Outdoor weekends
Experiences to enjoy at the heart of one of the biggest forests in France, the Compiègne forest or around the Bay of Somme, ranked among the world’s most beautiful bays.
Let’s examine the benefits of nature: fresh air for your lungs and colours to keep you in good spirits. No sooner have you unfolded the map than you imagine yourself alone amidst these preserved open spaces.
Alone? Well, not really, because the animals that populate the 15,000 hectares of the Compiègne forest are watching you. Small animals like squirrels come to mind of course, but that’s not all, roe deer, wild boar and stags also share the land (please note that in September, outings will be organised by the ONF to listen to the stag’s bell).
All you need to do now is hop on a bike, and follow the bike path or other routes (for those who prefer freedom) to Saint Jean aux Bois or Vieux Moulin or even a fairytale castle. A castle that looks like something out of a fairytale, in Picardy? Of course! It is located in Pierrefonds, we owe it to Napoleon III who had it restored by Viollet le Duc.
You don’t have a bike?
No problem, you can rent one for the weekend (Saturdays from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.) at Carrefour Royal (near the Compiègne racecourse) in “Picardie Forêts Vertes”. During the week, you can contact Pierre DARMON at +33 (0)6.07.54.99.26 to book one.
When in the Bay of Somme, which extends over 72 km², one feels infinitely small. Here, you’ll find salt meadows or “mollières” where sheep graze, mud flats and vast sandy areas.
From the Hourdel fishing harbour, in the south, to the tip of St Quentin in the Marquenterra in the north, the estuary has 3,000 hectares of natural reserve in the north.
Tours will allow you to discover this enchanting territory at your own pace. Since the beginning of time, this spellbinding area has inspired painters and poets with its various shades of pink and grey, its intimate surroundings and its occupants. Among them, migrant birds in transit and a colony of seals that has taken up residence there. They can be observed with a telescope when they are willing to let you!
There are more than 50 places providing bike rentals on location.
http://www.baiecyclette.com/