Autumn in Northern France 24th - 27th of September 2025

To the coast once more

We were all showered, dressed and breakfasted a little later today, and while I waited for Keith and Sophie, I sat at our picnic table and looked at the map. The sky when we woke up had been cloudy, but I was delighted to see the sun trying to break through. 

I have to confess, now, that I was totally ill-prepared for the weather on this break... I had looked at the forecast, and it said it was going to be dry and sunny, with a temperature of about 18 °C, so I packed dresses and a short-sleeved top, along with two pairs of jeans. However, I hadn't reckoned on the chill wind by the coast, and it was sheer good luck that I packed a long-sleeved top at the last minute, which I wore yesterday and which I was forced to put back on again today.

Before heading to St. Valery-sur-Somme, we stopped in Acheux-en-Vimeu to drop off our recycling. The fields were wide open, and we could see signs about hunting on the fields - some said it was forbidden, others that it was private. The French are avid hunters, and no doubt we would either see or hear gunshots tomorrow, which is the weekend!

It took us about twenty minutes to get to the delightful town of St. Valery-sur-Somme, and we passed through a couple of beautiful villages on the way. One was called Arrest! Once in the town, we parked in the cité médiévale, next to a large church and the town hall. From the ramparts, we could see the wide expanse of the Baie de la Somme below us and huge, Gothic-style houses.

We hadn't a clue where to go, but followed our feet past the church and down a set of stone steps. The path sloped downwards, and we came to a lovely little café which also sold local produce.

We sat in the sunny window and Sophie and I chose a hot chocolate (the late coffee I'd enjoyed yesterday had played havoc with my sleep last night!), and Keith chose a beer. It was a busy little place, and the two women running it were constantly on the go. It was wonderful to sit in the sun and have somewhere new to explore.

After our drinks, we walked to the lovely promenade that led to the town centre. I met a gorgeous dog who wanted me to throw sticks for him! He kept dropping the stick at my feet, and I threw it for him several times, bless him! Once, I threw it and he caught it mid-air!

The walk down to the centre of St. Valery-sur-Somme was lovely. We passed a beautiful old hotel and several restaurants.

Beautiful hotel

The wonderful promenade

There were also artworks along the route, and the promenade was sheltered by trees. Of course, I was the only person not dressed warmly in a coat!

After about fifteen minutes, we came to the main street of the town where there were shops, bars and restaurants. Sophie wanted something light for lunch as we had a lot of food that needed to be eaten tonight, back at the house. I had received an email from Le Shuttle to say we weren't allowed to take back any meat or dairy products due to foot and mouth disease in Europe, so we had to eat the cold meats and cheeses that were in the fridge!

We must have examined every menu in the town, with Sophie fancying a croque monsieur. We reached the end of the street and decided to backtrack to a brasserie we'd seen with views over the bay. They seated us outside, as by now the sun was shining and it was quite warm!

We had a good look at the menu and tried to avoid a man who was wandering around the tables playing a guitar. He came over to us, of course, and we said we were English, so he adapted his song for us. He was mad!

We chose our meals: I had to try the mussels in a creamy mushroom sauce, Sophie settled for a ham and cheese omelette, while Keith chose the fish and chips. Keith and I enjoyed a Ch'ti beer apiece, and Sophie ordered a glass of Rosé. Sitting in the sun was fabulous, and I began to feel quite smug!

The food was very good, but I had enough mussels to feed all of us, served alongside frites and bread. I couldn't finish them, but the sauce was delicious! Sophie and I fancied a dessert, so I chose an ice-cream sundae and Sophie picked a crepe served with chantilly cream. It was so big she had to palm some off on me!

Towards the end of the meal, it clouded over again, so we paid the bill (96 euros) and set off back to the car, walking along the promenade this time rather than through the town. Leaves were starting to fall, and it brought it home to me that it was definitely Autumn and late September! The buildings along the way were gorgeous, and St. Valery-sur-Somme will definitely be a place I'd like to return to one day.

Pretty florist

I want a house like this!

We left Keith at the bottom of the ramparts and walked back to the car. I suggested a trip to Le Hourdel, which was right on the coast, and after collecting Keith, we drove the short distance. The small town consisted of a harbour with fishing boats selling their produce directly to customers, but there wasn't much else to see.

We decided to head for a Carrefour and pick up some more beer and a bottle of wine. Jeeves took us through flat countryside and small, pretty villages to a supermarket near an industrial estate. Bizarrely, we saw a sign for Stanley Black and Decker, who Keith used to work for!

The Carrefour was dark and dingy, and we bought a bottle of Sablet and some beer and fled back to the house. Once there, Sophie fed the deer with grass again, and I saw one try to chomp on a fallen apple! 

Over the last couple of days, we have seen tractors continually driving backwards and forwards, carrying mounds of green stuff in the trailers. We didn't know what it was, but some had fallen off and was lying on the road. Keith went to investigate and discovered it was cut-up grass they were transporting, presumably for winter animal feed. We tend to bale grass (hay) in our area of the UK, but here, it had been chopped up finely. It smelt of summer meadows!

We spent an hour packing and hoovering the house (as per instructions), and Keith and I played cards while Sophie read. We then had a light supper of cold meats, cheese, salad and bread. The fresh air and exercise had made us feel sleepy, so it was another early night!

St. Valery-sur-Somme

Our deer!