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Twin Town Challenge 2022 Witney Le Touquet

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Twin Town Challenge 2020

What is the Twin Town Challenge?

29th April – 2nd May 2022

Established in 2014, the Twin Town Challenge takes place every two years. To date the event has raised over £850,000 for Special Effect. The delayed Twin Town 2022 is the final event and they hope to take the fundraising total to over £1m! for SpecialEffect.

Twin towns Witney – Le Touquet, 100 cars, 1 amazing weekend. The Twin Town Challenge is a fun, team-based car challenge. Buy a £500 banger, add your own style and drive it from Oxfordshire to Le Touquet, France, competing in challenges along the way. All to raise money for technology charity SpecialEffect.

What is the Twin Town Challenge?
At its simplest, the Twin Town Challenge is a fun charity car rally. Teams buy a £500 banger and pimp their ride however they like. Then over Spring Bank Holiday weekend they take an epic road trip.

Twin Town Set Off Blenheim

The route goes from Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire to Witney’s twin town, Le Touquet in northern France. Along the way you’ll take on challenges and the occasional lap of a circuit. The event is in aid of SpecialEffect – a charity focused on improving the lives of the physically disabled.

They arrange a series of fun events and challenges before the main event to help you get in the spirit and meet your fellow Twin Towners. These will see you rubbing shoulders with celebrities, stoking team rivalries and having great fun.

The big jamboree is in Le Touquet itself, where our French compatriots throw a street party extravagaza. Expect live bands, fine French food and flowing drinks to help you toast your successful trip!

On the return to Merry England, afternoon tea and an awards ceremony round off a fantastic, fun weekend. All in aid of a great cause.

Accommodation

If you are planning on attending the event and you need some accommodation in Le Touquet then please take a look at our website. We  still have availability for this weekend.

Book Now
Twin Town Challenge Le Touquet

Donate

The Twin Town Challenge exists to support the fantastic work of SpecialEffect. They use technology to bring joy and fulfilment to the lives of physically disabled people. If you can’t take part in the Twin Town Challenge you can do your bit by donating. All money raised goes directly to SpecialEffect so please donate what you can today to help SpecialEffect improve more lives.

Every penny you donate will go directly to SpecialEffect. This helps them to provide one-to-one support that enables disabled people to work, play and lead more fulfilling lives through the use of technology.

Your donation will help to pay for occupational therapists, who take the time to understand each person’s needs. They then create customised controllers that can take the smallest movements from any part of the body and use this to control games, programs and other technology.

Donate

Text and images Twin Town

V2 Rocket Launch Sites near Le Touquet

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V1 Doodlebug Rocket

La Coupole Helfaut-Wizernes

An original V2 rocket donated by the US to the Coupole museum.
Original V2 Rocket at La Coupole

V2 Rocket Launch Sites, A Hidden History of Pas-de-Calais.

 The Pas-de-Calais department is rich in history, particularly WW1 and WW2 history, due to the heavy presence of occupying Germans in both conflicts. The WW1 sites are famous, but the French state has also turned the remains of several WW2 sites into historic destinations. In particular, it’s restored the bunkers built as V2 rocket launch sites aimed at England in 1944.   

Barely more than an hour’s drive from Le Touquet, you can visit two fascinating WW2 places in one day.  Both belong to the history of  V2 rockets, the first missiles ever launched. After the war,  Wernher von Braun’s genius but deadly invention became the early rocket technology of the US space program. Most of the V2s that caused so much death and damage in England in September 1944 launched from the Netherlands. However,  the Pas-de-Calais was an experimental and practical site of the V2 rocket programme.

La Coupole: a Megalith for V2s Rocket Launches.

An exterior view of the V2 rocket launch site, the bunker dome at Wizernes, known as La Coupole museum
Exterior View of La Coupole
La Coupole is a spectacular place. Squatting the hills near Saint-Omer, it’s a massive dome that hides an underground bunker made up of large rooms and tunnels that any James Bond villain would enjoy.  Its purpose was deadly: but its construction had been too. Hundreds of slave labourers were used to build what was conceived as one of the main V2 rocket launch sites. In the event, the Germans abandoned the bunker after the Allies bombed it in the summer of 1944,  and it was never used for its purpose.
 

Nowadays, La Coupole is one of the most ambitious museums in Northern France. This giant concrete dome showcases the scientific and military history of the V2 rockets and a 3D Planetarium about the space age. It also serves as the regional memorial to the victims of Nazi Occupation in France.

A centre to educate and entertain, La Coupole offers several exciting exhibits. It also serves to show documentary films about the Second World War and put on temporary exhibitions.  One such is running until the end of June 2019 – British Aviation in the Skies of Northern France, 1943-1944.  

Attractions

By far the greatest draw are the V2 rockets circuit and exhibits and the Planetarium. Charting the development of V2 rockets from von Braun’s design board up to the end of the war, the V2 circuit explains and demonstrates early rocket technology. It also explores the historical use of V2s against London and other cities.

The Planetarium screens a 3D show three times a day and picks up where the circuit leaves off, taking the audience from the V2 rockets to the moon landings. To achieve full impact, it is experiential rather than documentary methods, so that you are launched into the exploration of space in 3D, with film, sound and light effects.

 

Le Blockaus at Eperlecques: hi-tech war in the forest

Bunker at Eperlecques, known as Le Blockaus - V1 and V2 rocket launch site in Pas-de-Calais.
Blockhaus at Eperlecques
Less than half-an-hour from La Coupole, across the Parc Naturel Régional des Caps et Marais d’Opale, is the foreboding concrete block known as Le Blockhaus,  a German word meaning ‘bunker’. Using slave labour, the Germans built the bunker as a launch site for the V1 flying bomb (also known as the Doodlebug), and for the V2 rockets. They abandoned its original purpose after aerial bombardments in the summer of 1944, and converted it into a liquid oxygen factory. 
 
While less sophisticated than the nearby V2 rocket launch site museum at Wizernes, the Blockhaus demonstrates the reality of the V1 and V2 programme in its harsh reality. 
  
V1 Doodlebug Rocket

Practical details for your V2 launch sites visits.

La Coupole-Wizernes site diagram by the Allies in September 1944.
Allied diagram of the V2 bunker at Wizernes

Directions

  • To La Coupole, Wizernes by car from Le Touquet: via the A16 and the N42 roads. 
  • From La Coupole to Eperlecques Blockhaus by car: via the D943 road. 
  • There is a train from Le Touquet (Etaples) to Saint-Omer, and a shuttle called Moveo from Saint-Omer to La Coupole. 
  • Length of visit: La Coupole history museum average length of visit: 2.5 hours. 
  • Open daily from 9AM to 6PM, and in July and August, from 10AM to 7PM. Closed at Christmas and New Year, and every year between the 7th and the 20th of January. 
  • 3D Planetarium: 3 sessions a day, consisting of a 15 minutes introduction and 30 minutes show. Shows available in English via audio sets. 
  • Blockhaus at Eperlecques: 45 minutes approximately. The area near the bunker is also popular for picnics. 
  • Facilities at La Coupole: audio sets, shop and café, and a free picnic area. 
  • Accessibility: both La Coupole and the Blockhaus d’Eperlecques are accessible to wheelchairs. 
Rocket Storage tunnel in La Coupole bunker at Wizernes, Pas-de-Calais
Ida tunnel at La Coupole, Wizernes

If you find the subject of V1 and V2 fascinating then why not give the 1965 movie “Operation Crossbow” ago. It has a big star cast including Sophia Loren, George Peppard, Trevor Howard. It features the methods used to destroy Hitler’s revenge weapons.

International Kite Festival at Berck-sur-Mer

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Kite Festival Berck sur mer

Kite Festival Berck sur mer

The International Kite Festival has taken place in Berck-sur-Mer for over 25 years. Next year’s 35th  RICV event hopefully will take place in April 2021. The dates are still to be announced due to Covid 19 restrictions.
Over the years it has become an event not to be missed on the Côte d’Opale. For 8 days in wind and sea enthusiasts, athletes or thrill-seekers can admire many giant kites, each with its own unique design. 
Due to the numerous visitors during the festival days and the high demand for accommodation it is recommended to check availability and book rooms well in advance.

A Family Activity Day Out

Almost 700,000 spectators come to the vast Berck-sur-Mer beach to marvel the world’s best kite-makers’ new creations.  Open to everyone, there is entertainment for all ages. Children can learn how to make and fly kites in a safe environment. Marine life, astonishing flying creatures, giant octopuses, even memorable cartoon characters drift across the sky. A colourful festival where you have your feet in the sand and your head in the sky. 

Every Spring, the skies above the beach of Berck-sur-Mer explode with colour. Kites line up in well orchestrated displays for the crowds.  Berck-sur-Mer is pretty seaside town 40 minutes from Calais. Is is also a short 25 mins drive from our holiday rental accommodation in Le Touquet. The Kite Festival takes place on the beautiful sandy beach, its a great thing to do for all members of the family young and old. If you can’t make it to the event then why not peek at the Live Webcam on the beach.

Things to See

One of the favourite things to see at the Berck sur Mer kite festival are the flying battles between experts. International teams from all over the world come to take part in this colourful spectacular. On the last evening there is a night time flying display backed up with a firework show. There are many stalls at the event with Kites from many countries. Learn the history of kites or feast on the explosion of colour.
 
There are fantastic activities for kids. You not only make kites but get to have a go at flying some of the more exotic designs yourself.  .  For more information about the event visit the organisers website.
Kites Berck Plage

Le Touquet is a great base for visiting the Kite Festival and local attractions. Go swimming in the Aqualud, visit the Aquarium in Boulogne (Nausica)  try some Sand yachting in Le Touquet, visit the maze at Laby’Parc.

Berck sur Mer Kite Festival Accommodation

If you are coming to the kite festival we currently have plenty of accommodation in Le Touquet just 25 minutes drive away.

Visiting a Brocante or Flea Market

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Le Touquet Flea Market

Visiting a Brocante or Flea Market can be the hi-light of any trip to Le Touquet and the Pas de Calais area. The street markets are great places to pick up a bargain or find that rare collectable. Visiting a brocante will give you a unique insight into French culture and can be an exciting way to spend a few hours.

There are around 15,000 Brocantes or “vide-greniers” (literally “emptying the attics”) that take place in communities across France.

In Le Touquet there is a regular Flea Market that takes place most Sundays in the covered market area of the town

Le Touquet Flea Market Dates 2019

Sunday, August 11
Sunday, September 8
Sunday, October 13
Sunday, November 10
Sunday, December 15 

If you prefer a more general market then there is a weekly market in Le Touquet  This offers all general goods plus some amazingly fresh fish and locally grown  produce. General Market

There are also many more Brocante’s in the surrounding towns such as Merlimont, Stella Plage, Cucqu, Etaples and Berck. There is even a specialist flea market for the children in Berck on the 23rd  August  2019.
Place de l’Funnel 
62600 Berck

Le-Touquet-Brocante-Childrens-Toys

Merlimont Brocante:

Beach Flee Market.
Sunday 18 August 2019, flea market on Beach avenue.

Cucq Brocante

15th August – 35th Cucq Brocante.
Flea market of Cucq
Sports Avenue and Town Hall Square.

Stella-Plage Brocante

Flea market August 24th. 14h-20h Boulevard Labrasse Stration

Etaples Brocante

Flea market at the gare or station. This is personal favorite of mine as it tends to have more variety and is generally less expensive than Le Touquet.
Etaples-sur-Mer 
train station Place de la Gare 
62630 Etaples

From July 26, 2019 to September 25, 2019

If you are planning on visiting a brocante or flea market then keep up to date with all the latest news on Antique Fairs, Brocantes and Street markets by visiting  www.vide-greniers.org  

What Shall we do in Le Touquet Today

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Le Touquet Map

Le Touquet Map

Its tricky keeping the family balance whilst you are on holiday. If you have exhausted all of your ideas of where to go and what to do, then why not take a look at our recommendations on our custom Le Touquet Map. There are lots of choices from theme parks, activity days and great restaurants. Go and explore the fascinating Nord Pas de Calais region of France.

http://bit.ly/2kattractions

Twin Town Challenge 2020 Witney Le Touquet

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Twin Town Challenge 2020

What is the Twin Town Challenge?

SPRING BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND  2020

Established in 2014, the Twin Town Challenge takes place every two years. To date the event has raised over £850,000 for Special Effect. Twin Town 2020 is the final event and they hope to take the fundraising total to over £1m! for SpecialEffect.

Twin towns Witney – Le Touquet, 100 cars, 1 amazing weekend. The Twin Town Challenge is a fun, team-based car challenge. Buy a £500 banger, add your own style and drive it from Oxfordshire to Le Touquet, France, competing in challenges along the way. All to raise money for technology charity SpecialEffect.

What is the Twin Town Challenge?
At its simplest, the Twin Town Challenge is a fun charity car rally. Teams buy a £500 banger and pimp their ride however they like. Then over Spring Bank Holiday weekend they take an epic road trip.

Twin Town Set Off Blenheim

The route goes from Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire to Witney’s twin town, Le Touquet in northern France. Along the way you’ll take on challenges and the occasional lap of a circuit. The event is in aid of SpecialEffect – a charity focused on improving the lives of the physically disabled.

They arrange a series of fun events and challenges before the main event to help you get in the spirit and meet your fellow Twin Towners. These will see you rubbing shoulders with celebrities, stoking team rivalries and having great fun.

The big jamboree is in Le Touquet itself, where our French compatriots throw a street party extravagaza. Expect live bands, fine French food and flowing drinks to help you toast your successful trip!

On the return to Merry England, afternoon tea and an awards ceremony round off a fantastic, fun weekend. All in aid of a great cause.

Accommodation

If you are planning on attending the event and you need some accommodation in Le Touquet then please take a look at our website. We  still have availability for this weekend.

Book Now
Twin Town Challenge Le Touquet

Donate

The Twin Town Challenge exists to support the fantastic work of SpecialEffect. They use technology to bring joy and fulfilment to the lives of physically disabled people. If you can’t take part in the Twin Town Challenge you can do your bit by donating. All money raised goes directly to SpecialEffect so please donate what you can today to help SpecialEffect improve more lives.

Every penny you donate will go directly to SpecialEffect. This helps them to provide one-to-one support that enables disabled people to work, play and lead more fulfilling lives through the use of technology.

Your donation will help to pay for occupational therapists, who take the time to understand each person’s needs. They then create customised controllers that can take the smallest movements from any part of the body and use this to control games, programs and other technology.

Donate

Text and images Twin Town

The Battle of the Somme Guided Day Tour from Arras

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Day Trip to the Somme

Discover the trenches and terrible story of World War I’s Battle of the Somme on a full-day battlefield trip from Arras with an expert guide.

Just  90 minute from Le Touquet to the town of Arras. This is a fascinating day out for all.

Travelling to key battle sites and memorials by minivan, learn about the planning, execution and human cost of the infamous 1916 Western Front campaign. Visit must-sees including Pozieres Ridge and the Beaumont Hamel trenches; pay homage at Thiepval and other memorials; hear soldiers’ individual stories; and explore the grim events further at the Thiepval visitor centre.

Numbers are limited to eight for a small-group experience, and lunch, entry fees, and round-trip transport from Arras train station are included.

Full-day Battle of Somme battlefield tour from Arras, with air-conditioned transport and lunch

Explore the key sites of the World War I attritional campaign of 1916 Walk in the footsteps of soldiers at Beaumont Hamel’s trenches, Pozieres Bridge and Schwaben Redoubt Pause at the Thiepval Memorial and learn the in-depth story of the campaign at the Visitor Center Visit other pivotal sites and monuments, including the Australian Memorial and Lochnagar Mine Crater Hear the stories of soldiers and the main Somme offensives from a knowledgeable guide Small-group tour with a maximum of eight people for a more personalised atmosphere

Read more about Somme WWI Battlefield Day Tour from Arras.

From £114

Find out More….

Included.

  • Pickup and drop-off in central Arras
  • Transport by air-conditioned minivan
  • Guide
  • Entry/Admission – Franco-Australien Museum
  • Entry/Admission – Historial de la Grande Guerre – Musee de Thiepval

Find out more…

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More ww1 sites.

Unique Le Touquet Flight

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Flight Le Touquet

Overview

Join a pilot on a unique flight and share the cost with him. A great way to discover the beautiful landscapes of this this charming region aboard a private plane. Your Wingly pilot will happily share with you their passion for flying and take you on an unforgettable trip around Le Touquet, providing stunning views of the Baie de Somme and Tréport’s cliffs. Please note that the flight schedule is subject to changes depending on the pilot’s availability. Wingly is a Flight Sharing platform. This is not a commercial flight but a private flight operated under the European cost sharing rule (EASA). Insurance is provided by Allianz on each flight. 

What To Expect.

Typical itinerary.

Pass By: Le Touquet Beach
Pass By: Baie de Somme (Somme Bay)
Pass By: Les Phoques de la Baie d’Authie, Berck, 
Return to departure point.

Duration approximately 1 Hour

Prices from £135.99

To find out visit. Fly Le Touquet

Find Out More

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