Cotentin's Wild Beauty
Video: Mountains Legacy
They call it the presqu'ile - the almost-island. Like a thumbs-up sign in the English channel, the Cotentin peninsula is surrounded by hundreds of kilometres of coastline. Its southern boundary forms a line from the bay of Mont Saint Michel to the D-Day landing beaches. Much of the Cotentin is at (or close to) sea level. In 1944 the marshes were deliberately flooded by the German army in an attempt to thwart the allied invasion. Now a national park, it is a haven for wildlife, especially the migratory birds and wildfowl that make this watery land their home. The many fishing villages and quiet seaside resorts are linked by a coastal hiking trail. Not surprisingly, fish and seafood are in abundance, along with the famous salt-marsh lambs that graze the rich grasslands that border the sea.
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