Hatainville Dunes

Natural heritage, 

LES MOITIERS-D'ALLONNE

Dunes d’Hatainville – Les Moitiers d’Allonne
© CDT Manche/Stanislas Fautré

Between the headlands of Carteret and Rozel, the heavy Hatainville Dunes rise to over 250 feet, covering ancient cliffs of 70000 years ago in a blanket of sand. Local vegetation is a mosaic of species, greatly influenced by the salty spray of the sea, the wind and occasional inundations of fresh water. Many rare plants lend the dunes their delicate colours as the seasons pass: the blue of sea lyme-grass, the yellow and brown of the spider orchid, the mauve of Breckland wild thyme and the bright pink of the pyramidal orchid.