La Planquette-Hideaway

Local adventures could include sampling the goat’s cheese at Chèvrerie de la Planquette, or meandering around the madcap art installations and tree-shaded avenues of the Ô Jardin Paisible (both five minutes’ walk). Also accessible on foot are the fishing ponds at Les Etangs de Fressin (40 minutes' walk – or drive it in five minutes). Recharge batteries with a wander around Fressin (20 minutes’ walk) on the side of the Planquette River; check out the stone sculptures in the 15th-century church of Saint-Martin or attend an open-air concert among the photogenic ruins of the town’s château. Neighbouring Hesdin (15 minutes’ drive) sits on the Canche and Ternoise rivers and is something of a mini Bruges with cobbled squares, gabled mansions and UNESCO-listed Belfry; it recently received the accolade of France’s most beautiful marketplace. If it’s the Opal Coast beaches that beckon, you can be in elegant Le Touquet in around 45 minutes by car. Once there, go sand yachting on the long sandy expanse, play a round on the challenging golf course or go shopping in the high-end boutiques of Rue Saint-Jean and before dining in a Rue de Metz bistro. A little further south, wildlife lovers head for the Baie d’Authie (45 minutes) to spot harbour seals basking on the sand, while kitesurfers make for the beaches around Berck (40 minutes).