As we made our way down the Atlantic West Coast we came across more and more places that could easily have tempted us off our planned course. This road trip business can be a difficult one. Keeping in mind time and finance we have discovered we have had to be fairly strict with ourselves. France is proving a huge temptation to go ‘off piste’.
So this missive is a brief chat about our trip from Nantes down as far as Biarritz – more Beer than Ritz I should add at this point! We found some wonderful places and hope you enjoy a glimpse of what this part of France has to offer.
Ile de Re – a wonderful sleepy, village filled island, linked to the mainland by a toll bridge. This place is like going back in time to sunny family beach holidays. Cycling is the rule of the day with a myriad of cycle only paths across the island from the salt lands at the tip to the bridge linking it to the mainland. It seems as though every town and village hires bikes.
We have visited this lovely island before and really couldn’t miss the opportunity to stop by again. St Martin de Re a lovely harbour town that houses the one and only TinTin shop and wonderful walks around the coastal battlements. It is surrounded by a 17th century star shaped fortification citadel by Vauban. There are some chic boutiques and a myriad of little lanes you can wander round and shop till you drop. Personally I just like to sit and watch the world go by, whilst eating some delicious local ice cream.
We came across Fouras – La Pointe de la Fumee a little by accident although I had circled it on our route map and couldn’t remember why!!! It’s an age thing. It turned out that this interesting Land Point has been the centre of Oyster fishing in France since the late 1800’s due in part to the quality and temperature of the River Charentes water. A lovely walk and views over to Fort Boyard, this place was bustling with Oyster fishermen and busy with travellers for the ferry. There were many Oyster sellers and numerous restaurants bursting at the seams with diners. It was an interesting stop on our journey south.
One place we did want to take a look at, all be it a rather quick one, was L'ile d’Oleron. A larger Island just south of Ile de Re and joined to the mainland again by a bridge. We stopped for lunch at Le Chateau d’Oleron an interesting fort and fishing port, where most of the fishing cabins had been colourfully painted and transformed into chic boutiques and all things for the home. The Fort was huge and again being utilized for shows, meetings and with various local artisans workshops. It was bombed during the Second World War and has been rebuilt in part. It was only a brief glimpse of this island which I am sure has much more to offer.
This first colourful photo was a postcard and as such is attributed to "Jack'.
An unexpected find for us was Phare de la Coubre – La Tremblade, a wonderfully restored lighthouse, which if you had the energy and the nerve, for a small fee, you could climb to the top of! It was located just behind one of the longest beaches we had ever seen. Located north of Vaux-sur-Mer (an architecturally interesting seaside town) it was in a breathtaking location. There was a photographic exhibition on in the hall next to it and all in all we spent an interesting few hours exploring.
Whilst in Royan we visited the famous market that our campsite owners had recommended we see. What fabulous foodstuffs were on offer here, with all being produced by local people. Anything from lobsters, cheese, all kinds of locally grown veg, homemade honey and jams, patisseries that made your mouth water and wonderful breads and savoury pastries. Wonderful place. Royan itself was a seaside town for family holidays with buildings from the art deco period and lovely beaches and promenade walk.
Blaye Citadelle is one of three fortifications overlooking the Gironde Estuary and is well worth a stop. There are interesting information points around its centre and many restaurants you can choose from for your lunch. There is even a campsite right in the middle – wish we had known this earlier it would have definitely been a stopover for us. Again designed by the military architect Vauban it has a fascinating history and worth visiting if simply for the views.
Before I finish I must talk about the wonderful Dune du Pyla, which was on our bucket list right from the start and this place was magical. We camped virtually on the dune and the views were stunning. The largest sand dune in Europe so of course you have to climb to the top – nearly finished us off!! – but wow was it worth it. There were numerous paragliders soaring through the air the day we arrived, but the Monday morning was very quiet and we enjoyed the views in virtual solitude. The sunset here was probably the most spectacular we had ever seen. I don’t think our photos will do justice to this magical place and yet another location where we could have stayed much longer.
Well that’s it for this time. My next blog will be about our time in the Atlantic and Haute Pyrenees and a brief explore of Biarritz. I will leave you with that sunset.
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Thank you for taking time to read this blog. I hope you have enjoyed it - until next time.
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