foundation of the city and many historical figures.

Address: Place du Cardinal Achille Liénart.

Calais isn’t the only place for lace Bailleul is known for its fields of hops and textile industry. What is perhaps less known is its

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lace. It first appeared in Bailleul’s homes during the 17th century. After World War I an American benefactor, William Nelson Cromwell, participated in the rebuilding of the school of lace. Today, 150 students learn the art of bobbin lacemaking each year and 1,800 people visit the school to discover this particular facet of Bailleul’s history and tradition.

The school is open to visits every day from 1.30pm to 5pm except Sundays and bank holidays. Address: 6 rue du Collège.

Cabinets of curiosity in a mansion-museum

Well worth a stop is the Benoît De Puydt museum, located just behind the church SaintVaast. The museum was created in Benoît De Puydt’s neo-Flemish mansion house in 1859, after his death. He donated his house and personal effects to the town with the promise that they would turn it into a museum. He himself was a knowledgeable and passionate art collector. He had assembled an important collec-

Bailleul

Church Saint-Vaast

National Botanical Conservatory of Bailleul

tion of works of art, witnesses of the Flemish culture from the 15th to the 19th century, such as valuable Antwerp cabinets. He was also interested in European art and porcelain from China and Japan. His eclectic collection recalls old cabinets of curiosities, which is the subject of the unique exhibition the museum is housing until February 2, 2020. Dotted throughout the mansion are these astonishing cabinets filled with what collectors at the time tried to make you believe were unicorn horns, fairies, dragon bones, cursed boxes marked “Do not open”… These 17th century cabinets are the birth of museums, the first time people sought to collect and record what was around them. They eventually moved on from the fantastical and into the real world, with scientific objects, plants, minerals, maps, but also animated cabinets for children. You’ll find all this and more in this extraordinary museum.

“Les Chambres des Merveilles” exhibition until February 5, 2020. Address: 24, rue du Musée De Puydt. Open Wednesday to Sunday from 2pm to 5.30pm until 31 March. From April 1, the museum is open from 11am to 1pm and from 2pm to 6pm. Entry is free.

The language of flowers

Gargantua

The botanical conservatory, or Conservatoire botanique national de Bailleul (CNBL), is a visit best made in spring and summer to fully enjoy the 25 hectares of space. It is one of 11 national botanical gardens and aims to preserve endangered and protected plants of northern France, and to educate the public on their importance. Today the garden contains over 850 local plant species and a seed bank. It is housed in an old

Flemish farm in the hamlet of Haendries and is open to the public and researchers.

Open Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 12pm and from 1.30pm to 6pm. Address: CNBL, Hameau de Haendries.

Local superstition

There is a superstition that if you tie a piece of clothing belonging to a sick loved-one to the branches of a particular tree and make a wish, that loved-one will get better. There are a few locations in France, mainly chapels, where people do this. In Bailleul, down a country road, there exists a lime tree called the Ziekelinde, or “Tilleul des malades”, where people tie items of clothing believing it will make people better. The tree is in the hamlet of Krommestraete, on the D23 road.

Regional institution

Carnival season is upon us, and the one in Bailleul is a regional institution. It lasts five days and closes with Mardi Gras. In 2020, it starts Friday, February 21. As in the rest of Flanders, it is when each town brings out their Giant. In Northern folklore, the Giant is an enormous puppet that represents a fictitious or historical local figure. It is worn by at least one person, depending on its size, with two or more surrounding it. It is made to parade and dance in the streets during local fairs and, especially, during carnival season. Bailleul’s giant is Gargantua, named after François Rabelais’ book. He is accompanied by a dressed-up actor playing Picolissimo, an unusual doctor who claims to treat inhabitants of anything that has been ailing them during the past year.

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Local figures

Helen and Warwick Gordon One foot on either side of the Channel

The couple lives in Gravesend and spends time with their dog Guinness and their cat Toffee in the Saint-Omer townhouse they have owned for nearly 12 years. Now they are both retired, they can spend more time in France especially since, door to door, they are just over two hours away. Helen and Warwick Gordon have been coming to Saint-Omer on holiday for years, but when they decided to look for a house in France the couple first headed to Honfleur, in Brittany. It rained the whole time. So they decided to up and leave and head to Saint-Omer. Looking 30

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through the window of an estate agent, they found their future home in the town centre. They - as most British people do when they buy a place in France - have been doing it up ever since. “It is a liveable if chaotic townhouse,” as Helen puts it. Over the years as they have delved into SaintOmer’s past, Helen and Warwick have become true ambassadors of the town and know its history very well. Indeed, Warwick greets me by asking: “Did you know this street used to be named something else?” When friends come over, they take them to the Eperlecques Blockhaus, where a replica of the V2 rocket has been built, or tell them all about Douglas Bader, famous wartime pilot who was imprisoned in Saint-Omer and subject of the book

and subsequent film Reach for the sky. “The more you learn about the town’s history, the more you love it,” insists Warwick.

Love of teaching

Both Helen and Warwick have been teachers at some point in their lives, but they actually met in a pub. After a French degree, Helen worked as a courier for Townsend Thoresen in the 1980s, bringing daytrippers to Calais, Bruges and Paris. She got to know the area very well. She then became a police officer for Kent police. She was originally off-duty on March 6, 1987 when the ferry Herald of Free Enterprise capsized shortly after leaving Zeebrugge on its way to Dover. She was called to go to Maidstone to in-

terpret and help British people get home and inform relatives. “It was all hands on deck and quite traumatic,” she remembers. Belgian, French and British police forces had to work together. Another significant time Helen had to translate was during the construction of the Channel Tunnel. “When the French invited people who were high-up to explain how the Tunnel would work, I came over to interpret,” she recalls. After seven years in the police, Helen retrained and became a teacher until she retired. Warwick, originally from Doncaster, studied metallurgy. “After 15 months, work disappeared in Enfield rolling mills, so I became a shift manager in plastics where we built floors for planes, it was very specialised,” he recounts. Warwick then moved to teaching chemistry, became a builder and finally moved back to teaching when he was in his 50s. “I rang up Medway and there was a supporting teacher job,” he says. He supported science

lessons and, from there, went on to support and teach classes for autistic students. By the time he met Helen, in 2002, he was working full-time at an autistic unit and eventually became head of it.

Both are now retired and can spend much more time in France than they used to, even though they don’t think they will ever move here: “We love Saint-Omer, but we also like to keep a base in England.”

Perfecting their French with the Polyglot café

Helen and Warwick’s Tuesday evenings are reserved for the Polyglot café, where around 20 people meet each week to chat in different languages. There’s a healthy balance between British and French speakers, but the polyglot café also occasionally welcomes Italian and German speakers. Some people come every Tuesday, some only once, but the feeling of community is strong. The atmosphere is informal: people who sometimes don’t know each other simply pull out a chair and start chatting. Saint-Omer native Aurélien took over running the group a few years ago. He is an English teacher at Saint-Omer’s Engineering school and loves Ireland. The 31-year-old has studied and lived in Boulogne and Dublin before coming back to his hometown. “The café has been going for six years now,” he explains. “People come once and then bring their friends. We often get new people coming for the first time.” People come for different reasons: some are French students who want to practice English, some are retired and decide they want to learn a new language. Others still are British people who live in the area and wish to speak French more, and some come by in passing, having heard of the café. If you want to drop by, the group alternates each Tuesday evening between the Café de France, located 29 place Victor Hugo and the Dream’s, 2 rue du Minck. The evening typically starts at 7pm and ends at around 10 or 11pm.

English teacher Aurélien makes sure the Polyglot café runs smoothly.

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What else?

Eve n 1. Flock to the Licques turkey festival

Turkeys were introduced to Licques in the 17th century by the monks of Licques abbey. For twenty or so years, the turkey festival has celebrated all kinds of poultry: capon, guinea fowl… All of them quality poultry from Licques. The festival is coupled with the Christmas market for an extra festive feel. Don’t miss the turkey parade: hundreds of birds walk through the town’s high street.

December 14 and 15 in Licques

2. Ring in the New Year with a cold shower

If you’re on the coast New Year’s day, you might be privy to a peculiar sight on many beaches… In Calais, Dunkerque and a few other towns, hundreds of people dress up (or down) and meet up for a “bain” (bath) in the freezing cold sea all in the name of fun and getting rid of a hangover in a brutal fashion. Many people simply come to watch and certainly not to laugh, lest they get pulled in by the revellers!

Calais and Dunkerque beach, January 1, 12pm. Events can be cancelled if the weather is bad.

3. Louvre-Lens exhibition Poland: painting the soul of a nation

The year 2019 marks the centenary of the signing, on September 3, 1919, of the convention between France and Poland concerning emigration and immigration, which led to the massive arrival of Polish workers in France and especially in the mining basin. Between 1919 and 1928, 280,000 work contracts were signed as a result of this international agreement. To commemorate this landmark event for the identity of the territory, the Louvre-Lens Museum is offering a major retrospective on Polish painting in the 19th century, with the close collaboration of the Warsaw National Museum. Thanks to prestigious loans from Polish national museums, the exhibition brings together about 120 paintings - dated between 1835 and 1914 - of the greatest names in Polish painting, such as Jan Matejko, Josef Chelmonski, Jacek Malczewski and Wojciech Kossak.

The exhibition “Pologne: peindre l’âme d’une nation” ends on January 20, 2020. The museum is open every day except on Tuesdays from 10am to 6pm. Admission ranges from €5 to €10. Address: 99 rue Paul Bert, Lens. T.: +33 3 21 18 62 62. W.: louvrelens.fr

4. Dress up and let your hair down at Dunkerque’s renowned carnival

It’s the event of the year. From January to March, Dunkerque is in carnival mode. Normally serious people suddenly don colourful feathers and outfits, paint their faces and sing themselves hoarse with gay abandon down the streets of Dunkerque. The good-natured family-friendly atmosphere sucks you in and is a welcome festivity during the cold winter months. Just be careful to look up during the herring throw, when the mayor of Dunkerque goes to the town hall balcony and lobs fish at the shouting crowds below. During the carnival, different “bandes” or local traditional bands play. The carnival ends with the Spring Ball, the hottest ticket in town.

The carnival takes place over two months, starting on January 25, 2020 and ending on March 14. Find the programme in full on the website: carnaval-de-dunkerque.info

5. Get your heart racing at Le Touquet’s Enduropale race

A mythical race in the region and unique in

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e nts France, the “Enduro” has brought together almost 2,000 pilots every year for the last 40 years. The first edition took place in 1975 with 286 competitors. The idea was to emulate the races in the US. For its 45th year, women and men, professionals and motor sport enthusiasts will race across the Touquet beach, carefully remodeled to include jumps, bumps and bends. A total of five races and nearly 8 miles of track thrill the crowds every winter.Last year’s winner, Nottingham-born Nathan Watson, 25, will ride again to defend his title.

January 31 to February 2 on the Touquet seafront. More information on enduropaledutouquet.fr

6. Cars fly and hearts drop at Le Touquet rally

The roads sealed off for the rally are characteristic of the north: winding, with dust or mud depending on the weather. The rally has narrow and fast roads which create slight divergences from the road but keep the crowd - and driver - on its toes. Some particularly big jumps are hidden among more than 118 miles of timed sectors. The races, which count for the French rally championship, are generally short but numerous.

Some take place at night adding to the atmosphere. Between 100,000 and 250,000 spectators, depending on the weather, follow the competitors during the three days.

March 12 to 14, 2020. The rally mostly takes place in the countryside around Le Touquet, mainly through villages like Hucqueliers. The itinerary will be set nearer the date. More information on the website: rallyedutouquet.fr

7. Fly away to Berck-sur-Mer’s international kite festival

From small and speedy to gigantic animal-shaped kites - not forgetting record-breaking beasts - there’s something for everyone at Berck’s international kite festival. Watch teams battle it out on the beach in speed and agility competitions or go it alone and fly your own kite and add to the spectacle that brings thousands of people to this seaside town over the course of a few days to take in the amazing aerial displays.

The international kite festival takes place on Berck-sur-Mer’s seafront from April 11 to 19, 2020. Get there early to avoid crowds and find a parking space closer to the beach.

8. Take part in the space race at la Coupole

The site of La Coupole near Saint-Omer played a part during World War II in the development of the V2 rockets. It was from La Coupole that the V2 rocket, the ancestor of all modern rockets, was meant to take off. Today, La Coupole is a museum and also a planetarium. Visitors can discover more about the role the mostly intact bunker played, but also about space. Its current temporary exhibition centres on the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. Entitled “On course for the Moon: Challenges and People”, this major exhibition recalls the origins of conquering space and addresses the Moon Hoax and the Russia-US confrontation during the space race. A dedicated section also gives the visitor the opportunity to contemplate magnificent photographs of the Earth as seen from the Moon and the Moon from the ground.

The “Cap sur la Lune: des défis et des hommes” exhibition ends in July 2020. Address: Rue André Clabaux (Mont-à-Car) D210, Helfaut. T.: +33 (0)3 21 12 27 27. Open year-round from 9am to 6pm. More information on the website: lacoupole-france.co.uk

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Day out

What to do on a Sunday during winter There are always things to do in the region, even if you turn up on a Sunday during the winter months!

If the north is often damp and wet, it sometimes enjoys gloriously crisp winter days with blue skies and bright sunshine. On these days, it would be a shame to stay inside. Most locals head to the beach as they do in summer, but rather than don swimwear they come prepared with woolly hats, scarves, and flasks of hot drinks to hand. A beautiful place to go is Wissant, where you can walk for miles at low tide all the way to the foot of the Blanc-Nez cliff. Another spot is the Authie Bay, specifically on the southernmost tip of the town of Berck. A colony of seals set up residency on the sand banks a few years ago and they and their descendents keep coming back. You can get quite close to them but be aware that they are obviously wild animals and also look out for the tide as it comes back in quickly.

Visit a museum or memorial site

Museums in France are open every day except on Tuesdays, so you can spend an afternoon soaking up local culture and history. Bonus: entry is free in every museum on the first Sunday of the month. Some unique museums in Nord and Pas-de-Calais include the radio museum in Boeschèpe town centre, Hardelot castle - a museum of franco-british relations, and the museum of rural life (musée de la vie rurale) in Steenwerck. Other interesting visits include windmills. In the heart of French Flanders is the Steenmeulen (stone windmill in Flemish). It is the last Dutch-style windmill still in activity in the region. Located in Terdeghem, it has three millstones for cereal and one for oil. At the foot of the windmill is a museum retracing Flemish life in the 19th century. Closer to the sea is Nausicaa aquarium in Boulogne, also open on Sun-

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days. Since the renovations and installation of new basins, Nausicaa is now home to one of the largest aquariums in Europe. If you’re into ceramics, visit the museum in Desvres, open on Sunday afternoons. If you’re in Arras, follow the signposts to the Wellington tunnels (Carrière Wellington), a World War I memorial site and museum commemorating the Battle of Arras on April 9, 1917. The quarry is 20 metres below the pavements of the town.

Bike ride in French Flanders

French Flanders chose to imitate its Belgian cousin by creating a network of bicycle routes. The system is called “réseau points-noeuds” or “knot network”. No need for a map, just follow the green numbers at each crossroads, or knots. They’ll take you around 830 kilometres of roads, so you can create your own itinerary. The Flanders and Lys regions are the first in the country to experiment this type of route-creating bike rides. Around 2,500 signs have been put up especially for cyclists.

Weather permitting…

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