At the end of every year, it is common to see oyster sellers outside the entrances to French supermarket entrances. Everywhere you look, there will be tables piled high with France’s favourite seasonal seafood: marquees filled with boxes of oysters of all sizes destined for new year celebrations.

Depending on the region, the sellers will often be oyster producers, especially on the west coast, which is better known for the size and scale of its oyster production. Even the French are not always aware that Normandy is a significant producer of oysters in its own right, since the region is immediately linked to butter, cream and dairy products in the public mind.

But travel down the coastline and you will see the signs of this activity for yourself. A region that can market 7,000 tonnes of oysters in a year can hardly keep this coastal production secret from the world.

Cross the Seine on the Pont de Normandie, taking a moment to enjoy the vertiginous views from the high suspension bridge, before heading west towards Caen and the Cotentin peninsula. The Veys bay (baie des Veys) marks the point at which the coastline turns north towards Cherbourg. Low tide here reveals a shifting maze of channels between banks of mud and sand.

With no fewer than four rivers draining into the bay, including the Vire, it should come as no surprise that another of Isigny’s claims to fame should be some very special local oysters, otherwise known as the huître spéciale d’Isigny. Just as the rivers irrigate the lush pastures of the saltmarsh and the hinterland, so they bring additional nutrients to the estuary.

Nor should it come as any surprise to learn that the traditional local accompaniment for Isigny oysters is Isigny butter. Try it some time, even if the oysters don’t come from Isigny or the shoreline of the Veys bay.