Desvres-Choquel Day Trip

On the road in the Pays de la Faïence

22.3 km
From the faience town of Desvres, you walk to the highest peaks of Boulonnais (the region around Boulogne-sur-Mer) which are also the highest peaks of Pas-de-Calais: up to 200 m above sea level. The fertility of the high hills is minimal compared to the rich soil of the river valleys; Pasture with dairy cows gives way to agriculture in the wide fertile valleys.
You walk through tiny quiet villages with beautiful churches unfortunately closed. There has never been a lack of piety here: no Marian chapels as in French Flanders, but large crosses (Calvaries). We sometimes imagine ourselves in the Avesnois or Thiérache: high hawthorn hedges hide meadows in which white and black cows look dazed at the solitary hiker. With a little luck, a pack of deer will cross your path. Forest lovers get their money's worth in the Desvres State Forest, a former royal estate, with an area of 1200 ha.