In between the two resorts is Ste Cecile, where building has already started on a seaside development of two-bedroom cottages. With prices ranging from £66,000 to £82,000, they are among the cheapest properties in the area. “We have sold a lot off-plan already,” says Zoldan.

Many British buyers, however, are looking inland. “A lot of people would like to live in Le Touquet — it has a real village feel to it — but they cannot afford it so they have to look further afield,” says Zoldan. “But this is one of the few areas of France where you have very pretty countryside so close to the sea. You can still find a place to restore but they are extremely rare. What needed restoring a few years ago has either fallen down or been done up.”

For properties inland from Le Touquet, Vankeirsbilck recommends villages in the Vallée de la Course, such as the pretty hamlet of Inxent or neighbouring Bréxent. St Josse, the site of a ninth-century Benedictine monastery, is another enchanting village, famed for its flowers. The village green and every other spare inch of ground teem with them, while pots, baskets and troughs of blooms line the streets at every level.

All are within striking distance of Boulogne, which with SpeedFerries’ new 50-minute service to Dover puts the region within easy reach of London. “We have a lot of second homeowners on our boats,” says Marianne Illum, head of marketing at SpeedFerries. “For them the journey is fast and cheap: it takes 50 minutes and prices start at £50 return for a car and five people.” The price depends not on the length of stay but on availability. Prices of a Friday to Monday ticket in August are from £80 on SpeedFerries, £160 with Sea France and £203 with Eurotunnel.

Eurotunnel has introduced its Property Owners Club for British customers who visit their homes in France regularly. Members can buy up to 10 discounted return tickets and use them at any time. Prices for a mini-break start at £85.

The most chic way to arrive in Le Touquet, though, is by plane. The town is synonymous with flight. Louis Blériot, who in 1909 became the first man to fly the Channel, was a local boy and expert land yachtsman. Part of his legacy is the airport at Le Touquet, which has daily flights to Lydd in Kent. Flights take half an hour and prices start from £39.50 one way. A return journey in August, leaving on Friday and returning on Monday, will cost a family of four £286, including taxes. Airport parking at Lydd is £3 a day.

But being so close to home is both a blessing and a curse. “The one thing you can’t guarantee is the weather,” says Zoldan. If it’s raining in London, it’s probably raining in Le Touquet.

Agence Côte d’Opale, 00 33 321 052 105, www.agence-cotedopale.com; SpeedFerries, 01304 203 000, www.speedferries.com; Eurotunnel, 08705 353 535, www.eurotunnel.com; LyddAir, 01897 320 000, www.lydd-air.co.uk

The Mays family’s cottage is for rent through Latview Letting (01707 876 896, www.latviewletting.com)

Coast houses

In Le Touquet, 10 minutes’ walk from the beach, this five-bedroom house was built in the 1960s and has a games room and a four-car garage. It is on the market through Latitudes (020 8951 5155, www.latitudes.co.uk) for £430,000

This five-bedroom house in Hardelot is close to Les Pins golf course. It has a large kitchen-dining room, and a south-facing living room and terrace. It is £371,000 through Axximo (00 33 321 300 200, www.axximo.com)

Le Touquet is a two-minute drive from this four-bed house with open-plan sitting room. Three rooms could be converted into a guest flat. Francophiles (01622 688 165, www.francophiles.co.uk) is selling it at £276,000

Set in just over an acre of garden, this four-bed renovated farmhouse is in a quiet village near Hesdin. It comes with a bakehouse and other outbuildings and is for sale with Latitudes (020 8951 5155, www.latitudes.co.uk) at £182,000

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