Saint Valery sur Somme Revisited

Exactly nine years ago today I wrote a post about a trip we’d only recently returned from. I thought I’d give it another outing.

Saint Valery sur Somme

24th June 2015

Here’s a town we Brits should know.  It’s where 1066 And All That really began.  William of Normandy and his troops set sail from here, landed on the English south coast and won the Battle of Hastings.  William became King of England, introduced a whole new French vocabulary into the English language (‘Pork or beef, madam?’), and his brother Odo commissioned the first strip cartoon, the Bayeux tapestry, to record and commemorate the event.  Later though, in 1431, the English held Joan of Arc captive here, before conveying her to Rouen to be burnt at the stake.

En route from France to England: a detail from the Bayeux Tapestry (Wikimedia Commons)

Even without those compelling reasons to make a pilgrimage, Saint Valery is worth a detour.  It was and is a harbour and a fishing town with a picturesque mediaeval centre.  Like many pretty towns on the coast, it’s popular with writers and artists: Victor Hugo, Jules Verne, Alfred Sisley and Edgar Degas  all had homes here, and we spent a pleasant day exploring, poking round the (rather touristy) Sunday market, choosing a restaurant-stop, and generally enjoying the pleasures of a seaside town.

While we were there, something special happened.  After lunch (moules, what else?) we wandered down to the beach.  There, on the other side of the estuary, were sheep, paddling.  Dozens of sheep, scores of sheep, hundreds of sheep.  They’re unique.  They’re bred from English Suffolk and Hampshire sheep, and they spend their lives grazing the salt marshes., which gives them a highly regarded flavour, rich in mineral salts, and the name ‘Estran salt meadow lamb’.  The life of those sheep, and their shepherds, and sheep dogs, is an energetic one.  They have to keep moving each and every day to avoid getting stuck in the damp and boggy sand.  Their shepherds keep an eye on them, oiling their feet to prevent foot rot, and every night the flock returns to pens with fresh straw via a special tunnel under the road.

Sheep grazing at the estuary.

Before we left, we wandered through the harbour, and up to the Chapelle des Marins, a neo-Gothic building, built on the site where the hermit-saint Gualaric, who gave his name to the town, once lived.  It’s a good place from which to say ‘Goodbye’ to the town and get some final views of the bay.

Farmland outside Saint-Valery-sur-Somme.

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Author: margaret21

I'm retired and live in North Yorkshire, where I walk , write, volunteer and travel as often as I can.

44 thoughts on “Saint Valery sur Somme Revisited”

  3. How very lovely, Margaret! We’re in the same neck of the woods today, though very different. How extraordinary, those sheep! I love the notion of them having feet oiled and shepherded through the tunnel. And a perfect poppy ending. Such a wonderful post! Happy Monday! It’s odd when it’s a Holiday Monday here and not in the UK. I’m quite disoriented. (or was that the wine?)

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  6. What a pretty village! And seeing the sheep graze on the salt marshes is interesting. Apparently lamb from salt-marsh grazed animals is rather special, being already seasoned.

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  9. Margaret.. thank you for your timely post. I’ll be traveling to Europe next year for the purpose of returning my stepmother’s cremains to where she wished to be – Mumbles in Wales. I’ll be traveling with my wife and daughter and e are very much in the planning stage… where we want to go, what we want to see, and how long the trip will be. My last trip abroad was ten years ago when we returned my dad’s cremains to France and I will meet up with my brothers and my British cousins near Mumbles… thanks for the ideas of places to visit.. yesterday my wife and I were discussing visiting Normandy with our daughter… so much to see, so many places to visit, but that is really a problem for anywhere. Stay well and keep the ideas coming. Peace.

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    1. Well, how interesting. My great aunt – whom I never met – lived in the Mumbles. It was a move up the social ladder from the industrial textile-territory of the West Riding of Yorkshire. I’ll be interested in following your plans for your Euopean Pilgrimage.

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      1. From what I remember in our conversations, she worked in the summers during college the 50s. She was born in Aruba and returned to grow up in Scotland near Glasgow. She has a niece and a nephew who live in Frome and cousins who live in Wales. There is so much unknown in our lives and when we want to ask the questions, sometimes it’s too late. It is going to be an interesting trip I’ll keep you posted.

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  11. Love this post, Margaret- St Valéry is a place name I remember from the early 90s. The little steam train… Love those sheep!

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  13. The only thing that can stop time is photography. How wonderful to be able to go back nine years and relive the experience over with the same enthusiasm and excitement that you had the first time you were there. I loved joining you on your walk, Margaret.

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  18. Loved the story of the sheep. Those poor shepherds must be kept busy at night giving ovine pedicures. In South Australia the sheep are grazed on saltbush, a tough grey plant that grows in arid areas. Saltbush lamb has become an SA delight.

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