Cap Gris Nez from Ambleteuse

fr

A loop from the old fort of Ambleteuse to Cap Gris Nez: go along the cliffs by the sea and return inland via the remains of blockhouses.

Technical sheet

n°91410
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 19.53 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 55 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Return to departure point: Yes
  • ↗
    Vertical gain: + 128 m
  • ↘
    Vertical drop: - 129 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 59 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 2 m
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Photos

seal
view of the english coast from the path
coast
Cap Gris Nez lighthouse

Description of the walk

Park in the Fort d'Ambleteuse car park on the beach.

(S/E) Take the GR®120 and follow the white and red markers. Walk north along the beach to the village of Audresselles.

(1) Here you have 2 options:
- at low tide, if you're careful, you can continue along the coast, leaping over the rocks,
- at high tide, you'll have to climb back into the village via charming little stone staircases.
Continue north through the village until you reach the rocky coast at Pointe du Nid de Corbet.

(2) Continue for a few hundred metres along the main road, then take the path on the left. Alternate slight ascents and descents along the cliff face. Reach Cran aux Œufs,

(3) Continue past Pointe du Riden, Cran Barbier, Cran des Silliers and Cran de Quette. Reach the entrance to the Cap Gris Nez site.

(4) Important note here: on the Cap Gris Nez site, the paths are fenced off and it is not possible to walk around them along the cliff to protect the site.
Take a few steps to the left to admire the view from the first lookout. Back at the crossroads, turn left to reach a crossroads with a central stone post at a car park.

(5) Turn left to make a small loop through the 2 lookouts. Back at the crossroads, turn left and pass between the blockhouses. Bend right and rejoin the GR®120.

(6) Turn right, due south, until you reach the D191.

(7) Leave the GR® here, turn left, then left again at the second junction with the D191. You'll come to a new crossroads, surrounded by blockhouses.

(8) Turn right onto the dirt track that leads straight on to La pointe à Chemise. Reach a crossroads.

(9) Turn left for a few metres and cross the road to the right. Continue along this road until you reach an imposing blockhouse in the Atlantic Wall museum.

(10) Keep to this path, bending left and then immediately right to reach the Haringzelles woods.

(11) Continue, then at the end of the wood, cross the D940 with care to take a small tarmac road which becomes a small paved road for bicycles. Resume on a new road.

(12) Turn right at right-angles into the village of Audresselles. Turn left into the main street. At the T, turn right and then left again, still on the main street. The last street on the right brings you back to the original crossroads.

(1) Continue in the opposite direction to the Vieux Fort Mahon car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 8 m - Vieux Fort Mahon car park - Slack (fleuve)
  2. 1 : km 1.86 - alt. 7 m - Audresselles
  3. 2 : km 3.34 - alt. 11 m - Pointe du Nid de Corbet
  4. 3 : km 6.13 - alt. 31 m - Cran aux Œufs
  5. 4 : km 8.06 - alt. 36 m - Cap Gris-Nez
  6. 5 : km 8.56 - alt. 45 m - Belvederes of the - Cap Gris-Nez
  7. 6 : km 9.86 - alt. 16 m - GR120
  8. 7 : km 10.35 - alt. 42 m - D191
  9. 8 : km 11.54 - alt. 49 m - Blockhouse crossroads
  10. 9 : km 13.05 - alt. 49 m - Crossroads
  11. 10 : km 13.98 - alt. 50 m - Museum of the Atlantic Wall
  12. 11 : km 14.45 - alt. 59 m - Haringzelles Wood
  13. 12 : km 15.49 - alt. 51 m - Cycle lane junction
  14. S/E : km 19.53 - alt. 8 m - Vieux Fort Mahon car park

In the nearby area

Between (1) and (2): take time to admire the rocks, the birds, and even the occasional seal that wanders by at high tide. Binoculars are worth taking.
Between (2) and (3) in fine weather, the English cliffs are clearly visible.
(3) Cran aux Œufs: note the gigantic egg-shaped rocks.
(4) Entrance to the Cap Gris Nez site: just as you arrive at the cape, you'll see the lighthouse and the CROSS building,
(10) Musée de l'Atlantique: this blockhouse housed the Todt battery and is now a museum.
::11: Bois d'Haringzelles: an artificial wood created by the Germans to conceal fortifications, with numerous panels explaining the history of the area and its flora and fauna.

 Always stay careful and alert while following a route. Visorando and the author of this walk cannot be held responsible in the event of an accident during this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

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Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 41 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5
Clarity of route map
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.7 / 5
Loslo.
Loslo.

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Apr 14, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Great walk but needs updating.
We did it at high tide (high coef).
It was impossible to start from the dunes (in the extension of the dyke), so we had to pick up the path further on by going inland. In the end, we decided to continue inland along the edge of the Garennes nature park as far as Audresselles.
Two sections of path disappeared when the cliffs collapsed... a third will follow soon (around Cran aux Oeufs, Andinghen).
In the end, we covered 28 km.

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µµ
µµ

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Aug 22, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

A bit long for me, but great fun - the weather was perfect! There were lots of people arriving at Cap Gris Nez and the diversions part of the route wasn't great because of all the cars, the unsafe road for pedestrians and the noise from the engines.

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virgule
virgule

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder". Oscar Wilde

You're right, a landscape of fields can be very beautiful. So can a path deep in the woods.

I often get remarks about my tours like "boring path" "no view" "there's nothing to see".

In nature, I'm never bored.

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Benoît T
Benoît T

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Jul 16, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

A very nice walk from Audresselles to avoid the dunes. However, we extended the walk a little on the GR120 as far as the hamlet of Chatelet to catch up with the route at point 5 on the Berniques path, which offers some very fine views of the coastline.
Contrary to some opinions, the return journey across the plain didn't seem at all monotonous (we did this walk in mid-July, at the very start of the harvest), with a pretty landscape of wheat fields and already a few harvested pieces with scattered balls of straw and the sea in the background...

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Jldaubresse @yahoo.com
Jldaubresse @yahoo.com

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Jun 25, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

The return journey through the interior was a little monotonous (long straights through flat fields); from the Todt battery we rejoined the coast.

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gerendo
gerendo

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Aug 31, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : Yes

Very nice walk, only one problem before arriving at the Gris Nez, the area is prohibited for possible risk of rockfall, so we must deviate to the right to find the access road to the cape, on the descent, the restaurant Le Margat is very pleasant.

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les tourterelles
les tourterelles

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Aug 21, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

A beautiful walk in fine weather.
If you have binoculars, it's ideal.
You'll never tire of this hike.
Bring a jumper (there's often a slight breeze)
The entrance to the cross has been closed for a week (take a diversion via the field on the left).

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François 59
François 59

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : May 15, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Very nice walk, a little crowded at the gris nez site, which is logical, it's magnificent.
A 40 km per hour wind along the cliffs, just what you need to spice up the walk and really get into the atmosphere of the place.
Various curiosities, notches and remnants of the Atlantic Wall.
Top!

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jmb25
jmb25

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of walk : Apr 17, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : Yes

Done on Easter Monday with a lot of people around Cap Gris Nose but relatively few on the rest of the route.
Made a round trip along the coast with no inland return. On the outward journey at low tide with fishermen on foot sweeping by (high tide day) and return at high tide.
Saw a seal out of the water at the notch of the chicken.
In short, a beautiful walk.
Access via the dunes at Ambleteuse needs to be better signposted.

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Valou74
Valou74

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Sep 01, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Very nice walk, a little monotonous on the way back through farmland.
I spotted some seals and the scenery was breathtaking

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Mick81
Mick81

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Feb 28, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

A very good walk. Alternating pebble beach, rocks then path to the cape. Return by land, path, woods, etc. Very nice.

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JPHERBAUT
JPHERBAUT

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Jan 10, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

A nice, fairly easy hike, not very popular at this time of year.

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Sylvain49
Sylvain49

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of walk : Sep 17, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

A lovely walk combining beach, cliff tops, fields, forest, etc. Also some culture with lots of signposts. A bit of a climb and 19 km for the sporting side. Highly recommended.

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fab59150
fab59150

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Aug 21, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

A parish specific to Brittany
Beware of high tides as it is impossible in these cases to go along the beach between Audresselle and Ambleteuse.

This walk should be reserved for spring, autumn and winter, or in summer on an overcast day, as 95% of the route is open country.

we enjoyed the GR120 and the country lanes

parish specific to Brittany, which is really great.

Passing through the Todt battery also gives you a taste of the history of the Second World War.

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Point Philippe
Point Philippe

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Jul 28, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

A great route, fairly easy and varied, with a bit of beach, cliffs and camping, with no particular difficulties.
Definitely worth doing again.

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