Côte d'Opale

The beach below the cliffs is definitely worth a visit as well. At low tide you will find a far stretched beach with textured sand, tidal pools and streams. The stripe of the beach closest to the cliffs is seeded with rocks and boulders of all sizes, which can all make an excellent foreground interest.
At the end of the day, when the warm color of the setting sun gives the cliffs a golden texture it is time to look for their reflections in the wet sand and try to create some unusual images.

Six kilometers south of Cap Blanc Nez, near Audinghen, lies Cap Gris Nez. Like its name already assumes and contrary to its neighbor Cap Blanc Nez, the cliff is gray colored due to the presence of sandstone and clay. Descending the cape is not easy but is definitely worth the effort. The narrow strip of beach is covered with large boulders which not only make an excellent foreground interest but can be used as a subject of their own, especially when reflecting the colors of the last light of day. Use a slow shutter speed to create a milky effect on the water and you can really make some atmospheric images.
The sand beach north of the cape offers a lot of possibilities as well: the remains of a shipwreck, the rocks and boulders, the tidal pools and streams and the mussel banks can all make an interesting subject.

Besides all those beautiful beaches and cliffs, the Côte d’Opale also has a few very photogenic villages. Audresselles, just south of Cap gris nez, probably is my personal favorite. The small white houses next to the beach of Audresselles just scream for a photograph, when they are side lit by the setting sun. A little further south you’ll find the village of Ambleteuse where Fort Mahon, build at the end of the 17th century by Sébastien Vauban, is definitely worth a visit as well.

The area more inland is a mixture of sloping hills and farmland. In spring, when the green crop is at its best, the lovely play of lines and a bit of fog can make stunning pictures.

However, the Côte d’Opale offers more than just landscapes. The nature reserve, Le Platier d’Oye, north of Calais is a very important refuge for breeding, migrating and wintering birds. This large stretch of beach covers a variety of different biotopes like beaches, dunes, estuaries and wet grasslands. It is the ideal place to find birds like egrets, waders, terns and occasionally a rare migrant. It is also the breeding place of less common species like Pied Advocet, Little Ringed Plover, Sandwich and Little Tern, Western Marsh Harrier and Mediterranean Gull.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that this area is also a great location for archeologists and geologists, as fossils from the Jurassic period and different kind of minerals can be found on the fore shore at low tide. But mind you: it is forbidden to use hammers and chisels to collect the fossils!

Good to Know

The Côte d’Opale is a favorite destination for tourist and day trippers so the beaches can get quite busy during holidays and in the weekends, especially in summer. Therefore, if you don’t want people spoiling your picture or leaving footprints in the sand, it might be better to visit the area during the week or in the early morning or late evening.
A good set of graduated ND filters, a polarizer filter and a sturdy tripod are indispensible for the landscape photographers among us.
Finally, before you leave for the beach, be sure to check the tide times and heights if you don’t want to get caught in by high tide or find that some of the beaches are inaccessible. I prefer to wear a pair of plastic boots so I can wade through shallow pools and tidal streams.