SUM BAY RAILWAY
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Chemin de fer de la baie de Somme (Somme Bay Railway) offers a ride aboard authentic carriages pulled by steam locomotives.
At the beginning of the 20th century, a "tortillard" took tourists to the beaches of the Picardy coast. Eager to save the Cayeux-Saint-Valery-Le Crotoy line, a few enthusiasts got together in 1969 and proposed to the local authorities the idea of running the line as a tourist attraction. The project was accepted. The Chemins de Fer de la Baie de Somme association was created. For over fifty years, it has operated the Bains de Mer network. Authentic Belle Époque carriages, hauled by ever-powerful steam locomotives, transport tourists around the Baie de Somme. Over the 30-odd kilometers covered, passengers discover the bay from a different angle, crossing mussel beds, marshes and fields of crops, skirting willow-lined streams in a unique atmosphere that gives the sensation of having stepped back in time. On special occasions - such as "dinners on board" events - you'll even be able to sample some of the region's typical food. All you have to do is go to the stations at Le Crotoy, Noyelles-sur-Mer, Saint-Valery or Cayeux-sur-Mer and buy your ticket either at the station or from the train conductor at the times indicated on the website, or by telephone. Souvenir stores are also available at the stations. To find out more about this epic adventure, visit the company's website. A journey through time and an absolute must on any trip to the region!
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Members' reviews on SUM BAY RAILWAY
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Comfort in our coach third class and basic. Sitting on a wooden bench without stuffing, we do not have to leave yet the station of departure that I have the buttocks as those of a fakir who has just set his foot for two hours on a board with nails.
The first part of the trip between Le Crotoy and Noyelles's Sea and rather disappointing. Our remarkably restored machine through some greasy grass grazing lands, irrigated by some canals. The show is quite for drivers and passengers, stuck in their cockpit on the way at level, which make us large signs behind their windscreen. The train fascinated once during the industrial revolution and continues to appeal to today small and large while it is now more common to travel by plane.
Arrived in Noyelles's Sea we stop during what seems an eternity. Time necessary so that some passengers take their correspondence. It is also time that you need for major objectives. The engine that tractor drew us hitherto takes down moreover train passes in front of us in the opposite direction on the other rails and comes to be hung up again in the back to finally leaving, after more than half an hour of waiting, in another management.
End of the course that connects Noyelles's Sea to St-Valery and much more attractive in my eyes. We cross finally this why I am mounted on board, the salt meadow sheep which gives the protected designation of origin to the sheep that ruminate peacefully in these places, which gives the meat of the sheep naturally sweet taste. These wetlands consisting of marshy pasture attracts large many wading birds and gives a unique character of this kind of landscape. Unfortunately the second phase is short and it is only too quickly that we go down to St-Valery.
Once again, the engine stands moreover train, advance to a platform swivel 180 degrees so that the latter can be reorientated in the other direction, everything under the crackling of the flashes amoureux train.