Nothing breaks routine like spending quality time in the great outdoors. Try northern France’s great natural spaces, from one of the world’s loveliest bays to forests and nature reserves teeming with wildlife.
Natural place to regenerate: the french coast
Let the protected green areas of Hauts-de-France restore you and put you back in touch with your body and its natural rhythms – as well as help you to renew your connection with your partner. Large swathes of this region remain free of urbanisation, and many of them are protected natural reserves too – making this the perfect destination for couples who need to get away from it all and carve out some quality time for themselves.
Such spaces include the Somme Bay – one of the world’s loveliest bays, whose seemingly endless horizons and wealth of wildlife (including a colony of harbour seals) are best discovered via a guided nature walk with a local expert. Soak in breathtaking views (and fresh air galore) from the Deux-Caps, Boulogne-sur-Mer’s ramparts, the cliffs of Mers-les-Bains and Bois de Cise, and Vaux-sur-Somme’s viewing platform. In many places you can glean insider glimpses of local life courtesy of English-speaking ‘greeters’ such as Frédéric Legris, who will take you to see the house of his market-gardener grandparents in the UNESCO biosphere reserve of the Marais Audomarois.
Natural place to relax: a Million Acres of Forest in Northern France
Northern France has vast areas of forest just waiting to be explored – by foot, on bike or by horseback. Best known are the Forêt de Compiègne and Forêt de Chantilly, but other great green spaces include the Forêt d’Halatte, Forêt de Retz, Forêt de Saint-Gobain, Forêt de Crécy, Forêt de Normal and Forêt de Saint-Amand-les-Eaux. It’s also in Hauts-de-France that you’ll find no less than four Regional Natural Parks –defined as inhabited rural areas recognised for their landscapes and heritage but also their vulnerability. These are the Parc Naturel Régional des Caps et Marais d’Opale on the coast, the Parc Naturel Régional Oise-Pays de France between Paris and Compiègne, and, on the border with Belgium, the Parc Naturel Régional de l’Avesnois and the Parc Naturel Régional Scarpe-Escaut.
Natural place to learn: spot birds which are difficult or impossible to see in the UK
Other natural spaces not to miss include the Réserve Naturelle du Romelaere with its ponds and peat bogs, and the Réserve du
Parc du Marquenterre bird reserve with its dunes, forests and marshes.
Natural place to immerse: sleep up in the trees
And your immersion in nature can be extended into your stay here as a whole – get the most peaceful of night’s sleeps in the treetops at Les Grands Chênes in Raray, for instance, and do your body a whole world of good by eating fresh, local, organic food, including creative dishes prepared using home-grown flowers at La Table du Jardinier at the Jardins de Valloires.
