Many golf fans will have been delighted to see Rory McIIroy win his first Masters title recently.
The focus is very much on the sport with the much-awaited Ryder Cup being held in New York later this year.
Amid all the razzmatazz it’s easy to forget the “unsung heroes” of the game – the caddies who gainfully lump players’ bags around golf courses.
Caddies are becoming scarce today and being replaced by electric cars.It is a little known fact but this year marks the centenary of what are thought to be the origins of the golf caddy.
And to celebrate this landmark the French seaside resort of Le Touquet is holding something of a unique exhibitions.
Running until June 20 at the town’s Hôtel de ville the expo features posters, films, documents and never-before-seen objects.Open from Monday to Thursday (2pm-5pm) and Fridays (10am-noon), it is sure to delight all golf fans, including those from Belgium.
The resort is, in fact, has attracted golf fans from all over the year for many years and has two fabulous 18-hole courses and one 9 hole course.
But, of course, there is much more to this place than golf and that includes, odd though it may seem, the local airport which has been attracting lots of publicity of late.
That is because it’s just been renamed after the late Queen of England.
A special inauguration event to officially open the newly named airport will be held on 17 May and the event, attended by the British ambassador to France, will coincide with Le Touquet Air Show on the same day. A spectaculour firework display takes place in the resort the night before (16 May).
All this also comes just after the 80th anniversary of VE Day which will be marked in the UK with four days of celebrations from 5-8 May.
You can even enjoy a tour of the airport (once the third biggest in France in terms of passenger traffic) if that is your thing and take in some of the events that have shaped its importance in the history of Le Touquet-Paris-Plage since the 1930s.
All this should not come as much of a surprise really as the town has long been known as “the most British” of French resorts.
It became so popular it earned the name Paris Plage — welcoming everyone from Noel Coward and Churchill to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. The late Queen, Elizabeth II, visited with her uncle Edward VIII, enjoying sand yachting and horse riding.
Today, this stylish town remains a top spot for a fantastic weekend of food, sport, shopping and fun… and that still includes sand yachting.
Land sailing, as it is also known, is a fun sport that basically involves racing on a wheeled yacht that is powered by wind.
The Opal Coast’s beaches are ideal for sand-yachting and Le Touquet regularly hosts national and international competitions. In 2006, for example, the world championship took place here.
At low tide, vast stretches of the beautiful 7km beach of fine sand are exposed, offering the ideal terrain for hitting top speeds aboard one of Le Touquet’s elegant sand-yachts.
The place to do it here is at the Centre nautique de la Manche Bertrand Lambertj, a land yachting school located on the south side of the seafront.
After checking in at the reception desk, you fill out your “Pilot Card” and are equipped with a wetsuit and helmet.
Instructors assign you your level group (beginner or advanced), and then you’ll set off for a 2-hour session on the delightful beach. You pilot a single-seater land yacht and be aware that in certain wind and terrain conditions, the sport can become quite energetic and requires good physical condition. Operating the controls requires the use of both legs and arms.
Do not forget to bring gloves (gardening, DIY, or ski gloves), closed-toe shoes (sneakers or rain boots), sunglasses or ski goggles, and a change of clothes. Gloves can be bought on site for €6 per pair.It is advisable to bring dry clothes to change into after the session. Beware: unless there is a minimum of 15kmp of wind the sand yachting cannot take place.
Wind or no wind it is no wonder Victorian travellers were entranced by Le Touquet. The wide, pristine sandy beaches are perfect for a stroll summer or winter.
Discover the paths amid the sand dunes and enjoy the distinctive “Le Touquet” light, which gives the area an ethereal and peaceful glow that has inspired so many artists over the years and now keeps the Instagram generation happy.
A stroll along the pedestrianised Rue St Jean and Rue de Mez for some serious retail therapy (and you may get a glimpse of the holiday home of the French president.
Whether it’s window shopping the designer shops or picking up a treat or two in some of the independent boutiques, it’s the perfect place to explore, with plenty of restaurants and bars to refuel.
These include arguably the town’s best known resto, Perard.
Known for its famous fish soup which its creator, Serge Perard, designed in the 1960s, oysters are also a customer favourite here.
Fish really is king at Perard which is also an excellent place to savour all kinds of seafood, including the seafood platter and langoustine bisque .
Its Gault & Millau citation says, “This is the chic and roguish meeting place in the center of the resort: the Pérard fishmonger offers its best products for this seafood counter which is very successful, on the terrace in summer, with oysters and seafood, simple and fresh dishes and quality ingredients.”
It also has a fishmonger’s, deli centre and oyster bar.
All of the fish here is genuinely fresh and well prepared. In addition to the essential seafood platter, the langoustine bisque is particularly recommended.
The Perard story, in fact, dates all the way to WW2 when Serge Perard had the idea of picking up a few pieces of fish from the port of Boulogne-Sur-Mer. A fine cook, he created a nourishing fish soup and,in the subsequent years, the young Serge sold this in local markets with his dad. He opened his first seafood resto here in 1964, improved his fish soup recipe and the impact was instant. The dish proved so popular that by 1970, Pérard was bottling 3,000 cans of the stuff.
He later started a cannery in response to ever rising demand for this and other products from customers and, today, the current team work tirelessly to maintain the standards of old. This includes constant innovation such as, in 2023, when artisanal pasta range was launched,
It really is a terrific resto and any visit to this fine resort really should include this place on a “must do” list.
The town itself has a permanent population of just over 4,000 but it welcomes up to 250,000 people during the summer and the population at any given time during high season seriously swells.
There is never a shortage of things to do and the Le Touquet Classic, a top equestrian event, takes place from 8 to 11 May, a major happening on the calendar here.
The Belgian school spring holidays are still ongoing, of course, and many folk may be wondering where to head for for a well deserved short break.
If you are among them, you would do well to seriously consider this delightful resort, which is only a 2-3 hours’ drive from Brussels.
It has a bit of everything, be it golf, fine dining, sand yachting plus much more besides so try to pay a visit before the summer crowds arrive.
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