The Somme, in Picardy, is traditionally, the spiritual haunt for World War I tourism; a place where descendants of fallen soldiers go to find the graves of their father and grandfathers.

So entrenched is the Somme in its Great War provenance, that the region would be an unlikely destination for holiday-makers in search of fun and frolics.

Anyone driving through the Somme and in particular the towns of Péronne and Albert will see that the region is true to that perception and won't fail to notice, with an awkward gulp and a sinking feeling, the abundant roadside war graves that spring up around every bend, each lovingly tended by the War Graves Commission with obvious reverence.

The area’s superb museums on Le Circuit du Souvenir 1914-1918 are eye-watering educationals on different aspects of the Great War.

The Somme Museum 1916 in Albert is set in a 250 metre long tunnel converted from an underground air-raid shelter in 1938. In 1916 it housed 1500 people and today its stories focus on trench warfare and the unbelievable loss of life amounting to over 1 million allied soldiers in just five months for a sorry advancement of just 10 miles.

The circuit continues to Péronne to The Historial Museum located on the actual site of the Battle of the Somme. Five rooms explain why the conflict happened, the consequences to the countries whose soldiers fought on the Western Front together with eye-opening displays of what they may have experienced, their kit, arms and communication equipment - everything from machine guns right down to minutiae such as message tubes for carrier pigeons that proved vital when telephone and cable systems were disrupted.

The most evocative monument on the circuit is the Lutyens designed Thiepval Memorial, the largest British memorial in the world. A huge arched piller has over 73,000 names engraved on its walls, of Commonwealth soldiers with no known graves. Like many I found my own family name on its expansive walls and was piqued with a mix of sorrow for the dead and gratitude for the peace time life I now live.

But all this deathly activity took place inland in the east of the Somme. Go west, however, towards the coast and the ambience of the region is by contrast, literally teeming with life. The wide expanse of soft sand coast stretches from the Baie de L’Authie to the magnificent Baie-de-Somme where visitors gallop on horses, cyclists hire sand bikes and enthusiasts fly their kites.

As the tide recedes the landscape looks raw and unkempt as the fauna and flora is revealed. Areas of sands and grass are uncovered and cooks head here to pick a crop or two of Astor Maritime (pigs ears) to jazz up their salads or a handful of Salicorne to pickle at home – when done they taste a little like pickled cucumber.   

The nearby bayside resort of Le Crotoy is where Jules Verne was inspired to pen Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, where fishermen lay their nets for the night and when the tide is in on the south of the Bay at Hourdel, you get the magnificent vision of seals tantalisingly bobbing in and out of the water

The highlight of the region though is the bird sanctuary, Parc Ornithologique du Marquenterre. Nestling on the fringes of the Bay on land reclaimed from the sea in 1973, are the 260 hectares of marshes, sand dunes, pine forests and meres of the Parc Ornithologique du Marquenterre. The landscape is so diverse it offers habitats for 360 species of birds and 24 different species of wildlife. Its location on the crossroads of the migrationary path makes it the perfect stop-off for thousands of birds including lapwings, little egrets and barnacle geese, oyster catchers and shell ducks.

The reserve is open all year round and each season attracts different species. We visited in April and saw white storks who return every year to the same nest to breed and warblers who flew in from South Africa to sing their hearts out in territorial brinkmanship and hopefully to attract a mate.

There are 14 viewing points and each with views of different birds in their habitats but they are placed at a distance to remain unobtrusive so a pair of binoculars is useful, though your guide will come equipped with a telescope. Otherwise you can rent them.

Viewing point number 1 has a view over the mating parades of a colony of black-tailed godwits and the Avocets (the emblem of the RSBP) whose long legs and long curved beaks give them the stature and tool to catch worms.

At number 13 you can see herons nest among 200 pairs of wading birds such as egrets hailing from Mauritania and Senegal. The sight of these elegant winged creatures fluttering over the great black pine tree tops is awesome. Spoonbills are there in the mix too looking funky with spiked hair and spoon shaped beaks.

You don’t have to be an avid bird watcher to enjoy the at-one-with-nature experience the park invokes and the almost meditative calm of watching wildlife wend its way unhindered, through the inevitable cycle of nesting and breeding until the wave of new migrants flies in.

The nearby town of Amiens is not particularly lovable but it does have an incredibly beautiful gothic cathedral and a series of ancient waterways called The Hortillonnages. Originally marshland, this has been progressively cultivated through the ages. There are nearly 300 hectares of gardens, some still ongoing business that annually sell their wares by the quayside.

But most interesting are the animals and plants that call this peaceful haven their home. Catch a ride on the oar-propelled boat (barques à cornet) and enjoy a meditatively serene hour eyeing up colourful and sometimes bizarrely ornate gardens.

Your guide will steer slowly, pointing out the fauna and flora as you drift past small herons, blue-throats (if this looks familiar it’s because you are looking at the cousin of the robin), crested gebes, mute swans, mallards, coots and moorhens as they in turn swim as float amid water lilies or try to hide amid the alders, water irises and cat’s tail reeds that line the banks.

With so much life and beauty to enjoy, the Somme does not seem so sombre after all.



Getting there
P& O Ferries operate 23 sailings each way between Dover and Calais. Crossings start at £30 each way one way for a car and up to 9 passengers. Ugrade to club class is available for £12 per person.

From Calais pick up the A26 autoroute in the Direction of Boulogne and come off a Rue from where it is well signposted.

Where to Stay

Hotel Mercure Cathedrale
21/23 rue Flatters
Amiens

Rooms from 93 euros

13 May 2010