Mtb Rider on the opal coast by Nicola Mathu

Beautiful MTB tour along the Opal Coast, between Cap Blanc Nez and Cap Griz Nez.

The Opal Coast (French: Côte d'Opale) is a coastal strip in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It comprises part of the coastline along The Channel, from Dunkirk to Berck at the mouth of the Authie. The French coastal strip on the North Sea, between the Belgian border at Bray-Dunes and Dunkirk, is called Côte des Dunes de Flandre (Coast of the Flemish Dunes) and is the French part of the Flemish coast (Côte de Flandre and Côte flamand). The name Opal Coast was first used in 1911 by the painter Édouard Lévêque: "Is there anything in nature that possesses this variety of changing colours? Yes, that is opal, the precious gemstone that time and again produces that series of bursts of red and green. Henceforth, in addition to the Côte d'Azur, the Côte d'Émeraude and the Côte d'Argent, we can also add the Côte d'Opale, our Opal Coast!"[1] The character of the coast changes the further west one goes. While the North Sea coast near Dunkirk (French Westhoek) is fairly flat with a modest strip of dunes, the extreme north-western tip along the Strait of Dover at Cap Blanc-Nez and Cap Gris-Nez is characterised by chalk cliffs rising high above the sea. On top of Cap Blanc-Nez stands the Obelisk of Cap Blanc-Nez. Culturally and historically, the area is very recognisable: in the early Middle Ages, Germanic dialects were still spoken all along the coastline. Many place names therefore have a Lower Franconian or Flemish origin and resemble those found in Flanders. Over the centuries, the language border has moved further and further eastwards. At the beginning of the 21st century, only Franco-Flemish dialects are still spoken in the French Westhoek.