Ile de Noirmoutier

Leaving the heat of the Loire we opted to head to the west coast, hoping to get some Atlantic sea breeze, our next destination would be Île de Noirmoutier, a french island in the Bay of Biscay.

There are 2 main ways of getting onto the island, one a tidal causeway (Passage du Gois) which floods at high tide of approx 2.6 miles from the mainland the other a more secure bridge, we opted for the bridge!

Although the causeway would not have been convenient as we arrived well before low tide, we took a drive out to have a look… seeing a road disappear into the sea and what looks like marker poles sticking out of the water for a few miles toward the mainline… the road did not seem o be near the surface, further exploration of the area informed the willing driver to only use the causeway 90 minutes either side of low tide.

Heading towards to top north east of the island to our campsite at L'Épine, we passed two options of roadside purchase both in abundance… salt and potatoes, both famous forms of local produce.

Out campsite was half full, the sea just over the sand dunes, our pitch hosted quite a bit of the beach, getting Tassie back off the pitch may be interesting - as it was noted others previously had been challenged.

The following day whilst in the high 20’s it was still pleasant with a steady sea breeze as we took to exploring the island by bike.

Île de Noirmoutier just 16 miles in length is a very flat island, probably getting bigger as land has been reclaimed from the sea.

It's a joy to cycle around, the main road runs generally up like a spine, small towns and villages on the left and right, giving lots of sweeping views out to both sides of the island.

This is a place you cannot get lost- using the sea or the church spire as a point of reference the helpful, signposted cycle routes crisscrossing the island also help navigate around the vast salt marshes.

A stop on our pedal out was at the the town of the same name as the island, lending itself to be an upmarket town in the making with a range of nice shops and restaurants, looking in the estate agent window a small 60 sq m house plot in excess of 400k euros… the Sandbanks of the west of France.

A pretty town with a tidal port drying out at low tide the boats sitting on the sea bed, some looked like they had never moved in quite a while.

A notable theme was the word "NO"... written absolutely everywhere... turns out its a marketing ploy as short for Noirmoutier!.... the t-shirt was purchased!

The other main stop was at the top of the island, at La Madeleine, a yachty paradise of a large marina with lots of activity going on and many nice looking places to eat.

The local piscine (swimming pool) was shaped like a boat ... joyful architecture!

With the back ground of an azure coloured sky the many villages of little white washed houses and blue shutters with red roofs, you could be easily forgiven for thinking you are in a Greek island.

In all our cycle was about 18 miles, back and forth through the villages and salt marshes, the weather was fabulous and a place we both said ... if we were to buy a holiday home it would be here!Meer informatie