Campagne Lès Boulonnais: Hiking and Village History

Campagne Lès Boulonnais combines a specific hiking option with a rural cultural landscape. On the plateaus of the Haut-Pays d’Opale, fields alternate with bocage landscapes. There are also buildings from different periods and a local connection to the Coq Rouge, the municipal symbol. This gives you a choice of focuses when planning your trip: an easy walk, landscape experiences, or architecture and history.

Hiking the Le Coq Rouge Route

The Le Coq Rouge hiking route begins in Campagne Lès Boulonnais and is 9 km long. Classified as an easy walk, it takes an average of 2 hours and 15 minutes. The distance and time provide two specific points of reference when deciding how to fit the walk into your stay. Check the current route conditions before setting out. The route also includes the Notre Dame du Mont-Carmel chapel.

Plain, Bocage and Village Life

The Le Coq Rouge walk introduces you to a landscape of plain and bocage. This includes hedgerows where numerous birds nest, as well as a rural village and a hamlet. The plateaus, with their fields and bocage landscapes, add the contrast between open spaces and hedgerows to these impressions.

Saint-Omer Church and Rural Architecture

There are several architectural details to discover at Saint-Omer Church. Its tower dates from the 16th century and is topped with an onion dome. The apse, the end section of the choir, is circular and has three interior sections. The church was restored in 1950 by Joseph Philippe, an architect and monk. The tower and the restoration belong to different periods in the church’s history.

The hamlet of Happe preserves 19th-century village architecture and its rural character. In the village centre, the Coq Rouge communal well stands at the intersection of four roads. It is made of brick and bears a rooster figure. These two details draw attention to different aspects of the place: the architectural character of a hamlet and the central position of a communal well.

Historic Buildings and Former Horse Breeding

A wooden castle dating from the 10th century once stood on the surviving motte of Triaumont. Another historic building is the small château of the d’Artois family: the white-stone building dates from the 18th century and was built around 1753 by François Alexandre d’Artois, Seigneur de Valvalon. Comparing the wooden castle with the stone château illustrates different building periods in the area’s history.

Horse breeding is also part of Campagne Lès Boulonnais’ history. The village was once an important centre for breeding Boulonnais horses. In the 1970s, there were still more than 50 horses in the village, spread across five farms. This historical tradition adds another aspect of local history to the visible buildings.

There is a covered picnic table at Place du Coq Rouge. Check whether it is available before your trip.

Discover more destinations: Licques, Enquin-les-Mines, Fresnicourt-Le-Dolmen, Ferques, Fampoux, Farbus, Zutkerque, Ytres

For the overview of the wider area: Pas-De-Calais.