Mers-les-Bains and Le Tréport

Mers-les-Bains was listed in Mom’s family history book as the probable location of the Demers ancestors – originally named Du Met, Dumet, Demet… We know that the three sons (Etienne, André and Jean – our ancestor) and their dad (another Jean) traveled from Dieppe to New France (Québec) in the 1640’s. I think they all settled in Québec but I’m not sure if the Dad eventually went back to France. It doesn’t say in the history book where he was buried, while the boys are listed as being buried in Québec.

While I was in Dieppe I saw from a distance the cliffs leading toward Mers-les-Bains and Le Tréport and knew I would come back. This weekend promised to be nice weather so it was a perfect opportunity.

Even though the towns are close to Dieppe, getting there by train is more complicated. I took a train north from Rouen toward Lille and then changed trains at Albancourt to go west again. Mers-les-Bains and Le Tréport are two small towns separated by the Bresle river. You would think them to be the same town, but Le Tréport is on the Normandy side of the river while Mers-les-Bains is technically in Picardy, the next region over.

The train stops on the Mers-les-Bains side of the river. I asked at the station if there was a tourist office in town and one of the locals gave me directions to Le Tréport. It looks to be more of the business hub for the area.

Finding my way to the bureau I stopped to watch some small boats go through the locks between the sea and the harbour leading to the River Bresle.

 After the lock was closed, everyone did their best to keep the boats from colliding or scraping the sides of the lock as the water level dropped.

It was also a time to talk to your neighbor..."How's the fishing in these parts?"

But soon, the gates open on the other side, and everyone is heading out to sea.

The River Bresle empties into the English Channel (called La Manche in France – I never thought of the channel being anything but the English Channel but it’s as much French as English. Makes me wonder who gets to name things.)

It looks like this is a very active port. I saw these fishing boats and thought of all the trips Dad and I took along the BC coast.

These boats were moored inside the harbour, while these were on the other side of the lock at low tide.

When I arrived the fish market was up and running. There were various vendors selling their fresh catch. I decided to try some of the langoustine freshly cooked.

They tasted good, but could have been cleaned better. The shells were a little gritty underneath.  The meat was mild like crab. Afterward I passed near a restaurant in Le Tréport that I had seen written up in reviews and decided to have a proper lunch.

Le Grain du Sel (A grain of salt) was a very good choice. Mussels with fries and for desert I tried the apple gratin. It was thick apple slices sauted in butter and then baked in a light custard infused with vanilla and calvados (an apple liqueur). So good.

These two seaside resorts are very popular holiday destinations for people living in Paris. There is a direct train from Paris to Mers-les-Bains. There was a new casino across from the restaurant.

And some of the seaside holiday homes on the Mers-les-Bains side were very quaint.

Some reminded me of small chalets. I noticed all the white beach huts. Some even had names like “The Two Bears”.

There was a family in front of one.

It seems that many of these are owned and have been passed down from generation to generation. They appeared first in the 1800’s as more city folk came to the beach for holidays. Women needed a place to change. Now they are used for changing as well as storing beach equipment. Sometimes people can rent them out for a season, but it appears there is a long waiting list for one. If you want to buy one, they are not cheap. I looked up beach huts and found some for sale in England for about $40,000.00 Canadian. No kidding. For a shed. From what I read, they were very reasonably priced at one point but more recently the prices have gone through the roof (like most things). And most are lease-hold property meaning that families also pay an ongoing fee to the municipality for use of the land the hut sits on.

Another option these days is renting/owning an RV (called a camping car in France). I spotted an RV campsite at the top of the cliffs. This one might have been overflow camping.

The one adjacent to it had a little more grass so it must have been the deluxe version.  I also spotted a picnic table or two. While I can't imagine being so close to my neighbor for my holidays...

...the view was great.

This place is hopping during the summer. This time of year it is a lot quieter, but there were still people fishing on the beach or the wharf.

The cliff are quite spectacular. I saw holes carved into some of them. Perhaps they were used for storage.

There is also a tram going from the beach to the top of the cliffs. It was put in place several years ago and is well used.

 I found the view quite impressive.

But there were still those who preferred the stairs.

And with all the places I’ve visited so far, you can’t go far in this region without coming across something that told the story of what took place by one of the world wars. Here, there was a picture of how this region was affected by the Second World War.

The Atlantic Wall was the defense strategy put in place by the Nazi army to guard itself from the Allied troops. They had all kinds of traps in the sea to disable any boats. I found a picture from the internet on what it looked like.

Walking through the town, I found some very interesting homes. Some were similar to what I've seen elsewhere. Here is one that is so thin, I’m not sure where they put the bed.

I’m very glad that I had the opportunity to visit these two places. I visited the cemetery to see if I could find any names I recognized: Du Met, Dumay, Dumet…, but no luck. I also didn’t see any Lacombe’s either (the family name of Jean Du Met’s first wife, Miotte). One of the curious things about the graveyard was that there were no graves dated earlier than the 1800’s. I did some research and the most probable reason is that graves were reused. Some of the graves I saw had multiple names on them, more like a family plot used for subsequent generations. One internet site I found, for example, said that one can buy a grave plot in Paris for 10, 20 or 50 years – and there are criteria for being able to purchase one. It seems that after a certain number of years the bones are gathered and the graves resold. Seems a little bizarre to me, but what do you when when there is no more space for burial plots?

The closest I’ve come to finding the original Demers family is the plaque at St. Jacques church in Dieppe placed there by the Québec side of the Demers family. While there is a St. Jacques church in Le Tréport as well, build from the 14^th century on (1500’s), there is no indication of the name Demers or any of its variations.

Inside the church it is clear this is a sea-side congregation. There were fishing nets hanging between the pillars as well.

This has been quite an interesting journey trying to find traces of family history. I have experienced for myself the many links between France and Canada, family ties here and at home. Now if I could just learn the language :-). My DELF (French language) exam in next week. Wish me luck! I'll be flying high like these two if I pass!