Surques: Nature, Culture and Regional Cuisine

Surques offers nature, hiking, culture and local produce as different themes for your trip. Highlights include the landscape around the chalk escarpment, a hiking loop with a specified time frame, and historic works of art and named offerings from local businesses.

Landscape and Nature

Le Mont de Surques and le bois du Val lie along the chalk escarpment of the Haut-Boulonnais. Together, they form a small remnant woodland ecosystem connected to calcareous grasslands and meadows. The landscape therefore encompasses woodland and open areas, described together. Across the two natural areas, 14 plant species and 7 vegetation units of significance for ZNIEFF have been recorded. These figures refer to different categories: individual plant species in one case, vegetation units in the other.

Surques’s inclusion in the Marais audomarois - Aa - Hem - Flandre UNESCO Biosphere Reserve also places it in a broader landscape context. Since July 2024, the commune has been one of the reserve’s 111 communes. This presents two perspectives side by side: the specifically named natural areas of Le Mont de Surques and le bois du Val, and the commune’s inclusion in the Biosphere Reserve.

Hiking with a Specified Time Frame

The Dans la campagne d'Hocquinghen hiking loop follows the Sentier du Mont de Surques. This trail runs along Mont de Surques, with the forests of du Boctiau and du Val to the left. The route description, updated on 20 June 2023, gives a distance of 19.30 km, an average duration of 6 hours and 10 minutes, and a return to the starting point. The distance and average duration provide two concrete measures to help you plan your time on this loop.

A visitor report dated 22 September 2024 stated that access between points 14 and 15 was not possible because a gate had been installed on private property. Check current access conditions before hiking. This keeps the dated notice in context as a report from that time, rather than mistaking it for a statement about the current situation.

Cultural History in Surques

Two statues of Saint Crépin and Saint Crépinien were located in the Church of Saint-Crépin in Surques. The sculptures date from the 17th century and were listed as movable objects under heritage protection on 1 February 1911. They were stolen in October 1976. Their historical location, the date of their protected status and their subsequent theft belong to different chapters of their history.

Another historic building is the Manoir du Brugnobois, an authentic 16th-century structure that houses an inn. The inn serves tasty cuisine, prepared in part with produce from the farm. If you are planning a visit or a meal there, check the visiting arrangements and restaurant availability before your trip.

Local Cuisine and Produce

The Bay Pascal café-bakery offers pastries, bread baked in a wood-fired oven, Viennoiseries and pizzas to eat on the premises. This is an alternative to buying produce from farms. La Ferme des Cailleuys is a sheep farm that offers sheep’s milk products, including cheese, tomme and yoghurt.

La Ferme du Paillard offers direct sales in Surques of fresh pork, beef, poultry and rabbit, as well as terrines, including pâté and rillettes. The offerings therefore differ by product and format: eating on the premises at the café-bakery, sheep’s milk products at La Ferme des Cailleuys, and meat and terrines sold directly by La Ferme du Paillard. If you are planning to visit the farms specifically, check their respective opening arrangements before you arrive.

Discover more destinations: Le Wast, Beuvrequen, Condette, Calais, Belle-Et-Houllefort, Clerques, Montreuil-Sur-Mer, Beutin.

For the broader travel overview: Pas-De-Calais.