France, Spring 2024

April – June 2024
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  • Noirmoutier-en-l'ile, Vendée

    Apr 12–15, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    We've spent a lovely weekend in Normoutier-en-l'Île at the northern part of the island of Normoutier in the Atlantic Ocean. We were blessed with glorious weather to enjoy this very beautiful place.
    We have stayed on a Camping Car Park for 3 nights where we have the use of services including electric hook up.
    The town is very bustling with lots of independent shops and restaurants and on Sunday morning there was a huge market.
    There are lots of walking opportunities which we took advantage of and lots of cyclists. Everywhere was busy with people taking advantage of the good weather.
    We had a long walk to the beach on Saturday afternoon sans puppy (it was just too hot for her to undertake such a long walk), we saw some magnificent houses right on the beach front...the stuff of dreams!
    A fun fact about Normoutier; the Bonotte potato which is only cultivated in Normoutier and only in small quantities is the world's most expensive potato. They are grown in sandy soil that absorbs the ocean scent and are fertilised with seaweed and algae. The land space on which they grow is limited to less than 50 square metres and they are picked exclusively by hand in just one week of the year. That will explain their price of €500 per kilogram!
    It was very peaceful here at night apart from.....the loudest frog chorus we've ever heard (the amphibious type!).
    We are about 13 miles away from where we finished the coastal route part of our holiday last Autumn so we're looking forward to continuing along the coast heading further south.
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  • Sainte-Hilaire-de-Riez, Vendée

    Apr 15–16, 2024 in France ⋅ 🌬 14 °C

    After a trip to the boulangerie and using the motorhome services we got on the road to leave this beautiful island and head to our next stop.
    We have chosen an aire at Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez about 30 miles away (we're liking our short drives and stopping in time for lunch).
    We made a good choice , our aire is between a forest and the beach. It's extremely windy today and we had a couple of heavy rain showers , which by chance we managed to avoid . Walks in the forest and the beach twice (afternoon and evening) were thoroughly enjoyed by all.
    Niska and I also managed another beach walk before breakfast.
    This has been a lovely place to stop costing us €6.50 for 24 hours. Eau potable is an extra €2.75 but we didn't need a top up yet.
    This area of the coast is really beautiful. We imagine it gets extremely busy during high season.
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  • Les Sables d'Olonne, Vendée

    Apr 16–17, 2024 in France ⋅ 🌬 13 °C

    Niska and I had a walk on the beach before breakfast; a perfect start to the the day!
    After we used the services we needed on the aire we made our way to St Gilles Croix de Vie where we did food shopping and then had a very beautiful coastal drive to Les Sables d'Olonne where we will be staying the night.
    This very beautiful and it seems prosperous seaside town has a strong emphasis on sailing ; we saw around 1500 boats moored in the marina, any one of them would have suited us! 🙂
    We walked miles today exploring the town , it was busy with people doing the same.
    It's still very windy but we've had sunshine and blue skies to take away the chill.
    Our aire has cost us €8.50 for 24 hours including all services. There aren't so many free stops in popular coastal areas but its still a fraction of what we'd pay in Blighty.
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  • La Faute sur Mer, Vendée

    Apr 17–18, 2024 in France ⋅ 🌬 14 °C

    We're loving our coastal drives south through beautiful villages and the Vendée really is a beautiful department.
    Today we've driven to La Faute sur Mer which is located on a small strip of coastal land in the far south of Vendée. We're staying in Les Amourettes Camping Car Park.
    This is a real get away from it all place, just nature to enjoy; a beautiful beach bordered by pine forests which we spent the afternoon exploring. Some very beautiful residences here aswell.
    We just had to have another walk on the beach after supper......just us three.....a massive stretch of beach to ourselves!
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  • La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime

    Apr 18–19, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    After using the services on the aire after breakfast we got on the road with a stop at Super U at L'Aiguillon sur Mer to get bread and change our €50 notes into smaller currency for use in small village stores.
    Then it was goodbye to Vendée as we crossed into Charente-Maritime.
    Our stopover today is in La Rochelle. Instead of venturing into the big town we had a long walk to the beach at Chef de la Baie. The peripheral walk overlooks 2 historic monuments; the battery and the Tour Carrée (Square Tower). Its a beautiful coastal walk, some parts were briefly diverted because of erosion.
    Our walk was in beautiful sunny weather.
    Our water pump broke tonight (while I was washing up!), we had the same thing happen a couple of years ago and since then we've carried a spare, great decision because having no water is a game changer! It only took Tim a few minutes to fix....very grateful that he is so handy!
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  • Dashcam view of "road" to the I'lleCauseway, high tideFort Boyard on the horizonFort Boyard

    L'Île Madame, Charente-Maritime

    April 19, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Today we crossed from the mainland at Port-des-Barques via the causeway to L'Île Madame which is the smallest island of Charente-Maritime. It is largely uninhabited and has an area of just 4 square miles.
    The drive across the stony causeway was very bumpy but worth it to arrive at this beautiful and peaceful haven.
    There is a Camping de Mon Village site on the island and we are spending the weekend here with a small number of like minded travellers!
    And we are blessed with fabulous weather this weekend.
    We've enjoyed a walk around the perimeter of the island from which we have wonderful views including of Fort Boyard.
    We also located the Croix des Galets (Cross of Pebbles) beneath which are buried the bodies of 254 catholic priests who died for their faith on this island (where they were being held prisoner) at a time of anti clerical persecution in 1794 during the French Revolution. They are commemorated during a pilgrimage here in August every year.
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  • Saint-Pierre-d'Oléron, Charente-Maritime

    Apr 21–22, 2024 in France ⋅ 🌬 12 °C

    We've hopped to another island in Charente-Maritime. L'Isle d'Oléron. We had intended to visit this island in 2022 but when we were here the roads to the island were rammed with traffic.
    We are staying at a Camping Car Park in St Pierre d'Oléron where we are about 100 yards from the beach. We had two long beach walks , one in the evening when it was very quiet so Niska was able to run up and down and in and out of the rock pools to her heart's content! It's been nice and sunny today.
    This is another lovely place.
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  • Phare de Chassiron, Charente-Maritime

    April 22, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C

    This morning we drove to the northern tip of the island to the Phare (lighthouse) de Chassiron.
    The lighthouse allowed sailors to enter the waters of the Antioch sluice, a place strewn with reefs and renowned for its numerous shipwrecks.
    It is the second oldest lighthouse in France still in operation (the oldest is the Cardouan lighthouse which we could see from our next stop).
    On the coast here we saw fish locks which are part of the heritage of L'Île d'Oléron. They are stone constructions from the foreshore in the shape of a convex crescent facing the ocean. A grid in the middle of the crescent lets tidal water in and out. The fish remain trapped in the crescent (the foue) , lower than the level of the grid.
    This is a popular place and quite a lot of visitors here today , there are nice walks in the area and lots to see.
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  • La Palmyre, Charente-Maritime

    Apr 22–23, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    We've left the island this afternoon and continuing to head south along the coast. We're staying tonight at La Palmyre a small seaside resort in the western suburbs of Royan. Our camping car park is bordered by pine forests and is a short distance to the beach. It's a lovely sunny evening and we had a great hike through the forest and to the beach .Read more

  • Talmont-Sur-Gironde, Charente-Maritime

    April 23, 2024 in France ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    This morning we visited Talmont-sur-Gironde which is one of the 'Plus Beaux Villages de France'. The village lies on a small promontory which dominates the Gironde Estuary.
    The enclosed and fortified village was founded around the church in 1284 on the orders of Edward I of England . During the Hundred Years' War which divided England and France, Talmont became a strategic stake . In 1652 the village was destroyed by the Spaniards.
    Today the village has a population of less than 100. Its a tiny place, very pretty and mainly a tourist attraction.
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