Lovely day in the Baie de Somme – Le Crotoy & Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme

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Forgot to name our very nice campsite : ** L’Aubepines at St Firmin **
Excellent start to our trip.
Despite rain on and off all night, when we woke we could see pretty blue sky through the bedroom roof light and it stayed remarkably good and warm all day.
Scooter out of the garage and off we went to Le Crotoy. This is just a couple of miles from the campsite and on the northern edge of the Baie de Somme. We parked by the harbour and went for a walk round, along the beach, admiring the lovely, very Norman, architecture. Some very pretty buildings and also a very pretty walk as the sky was blue, the clouds puffy and white and the sun warm. We found our way to the station for the Chemin de Fer which goes right round the bay and decided we would take a ride after lunch. Lunch was excellent – plates of crevettes roses with a few slices of bread. Just what we needed. Then we went back to the station, on the scooter this time, and booked ourselves on a return ride on the steam train.
A super trip. One hour each way with a stop at Noyelles-sur-Mer while the engine was unhitched, turned round and attached to the other end of the train for the ride into St-Valery-sur-Somme. This seaside town has an astonishingly long promenade as it follows the bay along the mud flats. We walked along it with everyone else until we eventually came to the ‘beach’ at which point we headed up a hill into the town and took a circular route, down through this rather nice town, back to catch our train back two hours later. It really was a very pleasant train journey through the Marais with the train whistling merrily along and churning out funnels full of stream.
Back at Le Crotoy we hurried back to the campsite where I just had a time for quick swim in the lovely warm heated pool before it closed for the day.

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