Parc de la Bouvaque, Municipal park in the northern outskirts of Abbeville, France
Parc de la Bouvaque is a municipal park in Abbeville with two large ponds set within a forest and wetland landscape spanning several dozen hectares. Pathways loop around the water features and various viewpoints are scattered throughout the grounds.
The name La Bouvaque comes from the Latin bos (ox) and vacca (cow, vaque in Picard), because farmers brought cattle to graze in these marshes. The park now lies in the northern suburbs of La Bouvaque and Thuison, in the Scardon valley, and its ponds include the former settling basins of the Béghin-Say sugar factory.
The park's name comes from the Picard word for cow, vaque, and the Latin bos for ox: farmers once brought cattle to graze in these marshes. Since 2018 it has hosted "Coup d'œil entre deux eaux", observation platforms on stilts by the Art & jardins – Hauts-de-France association, designed by the Atelier L. J. N. collective of landscape architects Stanislas Bah Chuzeville, Richard Mariotte and Arnaud Mermet-Gerlat.
The park lies in the Scardon valley north of Abbeville, in the La Bouvaque and Thuison suburbs. A waymarked trail of about 3 km runs around the whole perimeter, passing the La Bouvaque and Prés Collart ponds. Guided tours are offered on a published schedule, and fishing is permitted.
The park's blue springs owe their colour to chalky white beds that absorb part of the sunlight, leaving the blue wavelengths in the upper water. Since 2018 the park has hosted "Coup d'œil entre deux eaux", observation platforms on stilts by the Atelier L. J. N. collective for Art & jardins – Hauts-de-France.
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