Le Crotoy

French commune|name=Le Crotoy


x = 126
y = 35
region=Picardie
departement=Somme
arrondissement=Abbeville
canton=Canton de Rue
insee=80228
cp=80550
maire=Mme Roselyne Bourguelle
mandat=2001-2008
intercomm="sans"
alt moy=6 m
alt mini=2 m
alt maxi=14 m
hectares=1632
km²=16,32
sans=2439
date-sans=1999
dens=149|

Le Crotoy is a commune in the Somme "département" in the Picardie region of France. The inhabitants are known as "Crotellois"

Geography

Le Crotoy is situated on the D143 and D71 crossroads, on the estuary of the river Somme, some 10 miles northwest of Abbeville.
Today, the town is a lively seaside resort whose beach is undoubtedly one of its main assets. It also benefits from the proximity of Marquentera (Park of Marquenterre), an area of natural beauty, with lakes, marshes and a rich flora and fauna.
The beach is highly unusual for northern French beaches in that it faces south.
In terms of wildlife the bay supports a population of seals and shags.

Places of interest

* The preserved railway, the Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme
* Le port and town of Crotoy

Activities

There are numerous restaurants in the village and it is well equipped with shops and a petrol station. Bed & breakfast accommodation is also available.
Le Crotoy is one terminus of the narrow gauge "Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme" (Somme Bay Railway), which is now largely a tourist attraction. Running around the entire length of the bay, this railway connects Le Crotoy with Noyelles-sur-Mer, Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, and Cayeux-sur-Mer and the sands at Brighton Plage.
Main line trains to Paris take about 2 hours and cost about 48Euro return for an adult. They run from the nearby (15 mins by car) station of Noyelles-sur-Mer, which is also a station on the "Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme" narrow gauge railway.

The bay of the river Somme has interesting tides in that they are both fast and have a high rise and fall. At low tide it is possible to walk across the sand and mud flats from Le Crotoy to Saint-Valery-sur-Somme. Care needs to be taken as the tides come in very quickly.

Occupations

Fishing predominates, both for seafish and shellfish (mostly cockles and mussels) and from the coastal saltmarshes, samphire and sea-aster.Hunting and shooting, for both game and wildfowl provides food for locals and visitors alike.Sheep-rearing, on salty pastures, produces a unique flavour. The sheep of the Somme bay have been credited ‘appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC)’ .

People linked with the town

Le Crotoy has had lengthy visits from some famous figures of French history: Joan of Arc (who was imprisoned there), Jules Verne (who wrote "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" here), the perfumer Guerlain, the painter Toulouse-Lautrec, and the novelist Colette.

Population

ee also

*Communes of the Somme department
*Réseau des Bains de Mer
*Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme

External links

* [http://www.aquadec.populus.ch Picture postcards from times past]
* [http://terresdefemmes.blogs.com/mon_weblog/2005/02/colette_au_crot.html Colette at Le Crotoy] fr
* [http://www.villeducrotoy.com/ Site Web sur la commune de Le Crotoy] fr
* [http://www.recensement.insee.fr/RP99/rp99/co_navigation.co_page?nivgeo=C&codgeo=80228&theme=ALL&typeprod=ALL&lang=FR&quelcas=LISTE Le Crotoy on the Insee website] fr
* [http://www.quid.fr/communes.html?mode=query&req=Le_Crotoy Le Crotoy on the Quid website] fr
* [http://www.peterlanczak.de/crotoy_f.htm Le Crotoy, its life and history] fr

Notes

*"This article is based on the original and more from the equivalent article from the French Wikipedia, consulted on February 5th 2008."