Équihen-Plage is a French town on the Opal Coast, along the English Channel, in the Pas-de-Calais département in the Hauts-de-France region. Its inhabitants are known as the Équihennois (m) and Équihennoises (f).


A former fishing village, today Équihen-Plage is small seaside resort popular with tourists for its natural, unspoilt setting, giving it the name of "wild daughter of the sea".


The town is part of the Caps et Marais d'Opale Regional Nature Park.
 

Géography :

In Équihen, the beach is sandy and bordered by dunes. It stretches for more than 3 km, from the Warrenne estuary (Écault) in the south to the cliffs of Cap d'Alprech (Le Portel) in the north. Unlike many seaside resorts, Équihen-Plage has preserved its wild landscape and natural environment.
 

The population has several access points to the beach. The main one, to the south, is the only built-up area on the seafront. It houses a first-aid post, a shop, toilets, showers, changing rooms as well as facilities for sand yachting, kitesurfing and sea kayaking. Écault and Hardelot can easily be reached on foot from this beach.

To the north, the beach can be reached via the "La Crevasse" cove, from where a hiking trail starts along the cliffs, offering magnificent views of the sea and continuing along the "sentier des douaniers" for more than 2 km to the Cap d'Alprech in the town of Le Portel.


The town of Équihen and its beach were awarded the Blue Flag ecolabel in 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2015, a guarantee of exemplary cleanliness and environmental quality.

History :

A small fishing port until the early 20th century, Équihen-Plage was a section of Outreau, which became a commune on 6 April 1939.


Its history is closely linked to that of fishing.


René Bazin, in his novel “Gingolph l'abandonné”, described the "picturesque" landscape of Équihen-Plage, which prided itself on being a favourite haunt of artists and painters. Caffier frequented Équihen in the early 20th century, as did Gil Franco, Chintreuil, Debrasse, Demizel, De Palézieux and Rik Poot, all of whom worked and lived in Équihen-Plage, not forgetting Jean-Charles Cazin, a painter from Boulogne, and Paul Christol, a painter from Marseilles.

The recently built town hall and Saint-Pierre church contain several paintings by these artists.


In 1925, Frans Masereel bought a fisherman's cottage in Équihen for his summer stays.


On 16 April 1912, Harriet Quimby landed on the beach after crossing the English Channel from Dover, England.

Moonrise - Charles Cazin

Heritage and traditions :

The quilles en l'air :

Équihen-Plage is famous for its ‘quilles en l’air’.
These installations are upturned boat hulls that were used as homes by fishermen in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Most of those inhabiting these structures were poor sailors who recycled their worn-out boats to make homes for themselves. The painter Paul Christol transformed one of them, the "Sacré Coeur de Jésus", into his summer residence, painting studio and exhibition gallery.


 

Today, these houses are part of the local heritage. Some of them have been rebuilt with modern comforts and are used as accommodation in the municipal camping site “La Falaise”, facing the sea.

Carnival :

The carnival of Equihen-Plage is an institution in the tradition of the old sea carnivals. It takes place every year during the week of Mardi Gras, and lasts 4 days :


Sunday : It's a day for making lumber, and you may be asked by masks to buy logs, books or anything else you can find lying around... Make sure you give them a warm welcome to keep the tradition alive !


Monday : The Pec-Pecs (a play on the French word “pêcheurs”, for fishermen) will be setting the school exits and the Place de la Mairie alight! From 3.45pm, children will be able to fill up on sweets, which they can grab with their sticks or by singing along to the Pec-Pecs' songs.


Tuesday afternoon : Her Majesty will open the parade, which will leave the Place de la Mairie at 3.00 pm and wind its way through the main streets of the town.

Tuesday evening : You can choose between the ball in the multi-purpose hall from 10.00 p.m. to 8.00 a.m. or a more traditional evening in one of the cafés, some of which will be open all night...
 

 

Wednesday : Departing at 8.30am from the Place de la Mairie, the Carnivals accompany Her Majesty to the pyre for the traditional bonfire.
 

Eluise El'moulière :

Following a partnership with the nearby town of Saint-Étienne-au-Mont, a giant was built by young people from the two towns with the help of the Parc naturel régional des Caps et Marais d'Opale and local residents. The giant represents a mussel worker in her working clothes, a spoon and a manna hanging from her shoulders. Eluise takes part in festivals in both towns, and can be seen in the kiosk at the Equihen-Plage tourist office.

Bénédiction de la mer :

(Blessing of the sea)

A centuries-old maritime tradition in Equihen-Plage, the blessing of the sea is attended by around a hundred people on Ascension Thursday.
In the words of the priests attending, this celebration is "a tribute to those who work in the maritime world, those who have lost their lives at sea, those who attempt the crossing to flee the war, around the Virgin Mary".
 

The Soleil Equihennois (traditional costumes) and the pennants are brought out for the occasion. The procession heads for the sailors' calvary and then the beach car park, where the boats from the Equihen nautical centre are waiting. The priests present sing and say their prayers at the end of the morning before continuing the day at the Falaise campsite, with the opportunity to visit the quilles en l’air in the afternoon.

Visit the Equihen-Plage website

Le Suroît

Character marine cottage

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