Tortoise shell hides vital history of northern France
Comments |
by Danny Boyle
The dreary dome looks like a giant tortoise perched on the top
of a hill in the countryside of northern France.
But beneath the enormous 50,000-ton structure is an underground
Nazi complex that could have changed the world forever.
La Coupole, near Saint-Omer in the Pas-de-Calais region, was
built to destroy London with V2 rockets.
With the capital within striking distance, it would
have stored and launched 50 long-range missiles a day.
Terrifyingly, Britain came just a fortnight from this
devastation becoming a reality.
Indestructible with 16ft-thick reinforced concrete, La Coupole
survived a major Allied bombing campaign from March 1944 that badly
damaged neighbouring villages. However, the site was abandoned in
July 1944 after the Normandy landings – just two weeks before
Hitler would have pushed the button.
The oldest rocket-launching pad in the world, La Coupole has
just reopened to the public after a revamp and is only one of the
historical scars on northern France – Nazi-occupied from 1940 to
1944. The region also saw the Battle of Agincourt, a major English
victory against the French in 1415.
On a happier note, this year is the 490th anniversary of the
meeting of Henry VIII and Francis I in the Field of the Cloth of
Gold to improve Anglo-French relations.
Nowadays the two nations appear best of friends as I travel from
Dover to Calais with P&O Ferries.
My previous cross-Channel dining experience of a soggy sandwich
while surrounded by screaming schoolchildren is blown out of the
water by Langan’s Brasserie, the on-board restaurant that I’m told
is just as good as its famous Mayfair cousin.
Passengers can also avoid the crowds during the 90-minute
crossing in Club Lounge, with a glass of champagne and other
refreshments for just a few extra pounds.
The Pas-de-Calais region does not produce its own champagne – or
wine, for that matter. But its Cote d’Opale coast is dotted with
breweries, including Brasserie des 2 Caps, which uses hops from
east Kent for some of its beers.
Perhaps the best example of French hospitality I found was Chez
Tante Fauvette, a tiny restaurant near the Hotel Saint-Louis in
Saint-Omer. It has a homely, intimate feel with stunningly simple
food.
Owner Olivier Sowinsky plays the ultimate one-man-band as
shopper, greeter, waiter and chef. I certainly don’t envy him the
washing up!
Similarly delicious, but more modern, French dishes
can be found at La Cour de Remi, in Bermicourt.
It is just a short hop to the site of the Battle of Agincourt,
during which the French had at least double the number of troops as
the English, but were overpowered by Henry V’s skilful
arrowmen.
Our guide apparently has no shame in telling us that when the
first line of the French army was defeated, two thirds of its other
troops ran away.
If only the French were as good on the battlefield as in the
kitchen, history would probably have been written rather
differently.
P&O Ferries operates 25 return crossings between
Dover and Calais every day. Prices start from £30 per car each way.
Entry to the Club Lounge costs an extra £12 per person and priority
boarding is £6 per vehicle. Phone 08716 64 64 64 or visit
www.poferries.com.
Tuesday, April 13 2010
Terms of Comments
We do not actively moderate, monitor or edit contributions to the reader comments but we may intervene and take such action as we think necessary. If you have any concerns over the contents on our site, please either register those concerns using the report abuse button or contact us here.