Bernard Cottigny really does have a deep attachment to his homeland. This is a son of Fleurbaix who is fully committed to defending heritage and old stone buildings – by peaceful means! His voice is composed, his gestures are precise. The former literature professor has transformed into a local historian in order to share the riches of the Alloeu area, of which he knows every little corner and legend. In Fleurbaix and its surroundings – walkers will quite naturally pass through the villages and rural communities in the heart of the Lys Valley – ideas for itineraries and circuits to explore are not in short supply.

Bernard, who holds one or two positions of local responsibility, dreams up walking and cycling tours that take visitors along winding trails to take a closer look at a coat of arms or the stained-glass window of a church. Here a former Carthusian monastery whose ruins poke out of the ground, there a landscape or a green space brimming with biodiversity, plants and wildlife. Elsewhere, a small military cemetery provides evidence of the hard-fought battles that raged along the blood-soaked front line during the First World War in the last century. « I love the convivial nature of being a Greeter. Quite simply explaining things and sharing my knowledge. »