Plage de la Huchette

Accessible only on foot via the Taaf dike, in the heart of the Dunes du Fort Vert natural area, La Huchette beach is one of the wildest and most secluded in the region. Salt marshes, hunting ponds, an endless horizon: here, nature reclaims its rights, without infrastructure or development, right next to the Port of Calais.

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Plage de la Huchette
Digue Taaf - 62100 CALAIS

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A beach that is worth the effort

Huchette beach is not easily reached by chance. It can be accessed on foot from the Taaf breakwater, by walking along the natural area of the Dunes of Fort Vert. This path is itself an experience: the landscape offers views from the Oldenburg Battery as an entry point, it gradually opens onto a mosaic of hunting ponds, meadows, and dune heaths before the sea appears in the distance. There are no facilities; it is precisely this absence that constitutes the attraction of the place. Boots or sturdy shoes are recommended. tide timesand accept that the beach reveals itself on its own terms.

The natural area of the Dunes of Fort Vert

Duck in the wetlands of the Dunes of Fort Vert in Marck

Lunar view of the natural space of Fort Vert on the eastern flank of Calais to Marck.

Foreshore and lighthouse

At low tide, the sea can recede up to 3 kilometers from the shore, revealing a foreshore of rare extent on the French coast. The exposed salt marshes shelter samphire, a small, fleshy plant with a briny, crunchy taste, rare in this northern part of the coast and whose harvesting remains regulated. Further out over the waves, the slender silhouette of the Walde LighthouseBuilt in 1859 on screw piles and the last of its kind in France, it marks the geographical boundary between the English Channel and the North Sea. Colonies of grey seals regularly rest there at low tide, observable from the beach provided you maintain a distance of at least 300 meters; binoculars are essential.

Walde Lighthouse

Colony of seals resting on the large expanse of sand at Hemmes de Marck.

The tradition of hunting ponds

The unique landscape of La Huchette owes much to an age-old practice that still shapes the territory: waterfowl hunting. Hunting blinds, canvas huts, and coffins: these traditional structures dot the edges of the beach and give the ponds that crisscross the hinterland their distinctive character. These areas remain open to hunting during periods regulated by decree, coexisting with the natural function of the land. Pay particular attention to the information signs. et Stay away from the affected areas if you venture out during those times.