Basse Copette is situated in the Bresle Valley, it is the gravels of the Bresle River that are removed for glass industry. About half an hour downstream of Basse Copette, the Bresle River flows into La Manche, or the English Channel, between the towns of Mers-les-Bains and Le Treport.
Le Phare du Treport
Le Treport was once a popular seaside destination for the French royal family during the reign of Louis-Philippe (1830s and 1840s) when the Palace at nearby Eu was the king’s summer residence. The Parisian bourgeoisie were soon to follow, and as the town became a popular destination a number of seaside villas were built (most of which were destroyed during World War II). Louis-Philippe was an ardent Anglophile and was on very good terms with Queen Victoria. Although the term “Entente Cordiale” usually refers to official agreements made between the English and the French in 1904, the term was first used in 1844 following Queen Victoria’s first state visit to Louis-Philippe’s palace in Eu in 1843. There is much in the area that marks the Queen’s visit, including the ‘Queen Victoria Bar’. The National Navy Museum in Paris has a painting by Louis Gabriel Eugène Isabey showing Queen Victoria’s royal yacht, HMY Victoria and Albert – a twin paddle steamer, docked in the port of Le Treport. Continue reading
After a blustery few days, where the rain was literally horizontal, this morning’s sunrise was a particularly welcome sight! I really did not think my rather simple camera together with my primitive photography skills (i.e. point and press – if it is not painted on a cave wall I am challenged) would get this shot looking as good as it does. Perhaps I still remember the real thing! What has not come out as I remember it, are the touches of pink on the clouds. It is clouds like these that makes me understand why Monet found Normandy so paint-able.