The trou à l’homme et falaises of Etretat !!!

Posted in Europe, France

Moving about in my road warrior mode I have come into more pictures in my cd rom vault that should be in my blog for you and me, This had mentioned in other post ,do see the beautiful cliffs of Etretat, Étretat is located in the Seine-Maritime department 76 in the Normandie region of my belle France. It is 16 km from Fécamp ,48 km from Saint-Valery-en-Caux, 45 km from Honfleur, 197 km from Versailles, and 424 km from my current home,We arrive by the D940 and parked at parking Place de Gaulle for free ! Therefore, here is my take on the trou à l’homme et falaises of Etretat !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.

Etretat falaises afar

The trou à l’homme or hole in man is a cave dug under the famous cliff of Etretat. Originally, it was closed but, in the 19C, a mayor of the town had the idea of ​​opening it to allow walkers stuck on the beach of Jambourg, just behind the cliff, to be able to return to Etretat by the rock. The problem was/is that walkers who took the cave generally forget, that in Normandy, there is a tide and that it is strong. And so, every week, passers -by, sometimes by dozen, find themselves trapped under the cliff and, if they say they feel in danger, the law provides for the obligation to help them. The hole in man causes at least one intervention per week, sometimes several per day and the bill is heavy for the taxpayer since the firefighters, zodiac and the Dragon 76 helicopter are engaged. Last I read, the firefighters rescued 19 tourists trapped by the tide in the famous man hole in Étretat, Never learn, do not go when high tides are coming or there,, check the tides on the town This is it. The official tides of France on Etretat : https://maree.info/17

Etretat trou à l'homme au-dessus, à côté de l'arche

The solution thought to avoid this emergencies was to the reconstruction of the valleuse. This staircase which climbs in the cliff was maintained in the 19-20C by the locals who stopped using it ,which made the valleuse disappear. Now temporarily, the town ask those trap to wait, set up a security system. A person is sent from the rescue post to the hole to the man an hour before the tide to alert the walkers,

Etretat plage et arch falaise

A bit of history/anecdote tell us that the name came when a magnificent Swedish sailboat would have wreck on the rocks off the coast of Etretat in 1792, because of a terrible storm which lasted 24 hours , The sailors succumbed to this wreck, All, except a sailor ; this survivor was found spread out exactly at the current place from the hole to man, a fisherman would have seen the unconscious victim and would have saved him. Hence the name of a trou à l’homme or hole to man.

Of course, no web on this the info comes from local newspapers, but will leave with the famous falaises or cliffs of Etretat a must to see indeed.

The local Le Havre-Etretat tourist office on the cliffs of Etretat : https://www.lehavre-etretat-tourisme.com/en/discover/the-essentials/discover-etretat/the-cliffs-of-etretat/

The Seine Maritime dept 76 tourist office on the cliffs of Etretat : https://www.seine-maritime-tourisme.com/en/i-visit/10-key-places/etretat/on-the-clifftop.php

The Normandy region tourist office on the cliff of Etretat activities : https://en.normandie-tourisme.fr/stand-up-paddle-adventure-in-etretat/

There you go folks, a lovely setting indeed , and gorgeous views with plenty of beach activities around. The City was a nice find and we like it will be back eventually. An unique piece of architecture of old and new. Again, hope you enjoy this post on the trou à l’homme et falaises of Etretat !!! as I.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

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Published by pedmar10

I am a lover of travels to Europe , Americas , Africa and Asia as well ,who like to share my experiences of the last 53 years with the world, visiting so far 81 countries; living in 6, working in 5, and Citizen of 4, speaking fluently 4 languages. I can deal with sports especially football/soccer and love music, arts, wine collector/drinker, and go out to restaurants, and just visit the world. My background comes all the way from Candelaria and Pajara in Tenerife, Spain where my grandparents came from ;not knowing each other then, to Punta Brava, west of Havana, Cuba. There , my parents born in Cuba met and later on I was born there too. 100% guanche (annexed Tenerife to Spain on April 10 ,1496). I left Cuba as many have to Madrid, Spain where I lived for 4 years. Then, move to Perth Amboy ,New Jersey USA (living there 13 yrs) ; where I completed high school, became a US Citizen, learned to drive a car, and learned English. Afterward, went to the university in Florida, ERAU, and upon graduation decided to moved there to Ormond by the Sea, near Daytona Beach, finally moving North Miami, then Hialeah, then another moved to Silver Lakes division in Miramar, Broward county, Florida; in Florida I lived a total of 18 years. Finally , moved to France in 2003 ,Versailles call me for its royalty, and working in Paris was great. It was time to seek frontiers again and moved to Brech near Auray, Morbihan in Brittany , and later move to not too far Pluvigner. Total so far in France has been 20 years, and counting. Moving average a home every 5.5 years hopefully this will be my last. Cheers All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the written permission of the copyright holder, me. No part of this work may be modified, without the written permission of the holder, me.No part of this work may be exposed to public view in any form or by any means, without identifying the holder as the author, and with the before mentioned permission.

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