Although forever to be remembered for a horrific World War I battle, the Somme has returned to the sleepy rural region that it once was before being ravaged by war.
The Somme River, which it is centred on, enters the English Channel at a delta between the pretty medieval village of Saint-Valery-sur-Somme and Le Crotoy with its sweeping beach.
This part of the Picardy coastline is popular for relaxing France beach holidays amid unspoilt nature. The marshy terrain attracts rich birdlife, and seals bask on beaches between Mers-les-Bains and Fort-Mahon-Plage, just 2 resorts offering Somme Bay hotels on Booking.com.
Of course, the region’s more sombreing side should not be forgotten, and evidently it is not. The many immaculately tended war cemeteries are fitting tributes to the thousands of men who lost their lives. At the centre of the battlefields, small Albert is surrounded by Somme cemeteries and remembrances, including the poignant Memorial to the Missing in Thiepval. Amongst its reminders, Péronne has the Story of the Great War Museum within a 13th-century castle.
Most Somme hotels are in Amiens where a grand 13th-century cathedral towers above colourful waterfront cafés and river island gardens. Hundreds more islands are in the river between here and Abbeville, a town which suffered greatly through war, although 15th-century St Vulfran’s Church remained largely unscathed.
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