Le Crotoy () is a commune in the

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France *Somme, Queensland, Australia *Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), a ...

department in

Hauts-de-France Hauts-de-France (; pcd, Heuts-d'Franche; , also ''Upper France'') is the northernmost region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its prefecture is Lille. The ...

in northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The inhabitants are known as ''Crotellois''.

History

Isabella of France Isabella of France ( – 22 August 1358), sometimes described as the She-Wolf of France (), was Queen of England as the wife of King Edward II, and regent of England from 1327 until 1330. She was the youngest surviving child and only surviving ...

, queen consort of England, and her son (later

Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ...

) embarked from Crotoy for Holland and then England in 1326, in order to overthrow their husband and father,

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to ...

. During the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagen ...

the town was alternately under English and French control. Edward III stayed in Crotoy and in 1340 built a very important fortress. Besieged by the English, Crotoy, the last French position in the Bay of the Somme, surrendered on March 1, 1424. After the

Battle of Verneuil The Battle of Verneuil was a battle of the Hundred Years' War, fought on 17 August 1424 near Verneuil-sur-Avre in Normandy between an English army and a combined Franco-Scottish force, augmented by Milanese heavy cavalry. The battle was a sig ...

, Jean II, Duke of Alençon was interned there for three years.

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronat ...

was imprisoned there before being taken to Rouen for trial. During these troubled times, Crotoy was the place of residence of a governor and a garrison. Jacques d'Harcourt was the most famous governor: he defended Crotoy boldly and courageously against the Anglo-Burgundian armies. An eponymous street pays homage to him in the city center. During the wars of religion, Crotoy took the side of

Henri de Navarre Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarch ...

. By an edict of 1594, Henri IV relieved the Crotellois from taxes. He stayed in the town on April 18, 1596. In 1674, under the terms of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, the castle of Crotoy was destroyed. Le Crotoy was also famous at the beginning of 20th century in the history of aviation, as the site of the

Caudron The Société des Avions Caudron was a French aircraft company founded in 1909 as the Association Aéroplanes Caudron Frères by brothers Gaston and René Caudron. It was one of the earliest aircraft manufacturers in France and produced planes for ...

brothers flying school.

Geography

Le Crotoy is situated on the D143 and D71 crossroads, on the eastern side of the

Baie de Somme Baie de Somme (''Bay of the Somme'' or ''Somme Bay'') is a large estuary in the Hauts-de-France region of France. The bay drains six rivers into the English Channel, principally the River Somme, and covers a total area of . The bay is noted for ...

, some northwest of

Abbeville Abbeville (, vls, Abbekerke, pcd, Advile) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the chef-lieu of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of ...

.
Today, the town is a seaside resort whose beach is one of its main assets. It is also close to Marquentera (Park of Marquenterre), an area with a number of lakes, marshes and habitat for flora and fauna. The beach is unusual for northern French beaches in that it faces south. In terms of wildlife, the bay supports a population of seals and shags.

Places of interest

* The preserved railway, the Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme * Le port and town of Crotoy *

St Peter's church St. Peter's Church, Old St. Peter's Church, or other variations may refer to: * St. Peter's Basilica in Rome Australia * St Peter's, Eastern Hill, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia * St Peters Church, St Peters, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia ...

Activities

There are numerous restaurants in the village and it is well equipped with shops and a petrol station. Bed & Breakfast accommodation is also available.
Le Crotoy is one terminus of the narrow gauge " Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme" (Somme Bay Railway), which is now largely a tourist attraction. Running around the entire length of the bay, this railway connects Le Crotoy with

Noyelles-sur-Mer Noyelles-sur-Mer (, literally ''Noyelles on Sea'') is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Noyelles-sur-Mer is situated on the coast, facing the English Channel, on the D11 and D40 junction, some n ...

, Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, and

Cayeux-sur-Mer Cayeux-sur-Mer (, literally ''Cayeux on Sea''; pcd, Tchéyeu-su-Mér) is a resort town in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. The town is part of the Baie de Somme - Picardie maritime regional natural park project. Its i ...

and the sands at Brighton Plage.
Main line trains to Paris take about 2 hours and cost about 48Euro return for an adult. They run from the nearby (15 mins by car) station of

, which is also a station on the " Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme" narrow gauge railway. The bay of the river Somme has interesting tides in that they are both fast and have a high rise and fall. At low tide it is possible to walk across the sand and mud flats from Le Crotoy to Saint-Valery-sur-Somme. Care needs to be taken as the tides come in very quickly.

Occupations

Fishing predominates, both for seafish and

shellfish Shellfish is a colloquial and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater environ ...

(mostly cockles and mussels) and from the coastal saltmarshes,

samphire Samphire is a name given to a number of succulent salt-tolerant plants ( halophytes) that tend to be associated with water bodies. *Rock samphire, ''Crithmum maritimum'' is a coastal species with white flowers that grows in Ireland, the Uni ...

and sea-aster. Hunting and shooting, for both game and wildfowl provides food for locals and visitors alike. Sheep-rearing, on salty pastures, produces a unique flavour. The sheep of the Somme bay have been credited ‘appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC)’ .

Personalities

Le Crotoy has had lengthy visits from some famous figures of French history:

(who was imprisoned there),

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the '' Voyages extra ...

(who wrote ''

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' (french: Vingt mille lieues sous les mers) is a classic science fiction adventure novel by French writer Jules Verne. The novel was originally serialized from March 1869 through June 1870 in Pierre-J ...

'' here), the perfumer

Guerlain Guerlain () is a French perfume, cosmetics and skincare house, which is among the oldest in the world. Many traditional Guerlain fragrances are characterized by a common olfactory accord known as the "Guerlinade" (fr). The house was founded in P ...

who has created in regard of the special shades of blue, purple, violet which cover bay at down his well-known perfume, "L'Heure Bleue ". Several painters as

Toulouse-Lautrec Comte Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901) was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist and illustrator whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of Paris in the l ...

Paul Signac Paul Victor Jules Signac ( , ; 11 November 1863 – 15 August 1935) was a French Neo-Impressionist painter who, working with Georges Seurat, helped develop the Pointillist style. Biography Paul Signac was born in Paris on 11 November 1863. ...

, Pierre Risch, and the novelist

Colette Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (; 28 January 1873 – 3 August 1954), known mononymously as Colette, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a mime, actress, and journalist. Colette is best known in the English-speaking world for her ...

had also been charmed by Le Crotoy.

Population

References

External links

Picture postcards from times past

Site Web sur la commune de Le Crotoy

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crotoy Communes of Somme (department) Seaside resorts in France Picardy