The sunken lanes of Regnéville-sur-Mer

THE SUNKEN LANES OF REGNÉVILLE-SUR-MER

Real landscape relics of times past, having often been filled in or enlarged, these sunken lanes disappeared little by little. Nonetheless, sunken lanes remained important routes of communication, going between one village and another, up to the 1960’s. They are also access routes to fields.

In olden times, the fields were (nearly) all accessible by sunken lanes.

This extract from the 1827 land register shows the layout of the old fields in strips and nearly all accessible by a sunken lane. We are here at the crossroads of two sunken lanes which previously went down to the ‘Village de la Mare’.

The hedges and lanes of Regnéville-sur-Mer – a haven of biodiversity

The sunken lanes and the hedges contribute on a local level to the regulation of the climate by reducing the force of the wind and providing coolness in summer. Thanks to the tree roots, the hedge also filters and improves the quality of the water, limits landslides and flooding. The plants store carbon in great quantities. One kilometre of hedge absorbs 1 ton of CO2 per year.

Hedges are a real hotel for assistants at our service

The two lateral hedges that grow at the top of the lane are a refuge for fauna and offer essential shelter thanks to dead leaves. Small birds find cover and protection inside the hedge and come out to eat ticks and caterpillars in the neighbouring gardens and crops. Beetles, living in the undergrowth, are real snail crushers as well as devouring slugs and aphids.

> On the extract from the land registry plan, are all the fields accessible from a sunken lane ?
Answer : No, all the fields are not accessible. Either the owners were the same or they helped each other.