Located in Le Crotoy, our Le Ridin campsite enables you to use the campsite as a base for touring easily around the entire Somme department. From the Baie de Somme estuary to the scars of the Great War, discover the treasures of our region!
The Somme is a department with multiple attractions. Located in the Hauts de France region, within the historic province of Picardy, our area can be discovered with ease. On-site, you will discover the many natural, historic, gastronomic and cultural treasures…
Baie de Somme
The Baie de Somme is the largest estuary in the north of France, with nearly 7,200 hectares. From north to south, it offers depending on the tides and seasons, a palette of colours, light and highly varied scenery. Classified as a “Grand Site de France” (a natural protected site), it is amongst the most beautiful bays in the world and enjoys a significant ecological richness, notably as an ornithological location. We find here the only beach in northern France facing south and Le Ridin offers “Discovery of the flora and fauna” guided tours in the Baie…
Saint Valéry sur Somme
The medieval town of Saint Valéry sur Somme is a town with a medieval appearance packed with history with its ramparts, towers, gates, stronghold, the dual-aisled church and its lovely chequered walls interspersed with cut flint and sandstone and limestone blocks.
Discover the remains of the ramparts and admire the Baie from the Porte Guillaume gateway and the Chapelle des Marins church. The town is home to the Musée Picarvie, which enables you to go back in time and discover life for Picardy inhabitants in the 19th century. Here there is the locksmith’s workshops, further on that of the blacksmith, the basket maker’s workshop, the school with its wooden desks, the café where the gramophone has pride of place… Change of scenery guaranteed! Around 40 trades are featured here, brought to life by a collection of more than 6,000 tools.
Parc Ornithologique
du Marquenterre nature reserve
The Parc Ornithologique de Marquenterre nature reserve is barely 7 kilometres from the Le Ridin campsite. It is located in the heart of the Parc Naturel Régional Baie de Somme – Picardie Maritime – Baie de Somme – Picardie Maritime Natural Regional Park, in the village of Saint Quentin en Tourmont. This protected area of 200 hectares has been an ornithological Mecca in Europe for 40 years. In any season, you can observe without disturbing the species which include thousands of birds (wading birds, shorebirds, water birds, sparrows and birds of prey) but also insects, frogs and other mammals. This unique show will delight young and old alike, enthusiasts or those new to it. The loan of binoculars and reduced tickets are available at reception.
Maison de la Baie de Somme museum
In Lanchères, the Maison de la Baie de Somme is a museum space adapted for young and old alike. From your first steps here you will be immersed in the Baie de Somme estuary: panoramic shots, models, films…you will discover geomorphological phenomena, which have shaped the coastline here. The slide shows enable you to familiarize yourself with the various natural environments which make up the landscape: cliffs, wetlands, mud flats, dunes…and enable you to know the characteristics of each fauna and flora species before leaving the Baie. In 2021, a richer and more interactive exhibition is on offer to visitors!
The Chemin de Fer
of the Baie de Somme (Baie de Somme Railway)
In a Belle Epoque atmosphere, come and discover the delights of the Baie de Somme estuary on authentic trains of yesteryear. At the pace of steam, travel around one of the loveliest estuaries in the world and discover incredible landscapes, through fields and wetlands, running alongside marshes and streams, by observing swans, herons, egrets, moorhens and various ducks for an hour, between the stations of Le Crotoy and Saint Valery sur Somme. You will be able to take your small pet and even your bicycle aboard!
Rue
The capital of the Marquenterre department, the town of Rue has a significant historic heritage. The Chapelle du Saint Esprit (Church of the Holy Spirit), a gem of flamboyant Gothic art, is remarkable for its sculpted facade. Its Picardy hanging keys, styled from the lower part of a ship’s hull arch, are a monument evidencing the rich history of the town. Its Belfry listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Rue is also home to the Musée des Frères CAUDRON museum, celebrating the French aviation pioneers. Native to the region, Gaston and René Caudron began their aviation conquest in this small piece of Picardy. Official documents such as pilot licences, contracts of sale of equipment to China, some equipment, photographs, texts, engravings and models, make this small museum a real success. Tours are offered by the campsite in the High Season!
Le Hourdel
A hamlet in the town of Cayeux sur Mer, Le Hourdel is located right at the end of a headland south of the Baie de Somme estuary. Its lighthouse, so emblematic with its white and green colours, thus marks the gateway to the Baie for ships. A small fishing port, Le Hourdel is accessible by bike via an entirely safe cycle track. From the Pointe du Hourdel headland, the curious can observe the seal colony on the Baie de Somme estuary.
Amiens
Amiens, capital of Picardy and the Ville d’art et d’histoire (City of Art and History), possesses in its centre a gem of gothic art: the Notre-Dame cathedral. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site Amiens cathedral is, at 145 metres long and 42 metres high, the largest cathedral in France! Not far from the cathedral is the medieval district of Saint-Leu dubbed the “Little Venice of the North.” This former district of tanners, weavers and dyers is really delightful, with its small colourful houses which line the canals. The house of Jules Verne, open for visits, is home to memories, objects and documents of the famous writer, who lived here for 18 years. It should be noted that later Jules Verne lived in a house in Le Crotoy, named “La Solitude“. He occupied it from 1865 to 1870 and there found inspiration for his masterpiece “Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea”…
Scars of the Great War
The Somme department retains the scars of the First World War. The numerous trenches, shell holes and other martyred villages are all reminders of the painful events that took place 100 years ago now. The Circuit of Remembrance, a route linking the two symbolic towns of the Great War, Albert and Péronne in the Somme, enables you to discover and understand this page of international history. From the Australian Remembrance trail via the emblematic locations just behind the front lines, discover a complete other facet of the battlefields of the Great War.
Abbaye et Jardins de Valloires abbey and gardens
The Jardins et l’Abbaye des Valloires gardens and abbey are situated in the heart of the Authie valley. Founded in 1137 having a direct relationship to the Cistercians through the counts of Ponthieu, Valloires is amongst the 2,000 abbeys of the Order which in the 12th century played a significant role in the area’s development. It created at the same time significant residential homes, prayer centres and workplaces. Discover the only complete Cistercian abbey of the 18th century in France. The gardens which adjoin it will surprise you by their beauty and lushness (5,000 species of plants and shrubs). A real place to awaken your senses, the rose garden of the abbey is home to the magnificent “Rose of Picardy”…
