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VISIT TO le trEport

2/9/2013

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We visited Le Treport on 10 August 2013 and had a very enjoyable afternoon walking around the town and using the tramway to visit the cliff tops.

The town is located on the left bank of the River Bresle which is the boundary between Normandy and Picardy. In the Gallo-Roman times a city called Augusta was built on the Bresle, this had two ports, one river port in Augum (Eu) and a sea "outer" port, Ulterior Portus, which later became Le Tréport.

The town was attacked and burnt by the English in 1339 and in 1360 a terrible storm flooded the town. The English attacked the town in 1513 and again in 1545. Because of the raids a large sandstone tower was built to protect the town, the only remains of this tower are apparently underground in the vaults of the town hall. At this time the size of the port was also increased by the opening of a basin and the construction of new wharfs, unfortunately the basin quickly filled up with shingle.

Around 1770 the shingle was removed and a hunting lock constructed, this was completed about 1776 and allowed the regulation of the water level in the marshy areas used for water fowl hunting.

In the middle of the 19th century, King Louis-Philippe increased the popularity of Le Tréport by building a villa where he received Queen Victoria in 1843 and 1845. As Le Tréport was the King's preferred holiday resort the popularity of the town increased resulting in the construction of many new buildings including hotels.
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Photograph of part of the marina and fishing vessel berths.
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General Cargo Ship Sardius (IMO 9518256, GT 3477, 2011) in the inner harbor.

Tréport is one of the leading French ports in both the export and import of fertilizers and clays, handling about 100 shipping movements and more than 280,000 tons of merchandise a year.
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Tourist boat Eros waiting to take another group out along the coast to view the ecology of the cliffs and shingle beaches.
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Electric tramway running up to the top of the cliffs. This was originally constructed as a funicular railway linking the town with the top of the cliff and the prestigious Le Trianon Hotel. 

Work started in 1907 and was finished 18 months later. The line was inaugurated on 1 July 1908 by the Count and Countess of Eu. The first carriages carried 48 passengers a time and weighed 6 tons each.

As the railway was only used during the summer months and was expensive to run services stopped after World War Two.

At the end of the 1950's instead of a funicular railway a single lined aerial cable car equipped with 10 two-seater gondolas was introduced, this was closed in the 1970's. 

In 1992 the town bought the site and changed the system to an electric tramway.
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View of the coast from the top of the cliffs above the town. 

The lighthouse and entrance to the harbour are just visible. 

Close to this point was the luxorious Hôtel Trianon which was built on the cliff top over looking the town. This which was used as a British military hospital during the First World War but destroyed by the German Army in 1942 as it represented a landmark for Allied pilots crossing the channel. All that remains of the hotel today are a few steps.
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St. Jacques Church which sits overlooking the town, it dates back to 1362.
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    My interest in ships and the sea started back in 2006 when I worked for a couple of years  on the banks of the River Mersey. I have since been on a couple of cruises around the Med and in the Far East and have started to take more interest in researching and photographing some of the ships and other vessels seen on my travels.

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