The weather has improved as the day has gone on, still a fierce wind blowing but also quite a bit of sunshine in between the flitting clouds. We wander briefly into the centre of Wissant a sizeable but probably 50% second home village with a grand central square surrounded by attractive old buildings and of course an impressive church….

We make our way down the side streets alongside a small stream….

Arriving at Strouanne Beach on the eastern side of Wissant. There is only a fairly thin strip of sand exposed as the tide is just starting to go back out but already this is busy with Kite Surfers (with more arriving every minute) enjoying the brisk cross bay winds…

We watch for a while astounded at the distance out of the water these guys can achieve without completely becoming airbourne and lost to the elements – clearly there are no beginners here….

We then fairly well fly along the empty beach with the wind pushing us on and Tilly enjoying chasing sea foam until the white cliffs of Cap Blanc Nez come clearly into sight….

Knowing that it is going to be a tough walk back we don’t venture too far before battling our way back to the village….

A short stretch of promenade leads along the seafront which is still being battered by the tide but may well be sandy at lower tides was clearly the windsurfers section of the beach….

Leading west of the village to the equally long and practically deserted Plage de Wissant which I think at low tides is walkable to Plage de Cap Gris Nez (still can’t make out the grey cliffs!) if you have the stamina and a good few hours to spare….

What a fantastic day a real gem of a find and so close to Calais.

Today’s stats:

• Miles driven – 25
• Miles walked – 7 (feels like 10!)
• Beaches – 3
• O/N – £9.08 (no EHU)

A bit more rain during the evening and into the morning and very windy up on these cliff tops but as we were on EHU we put the heating on and managed to dry out all our wet clothing with the exception of my fleece lined walking boots which needed a little of the later afternoon sunshine and breeze to finish them off. We didn’t rush away but were on the road before midday and at our first stop of the day – Cap Gris Nez shortly after.

To say it was wild is putting it mildly but fortunately the paths were good and solid as we made our way to the closest point to mainland Britain just 21 miles north….

On a clear day you can see the white cliffs of Dover but on closer examination the white blobs on the horizon in the distance were ships but the sea lumpy and spectacular.

The lighthouse is also a sea watch observation point for the busy English Channel with some 400-500 commercial boats passing through daily….

It was not only the wind that was breathtaking – these views along the coast to the west….

And further east across Baie de Wissant (where we are headed later) are pretty special too….

From the point we followed the coastal path down for a closer look at Plage de Cap Gris Nez and the small community of Les Longeres, though disappointingly it was largely covered by the tide….

The grey cliffs are not visible from here but from this beach we get our first look at Cap Blanc Nez (across the bay) and can just make out the white chalky cliffs though we do get a better look later.

With every single cobweb blown away after a coffee break in the ample car park (no overnight parking unfortunately) we make our way the shortish distance to our Aire for the night on the outskirts of Wissant….

Electric hook up is an option here but a chargeable extra and apparently quite complex to sort according to the reviews on Park4Night and as we don’t need it, we didn’t bother. As the tide is high at 3.30 we settle down for a while and have something to eat before venturing out into the wind again and wandering down to the beach. This will be continued tomorrow as I seem to have got myself a little out of synch!!

After a wet evening and night unfortunately the morning wasn’t much better with a fine drizzle falling. The rain seemed to ease by late morning so we decided to make a break for it and set off to walk along the coastal path down into Boulogne. The first section of the walk was very pleasant through a nature reserve on the cliffs above the sea and then Port – don’t be deceived by the blue sky as these photos were taken yesterday….

As we ascended into Boulogne our route took us close to the Port and through the surrounding industrial area, not the most attractive or sweetest smelling area and to just improve things a light rain started to fall. I found this wall art on the side of 3 identical neighbouring residential blocks a rather odd mix of subject matter….

In the distance we could see the Basilica of the Fortified Old Town towering high over the town and set that in our sights.

We wandered through the rather grubby streets of the outskirts before passing through the tidier but rather quiet mostly pedestrianised streets of the new town….

Eventually arriving at the gates of the Old Town which were surrounded by fine well kept gardens with various monuments….

The Basilica (although not strictly allowing dogs) was pretty impressive….

Behind the Basilica is the moated castle, now a museum….

It was at this point that the rain started falling in earnest as we made our way down to the beach – which we had seen from a distance whilst walking the coastal path yesterday….

A quick bit of off lead play for a rather soggy Tilly as we still have about a 3 mile walk back up to the Aire. Fortunately we are on electric so will be able to crank on the heating to dry off – one tired pup….

Today’s stats:

• Miles walked – 9
• Beaches – 1
• O/N – £13