The Eurotunnel

19 November 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Eurotunnel schema © Arz - Commander Keane

Eurotunnel schema © Arz – Commander Keane

The Channel Tunnel (French: Le tunnel sous la Manche; also referred to as the Chunnel) is a 50.5-kilometre (31.4 mi) rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent, in the United Kingdom, with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais, near Calais in northern France, beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is 75 m (250 ft) deep. At 37.9 kilometres (23.5 mi), the tunnel has the longest undersea portion of any tunnel in the world, although the Seikan Tunnel in Japan is both longer overall at 53.85 kilometres (33.46 mi) and deeper at 240 metres (790 ft) below sea level. The speed limit in the tunnel is 160 kilometres per hour (99 mph).   read more…

Barfleur in the Basse-Normandie

13 November 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

© Matthieu Tétard/cc-by-sa-2.5-fr

© Matthieu Tétard/cc-by-sa-2.5-fr

Barfleur is a commune in the Manche department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France, on the Cotentin Peninsula at the English Channel.   read more…

Colleville-sur-Mer

11 November 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

© Anton Bielousov/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Anton Bielousov/cc-by-sa-3.0

Colleville-sur-Mer is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France. It was originally a farm owned by a certain Koli, a Scandinavian settler in the Middle Ages. It shares the same etymology as the other Colleville in Normandy, today Colleville-sur-Mer and Colleville-Montgomery. During the Norman conquest of England by William the Conqueror or following it, Gilbert de Colleville was given lands in England, it was from this Knight that the modern de Colville/Colvin family would develop, including Clan Colville in Scotland and the Barony de Colville, of Castle Bytham in England.   read more…

Theme Week Normandy – Honfleur

26 July 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

© flickr.com - Yves Remedios/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – Yves Remedios/cc-by-2.0

Honfleur is a commune in the Calvados department in northwestern France. It is located on the southern bank of the estuary of the Seine across from Le Havre and very close to the exit of the Pont de Normandie. Its inhabitants are called Honfleurais.   read more…

Theme Week Normandy – Lisieux

24 July 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Basilique de Sainte-Thérèse © Renegade

Basilique de Sainte-Thérèse © Renegade

Lisieux is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region. It is the capital of the Pays d’Auge area, which is characterised by valleys and Normandy’s typical hedged farmland, where there is a mix of livestock farming (mostly milk cows) and cider apple cultivation (from which Cider and Calvados are made, not forgetting Pommeau). Lisieux is situated on the confluence of the river Touques and many of its tributaries: the rivers Orbiquet, Cirieux and Graindain.   read more…

The seaside resort of Le Touquet-Paris-Plage

30 January 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

L'Hermitage © AntonyB/cc-by-sa-3.0

L’Hermitage © AntonyB/cc-by-sa-3.0

Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, commonly referred to as Le Touquet, is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. It has a population of 4,500. Le Touquet has a reputation as the most elegant holiday resort of northern France, the playground of rich Parisians, with many luxury hotels.   read more…

Theme Week Cornwall

16 December 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  7 minutes

Remains of Tintagel Castle, legendary birthplace of mythical King Arthur © Maniple

Remains of Tintagel Castle, legendary birthplace of mythical King Arthur © Maniple

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. Cornwall is a peninsula bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of 536,000 and covers an area of 3,563 km2 (1,376 sq mi). The administrative centre, and only city in Cornwall, is Truro, although the town of St Austell has a larger population.   read more…

Morlaix in Brittany

21 May 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Morlaix with its viaduct in the background © Thesupermat/cc-by-sa-3.0

Morlaix with its viaduct in the background © Thesupermat/cc-by-sa-3.0

Morlaix is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France with a population of 15,600. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. The old quarter of the town has winding streets of cobbled stones and overhanging houses constructed of stone and timber. Many have religious and secular sculptures on their façades. A tidal river that almost completely dries out at low tide reaches the town of Morlaix where there is a lock into a marina.   read more…

The Jurassic Coast along the southern English Channel coast

7 March 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  5 minutes

Ammonite, embedded in a rock on the beach at Kimmeridge © Chilepine

Ammonite, embedded in a rock on the beach at Kimmeridge © Chilepine

The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. The site stretches from Orcombe Point near Exmouth in East Devon to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage in East Dorset, a distance of 155 kilometres (96 mi). Chartered in 2001, the Jurassic coast was the second wholly natural World Heritage Site to be designated in the United Kingdom. Its entire length can be walked on the South West Coast Path.   read more…

Return to TopReturn to Top