Baignade

Description

If you like to soak up the sun and splash around in the water, you've clearly come to the right place. Swimming is only permitted from July to August, from 2pm to 6pm, in the supervised swimming area marked by water lines, buoys and red and yellow flags.

Even though many of you may want to cool off here, we would like to stress the importance of respecting the bathing area. Neither David Hasselof nor Pamela Anderson will be there to save you, but the lifeguards are there to ensure your safety while you take a dip, and also because the biodiversity of the Terril des Argales is so fragile that it must be preserved.

A quick reminder of the meaning of the swimming flags. To keep it short and simple, it's similar to the meaning of traffic lights in the highway code.

Green: you can go in the water (swimming is supervised and there is no danger).
Yellow: go but be careful (swimming is dangerous but supervised).
Red: NO WAY (swimming is prohibited).
For a successful afternoon on the beach, don?t forget your inflatable mattress or pink flamingo buoy, the essential accessory for lounging under the sunlights of the terril and perfecting your tan while floating or having fun during your swim. To avoid redness, a little shade wouldn?t hurt, and for that, a parasol is your best friend. And don't forget to put more sunscreen on your body than butter on your rusk, because the sun shines and carelessness burns.

Does the color of the water seem dubious to you? Not at all! It's due to the schist that lines the bottom of the pond, but the quality of the water is remarkable. And it's not us who say so, but the Agence Régionale de la Santé des Hauts-de-France and the Agence de l'Eau Artois-Picardie, which publish an annual ranking of bathing waters in the Artois-Picardie basin.