Short walks from the doorstep take you past a moated château and a rustic mill complete with rushing weir – yet you are still close to Hesdin with its magnificent Market Square and cobbled streets threaded by the Canche. Hesdin has a superb Market every week, as well as many delightful shops selling local farm produce: there are several wonderful patisseries and chocolatiers too, and of course many excellent restaurants where you can sample the abundant regional foods. The owners’ current favourite amongst the nearby restaurants is a ‘Ferme Auberge’ where a 5 course meal including unlimited local aperitifs and wine costs 25 Euros for adults, 10 Euros for older children and 5 Euros for little ones, in a warmly welcoming atmosphere by a roaring fire in an ancient beamed and panelled dining room. 

There is a huge amount to see and do in the area when you can bear to tear yourself away from the house: close by, there is an excellent Pony Club which offers riding for all ages including lessons for children, and there is fishing in the Canche as well as at a local ‘Pisciculture’ or Trout Farm – this is a very enjoyable place with family games, barbecues etc.

A very short drive away you will find many ‘Villages Fleuries’ and historical sites such as Azincourt, with its new inter-active museum. Very nearby you will find the magnificent Gardens at Valloires, the fascinating ‘Labyrinthe des Géants’ and the picturesque Moulin de Maintenay. For children, the wonderful ‘Dennlys’ fun park is just twenty minutes or so away, whilst further afield, there is the larger ‘Bagatelle’ and of course, the superb Aqualud water complex at Le Touquet.

Le Touquet is also renowned for its glorious beach and its chic fashion stores. Other nearby seaside resorts are the family-orientated Berck sur Mer and the unspoilt Merlimont, and under an hour away is the Bay of the Somme with miles of beaches, picturesque harbour towns and the Marquenterre Ornithological Park.

Those who prefer to explore lovely small towns and fine cities are spoilt for choice in this area: a short drive away is the hilltop citadel of Montreuil sur Mer, and not much further afield the wonderful city of Arras with its arcaded squares, and the fine cathedral city of Amiens – a longer drive will take you to the superb city of Lille, European City of Culture for 2004, and of course a day trip can easily take in Paris or Disneyland, both easily reachable either by car or fast train.

The whole area is a golfers’ paradise, with contrasting courses at Nampont St Martin,  Hardelot and Le Touquet, and just about every other sport is catered for, from cycling along deserted lanes and rambling along waymarked trails to Sand Yachting and Kayaking.

Those who are house-hunting in this increasingly popular area are well placed here for viewing trips to the whole Seven Valleys region.

This site has further information: www.oeufenternois.net/index.htm

Hesdin

Gardens at Valloires

Moulin de Maintenay

Dennlys

Aqualud