Discovery of the river AA
On the site of the Confosse mill you will find a bubbling river protected by the nature reserve. Bordered by black alders, tadpole willows and poplars, the banks of the Aa are also host to some lovely flowers (mimulus and marsh cornflower), birds (moorhens, grey wagtails, kingfishers), dragonflies, musk rats, brown frogs, etc. Last but not least you can see the weir, with adjustable gates that allow water to be stored for use by the mill wheel.

BY ROWING BOAT IN THE MARSHES
You can take walk number 3 in this guide and discover a river route running from the marsh cottage to the Romelaere reserve. Enjoy this chance to drift on the water, where you may well see a grey heron, or reeds and marsh irises which give a splash of colour to the canal banks. You will see green carpets of duckweed or reddish ones of “azolla filiculoide”, a water fern from America. Cauliflowers and chicory are emblems of the marshland market gardens.

GRAND CAMP DE COEURLU
Discover the Béquin valley where toads and frogs bring ponds alive, Boulonnais carthorses graze in the pastures... hawthorn, dogwood, spindle, holly and many other shrubby hedges are the sparrows’ delight. Then you will come across fields of orchids, that typical flora of the Boulonnais chalk hillsides.

LE PLATEAU DES LANDES
The plateau des Landes to the south of Saint-Omer has unusually hilly scenery, with ponds beside a mass of woods, hedges, fields and enclosures, rare for this part of northern France.

the romelaere ponds
Right at the heart of the Audomarois marshland lies the Romelaere nature reserve. Ponds, ditches, fields and rose beds occupy this old peat bog. Nature here, is simultaneously wild and tame.