Cape Gray-Nose

The course Gray-Nose is a rock headland dating from Jurassic, 45 m height, localized in the strait of the Pas-de-Calais, which separates the English Channel from the North Sea. The course is between Wissant and Audresselles, on the commune of Audinghen in the middle of the Côte of Opal in the Département of the Pas-de-Calais. It makes party of the whole of rock cliffs of bolted, surrounded by the sandy coasts Picardy in the south and Flemish in the east.

The argilo-sandy cliffs of the course Gray-Nose are the place in France nearest to the England, to 28 km of Dover. The course Gray-Nose constitutes, with Dugeness English side, a bottleneck. Top of the Cape, in clear weather, one has a beautiful sight on the English coasts and the Cape Blanc-Nez.

Current the Phare of the cylindrical turn type in apparent stone masonry, whose beam increases to 45 km, was brought into service in 1957.

One finds there the Operational regional center of surveillance and of rescue (CROSS-COUNTRY RACE) which is an organism in charge to supervise this strait where the sea traffic is intense. The CROSS-COUNTRY RACE Gray-Nose has the role of supervising a zone going of the Franco-Belgian border to the course of Antifer (Le Havre). The strait of the Pas-de-Calais, of strategic interest for the international maritime transport, which connects the English Channel and the North Sea is attended the most in the world with more than 500 movements of boats per day. It forwards any type of more or less dangerous goods there.

The course Gray-Nose is a high place of observation of the migratory birds, this one is a point of passage of importance for many migrating species. He is attended by the ornithologists at the periods of the migrations, in particular in autumn.

The course Gray-Nose is regarded as a major site to protect as well for the conservation from remarkable natural habitats as for the migrations from the avifauna.

History

The proximity of the English coasts made course a strategic place in the wars which opposed Great Britain to France, which was worth at the village of Audinghen to be several times entirely destroyed.

At the top of cliff, one finds the ruins of an English fortress built by the king Henri VIII at the beginning of the 16th century.

Napoleon stopped with the course Gray-Nose on July 1st, 18?? , during an inspection of the littoral bolted. It then considered the installation of an optical telegraph line transmanche. The first semaphore of this line was installed with the point of the course in 1805, without waiting until the conquest of England is accomplished which it considered.

July 18th, 1805, a memorable naval battle took place in front of the Gray-Nose. A British flotilla with a strong numerical superiority continued Dutch boats which sought while skirting the coast to join the port of Ambleteuse. Envisaging an attack of this type, Napoleon had made lay out on the course 300 pieces of artillery. An artillery flood obliged the British vessels to beat a retreat.

The lieutenant commander Ducuing and its men died on May 25th 1940 by defending the semaphore, a commemorative stele points out this sacrifice.

During the Second world war German built a Blockhaus inside the ruins. The course was released by the Canadian soldiers in September 1944.

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