After a lot of consideration we decided to to take the historic route. Most of the Pilgrims walk via the Canal de Calais which is a short cut that takes you directly to Guines missing a lot of places which are beautiful and unique.

We took the historic route, the one taken by the Archbishop Sigeric in 989 who went to Rome to receive the Pallium.

This part of our walk is also known as the costal route and the Archbishop of Canterbury encourages the modern Pilgrims to follow the costal line to Wissant. It is a great opportunity for the hiker to discover the White or golden beaches that stretch for at least 12 km between Cap Blanc-Nez and Cap Gris-Nez on the North of France.

The route at our right is fringed with dunes, green grass and blue thistles. At the same time to our left we can delight our eyes by seeing the beauty of small mountains and fields that show yellows, whites and green colour.

By taking the historic route we did increase the length of our hike by many kilometres however we were rewarded by the beauty of the coast and magnificence of the fields.

After we left Calais and walked for 10 to 12 km we arrived at Sangatte a very picturesque village that offers the visitors delicious French sea food specialities but of course a bit pricey for Pilgrims. We stopped and had soup around lunchtime because it was very cold even though the sun was shining the wind from the sea was icy. After this stop we continued our journey refreshed.

We came across a few farms that had herds of almost white cows enjoying luscious green grass, blue sky and warm sun. We stopped for a while to enjoy this view and in the distance saw a line of cows walking in orderly “Indian file” that was something!!

This route was rewarding and peaceful.

Unlike the morning hiking after Sangatte many people were walking around specially when we reached “Dover Patrol” after crossing the Mont d’Hubert.

The village of Cran d’Escalles and the Blac Nez attracts many day walkers.

We finally arrived to Wissant after walking approx 13 km from Sangatte. The golden sand beach of Wissant was quite extensive and the sea was calm and shimmering under the late afternoon sun.

There was a young man wind-surfing. This was spectacular it gave a new dimension to our arrival.

Wissant was a lovely village of picturesque houses adorned by gardens covered by multicolour pansiesand tulips.

We stopped for the night in this village and we started our journey not so early next morning after visiting the tourist information centre where we collected information about the route to Guines.