The beautiful town of Wimereux is visited by thousands of tourists each year and offers some of the best coastal walks in the region.
Just to the north of Boulogne-sur-Mer, this area also boasts a large collection of WW2 German strongpoints including this site known as Stp211 Ibis (many of the strongpoints are named after birds here).
Ibis was an extensive, cliff top site consisting of many bunkers but now is at the mercy of the elements and cliff erosion.
A major cliff collapse at Pointe de La Rochette in early 2022 saw Ibis’ R612 casemate for a 7.5cm assault gun slide from its high vantage point down towards the sea and it now rests near to the two other large builds at the site – a second R612 casemate and a special construction observation post and Wellblech personnel shelter.
All three once had a commanding view over the coastline here, the R612s facing both north and south from this point on the cliffs to be able to fire along the wide stretch of sand in front of them.
The Wellblech and Observation post looks unusual as you get closer to it as it’s upside down on the rocks and a look inside the partially jammed open door reveals the arched corrugated sheeting used for the roof is now the floor.
Warning - all three constructions are difficult to get to and are best avoided for safety, the rocks are dangerous and the thick clay mud from the cliffs is slippery when wet.