Sunday 3 December 2017

Madhouse diaries : A wintry walk along the beach


A couple of weekends ago, Sophie announced that she wanted to go for a walk in the dunes and look for World War II shrapnel and relics. That may sound unlikely but we live in Dunkirk and, as it's been windy lately, the dunes have probably shifted a fair bit and may well have uncovered some bits and bobs that have been lying under the sand amongst the bunkers for all that time. We bundled up in jumpers and headed off to the bus, getting off at the maritime hospital/sanatorium stop. This took us to an area I'd never seen before - the site of Military Cemetery #2. There is nothing left here now but reading the sign, we learned that 120,000 soldiers were treated here in 1940 and 803 died of their wounds. By 1948, there were 936 graves, including 130 British, 794 French and a handful of Belgian, Spanish and Dutch victims. These have now all been relocated and buried elsewhere but it's still spine-tingling thinking about the scale of the loss of life during those dark times. 


Fortunately, the fabulous views at the beach lifted our spirits. After following a winding path, you can't see the sea at all until you reach a section cut through the dunes giving access to the beach.


It was a chilly day so we had the beach pretty much to ourselves, apart from the seagulls braving the icy water.


Within a few metres, we started spotted big blue jellyfish washed up on the beach - we'd seen a news report a few weeks earlier warning about these Portuguese man of war jellyfish that have a vicious sting.


We often see transparent jellyfish swimming around in the port of Dunkirk but these blue ones are bigger, much firmer, more compact and they hold their shape in perfectly round disks. The kids were fascinated, flipping them over with their feet to see the wibbly tentacles. 


We also started spotting dozens and dozens of these things, which I think are sea urchins, washed up on the beach. The kids loved the starfish shape dotted on the top and collected some to take home, but we soon discovered that they stink of rotten fish !


It was only just after four o' clock but the sun was starting to sink lower in the sky and I wanted us to move along, so that we'd be back by the more civilised end of the beach, away from the bunkers, before it got dark.


Down this end of the beach, you always feel like you're the only people in the universe, alone with the big sky and the ghosts of all those World War II soldiers who never made it home. 


You could walk along the beach as far as Belgium (a few kilometres away) without barely seeing another soul.


The tide was on the way out and we could see the remains of one of the Operation Dynamo wrecks peeking through the top of the surf. Not as good as the one we spotted back in the summer but nevertheless still pretty impressive that it's there after all this time.


Pierre and Juliette had fun climbing up and jumping off the smaller bunkers on the beach. It always makes me smile to see them using the sad remains of a major war as a playground.


They are also frequently used as a canvas for street art and existential graffiti to contemplate as you walk along the beach.


They have been there for the best part of eighty years but I get the feeling that nature is slowly starting to break them down. We spotted more cracks, a few parts seem to have fallen down on the beach that we think were up in the dunes before and this one is flooded when the tide comes in.


They are stark remembers of what went on on these glorious beaches.


Some of them are actually quite picturesque, in a strange way, framing the seaside views behind them.


This is one of the ones that seems more broken than the last time we saw it, with the whole front wall section on the ground.


And another one, whose front wall is now separate from the rest of the structure.


I wouldn't want to be standing too close when these things fall apart !


I mentioned that we'd had strong wind and exceptionally big tides lately and we were shocked to see a whole new building sticking out of the base of the dunes that we'd never spotted before. It makes you wonder what else is hiding under the sand and the sea in this area - I already know that there are about a dozen wrecked ships left over from Operation Dynamo in the shallows that have been charted.


It's hard to spot in the photo but Sophie pointed out a rainbow in the clouds - this is called  an iridescent cloud and is caused by the presence of very tiny ice crystals or water droplets in the air, which cause light to be diffracted or spread out. They're supposed to be quite rare but we see them at least a couple of times a year, for some strange reason.


The sun was starting to set so we picked up the pace for the last stretch of beach.


The "disco ball" bunker covered in shards of broken mirror always looks spectacular but at sunset, it is particularly stunning.


The kids couldn't resist taking selfies with their shattered reflections.


I was more interested in getting fragmented pictures of the landscape.


This is one of the less dilapidated bunkers so you can go exploring inside, as long as you're careful.


This rather sinister picture painted just inside the door put the kids off though - they are quite creepy places, even without the street art !


Just as the light started fading, our bus came around the corner so we headed for home, and a nice mug of hot chocolate to warm up !


Country Kids

18 comments:

  1. I love a nice walk on a crisp day and then a hot chocolate when home!

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  2. Beautiful scenery. I hate jellyfish, just looking at it gives me shivers. And I think those blobs you found are aliens. ;)

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    1. I thought the blue ones were pollution that had been washed up on the beach at first ! The transparent ones look really pretty when they're swimming about in the docks :)

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  3. Such an amazing beach with so much history. Having watched the Dunkirk film back int he summer it is as if I can see the troops marching along there, the chaos trying to get on the boats and the inevitable bombs. It is strange seeing the beach looking so beautiful, quiet and empty yet with so many reminders of what went on all around you. I know I'd be fascinated by all those bunkers too. Such a gorgeous coastline that stretches so far, perfect for a winter walk and lovely for you to have so close to home. Thank you for sharing with me on #CountryKids

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    1. The sunset photo with all the rocks looks like soldiers hunkering down waiting to evacuate to me - the beauty of the place makes it all seem so surreal and very, very sad

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  4. I love the beach at this time of year but have never been on a beach so steeped in historical significance. How amazing that new buildings are still appearing as the sand shifts. #countrykids

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  5. What an amazing beach. The beach and landscape itself is spectacular, but when you think about its turbulent past it's mind boggling. You just can't imagine the scale of everything that happened and it's good to still have these stark reminders #countrykids

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  6. What a lot to discover, the blue jellyfish look real weird, but I'd have been real excited about finding a Shepherd's Crown sea urchin. The bunkers look amazing, especially the disco ball one. I would love to visit that beach, so much to see, so much history. You are so lucky x

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    1. Thank you for telling us what they were, we had no idea ! It was a great day for discoveries :)

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  7. What an interesting place to explore. Those skies are stunning too #CountryKids

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  8. What an absolutely amazing place to live. Those jelly fish must have been amazing to see and there is no way I would have been able to resist a few selfies in that amazing structure either! #countrykids

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  9. What an interesting walk along the beach. I'm not sure I would have wanted to get too close to the jellyfish but they do look fascinating. The bunkers also look interesting. It must be quite sobering though to stand there and think about the history behind them all. #countrykids

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    1. It really is, especially with films like Dunkirk that show just how horrifying it all was.

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  10. I still remember the first time Monkey came across a jellyfish on the beach, it was really funny as he was totally perplexed by it. I have not seen sea urchins washed up before. Looks like a great beach to explore #CountryKids

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  11. How fantastic to have so much history and a beach right on your doorstep. I remember when we got jelly fish on our SUP board and we were petrified (even when we knew they were harmless). #Countrykids

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  12. This had me captivated to read about it, what a haunting yet amazing place to visit #CountryKids

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  13. Beautiful photos of a beach both glorious and eerie. I wonder, is it where the movie Dunkirk by Ken Loach was shot? I remember first setting foot on Utah Beach a few years ago, just off the ferry from Ireland, and that spine-tingling feeling you explain so well.Was the Disco Ball bunker done up like this as part of an art project? It looks quite extraordinary.
    #CountryKids

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    1. The Christopher Nolan film was shot here last year - they mocked up parts of the town to look old-fashioned which was amazing - and yes, the mirror ball bunker was created by an artist. If you browse thorough my "Dunkirk" posts, there are older posts about both. It's a really interesting place to live in - always something going on ! :)

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