Desvres · FR

Mont Pelé

Rising to 208 metres above the quiet hills of the Boulonnais, Mont Pelé is the highest point in France's Pas-de-Calais department and one of its most rewarding little-known panoramas. On a clear day the view stretches all the way to the white cliffs of England; on a less ambitious day, it still sweeps over the town of Desvres, the chalk slopes and the forested shoulders of Mont Hulin next door. This isn't a manicured viewpoint but a rehabilitated chalk-and-marl quarry now managed as a sensitive natural site by Eden 62, the Pas-de-Calais conservation authority. Signposted woodland staircases, boardwalks and a short road tunnel lead you up to the summit, while wild orchids, grazing sheep and Highland cattle do the rest of the work.