beach

Friday 7th November 2025 – Port Medoc to Soulac-sur-Mer…

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We awoke to a lively blue sky, sadly it didn’t stay with us long but it is very mild and we had a couple of good walks before the rain set in about 2pm.

Our morning walk was a pleasure with this beautiful beach just a few metres away and the sun shining down on us as we wandered along Plage de Chambrette….

After topping up with fresh water and emptying the not so fresh we drove a couple of miles into the National park and found a huge parking area just behind the dunes leading down to Plage des Cantines….

A southern continuation of yesterdays walk along Plage St Nicholas – here the lovely long sandy beach is riddled with ruins of WWII defences. Walking southwards there are concrete barrages constructed to protect the coastline from erosion which have formed a line of almost natural swimming pools – a branch line from the railway was built to transport all the concrete blocks to the shore the tracks though heavily rusted are still evident along the raised platform – it makes for a very interesting beach – Plage les Piscines….

After returning to the van we drove the short distance into Soulac-sur-Mer and pretty much continued where we left off, heading south along the lovely stretches of sandy beach that are Plage Nord and Plage Central….

Before ending our walk at the beginning of Plage Sud or Plage des Naiades as our Aire for the night is just a little further along this beach, and we shall get a better walk here tomorrow….

We just made it back to the van as the first big drops of rain began to fall and quickly popped down the road and got settled on our Aire before the rain set in properly for the rest of the day – tomorrow is another one…

Thoughts of the day:

  • The villages along this section of the coastline are really no more than ghost towns and quite eerie with barely a soul about and only a couple of shops/ bars open

Today’s stats –

  • Miles driven – 8
  • Miles walked – 5
  • Beaches – 6
  • Aire – £4.23 no EHU

Thursday 6th November 2025 – Royan to La Verdon-sur-Mer…

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Still grey but definitely warmer as we take the last hop of our coastal journey to South West France. As we plan to cover the whole of the Côte d’Argent we decided to take the ferry across the Gironde estuary and save ourselves quite a few hours of driving and miles. Whilst waiting for the ferry we had this rather nice beach to walk on, whilst in full site of the van and any ferry activity – Plage de Foncillon of Royan – a nice clean sandy beach though clearly fully tidal….

The ferry crossing is only half an hour and though passengers are supposed to leave their vehicles and go up into the passenger lounge, I’m afraid I didn’t, as Tilly gets pretty freaked out anyway when boarding ferries, I decided that leaving her alone in the van when she is already anxious could cause all sorts of future problems, so we both stayed put and nobody was any the wiser. Arriving in La Verdon- sur-Mer we made a the short journey to find parking and go for a nice walk through part of the national park that covers much of this region….

Visiting St Nicholas Lighthouse which looked too small to be of any practical use…

Before making our way across the scrubland / dunes….

To reach the sandy beach that pretty much runs all the way down this coast – this section being Plage de St Nicholas a naturist beach, though not in very high demand today, in fact the only other footsteps were from a horse!….

We then headed straight to our Aire for the night at Port Médoc – a fishing and pleasure boat marina….

With the marina in front of us and a beach right behind us, we shall be lulled to sleep by the sound of the sea….

Thoughts of the day:

  • Ok so maybe I’m not going to get full sunshine but at least the sky is brighter and it is quite a bit warmer too, happy with that.
  • I can leave Tilly quite happy in the van whilst I go shopping or for a shower but as soon as we are queuing for a ferry she becomes quite whiny and clingy not sure why.

Today’s stats :

  • Miles driven – 55
  • Miles walked – 4
  • Beaches – 2
  • Aire – £12.02
  • Fuel – £62.78
  • Ferry – £20.32

Wednesday 5th November 2025 – St Michel to Châtelaillon-Plage….

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Still grey and still windy but pleasant enough as we took a morning walk down to the sea front to see what the beaches look like at low tide.

We joined the beach at Plage du Cormier which was totally submerged yesterday….

And wandered all the way along to Plage de Tharon with just a glimmer of sunshine catching the carrelets and highlighting our way…

Feeling suitably refreshed we returned to the van and were soon packed up and on our way, continuing our journey south in pursuit of some better weather.

By mid afternoon we were parked up in our Aire for the night, just south of La Rochelle in the small coastal resort of Chatelaillon-Plage and were soon out in pursuit of said beach…

A nice long pink sandy beach even though the tide is in – nicer sand here than at St Michel and the resort looks fairly new or has certainly seen some significant recent growth – smart enough, in a new, freshly painted kind of way but not very charming and it isn’t tempting us to stay a while – our journey continues.

Thoughts of the day:

  • I’m not sure that chasing the weather this late on in the year is actually going to pay off but in reality, I just want to take it slow for the next few weeks by some lovely beaches, so that is our revised goal and I hope that Côte de d’Argent (the silver coast) to which we shall be arriving tomorrow, will tick that box.
  • I can’t believe that we have already been here for 2 months and that soon we must start our journey home – but not just yet!

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 118
  • Miles walked – 6
  • Beaches – 3
  • Aire – £12.01

Tuesday 4th November 2025 – heading south to St Michel Chef Chef….

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Still a bit damp and gloomy this morning, serving to strengthen our resolve of heading south, with around 150 miles of driving today we were soon on our way. A straightforward journey using the N165 for around 100 of those miles, an easy dual carriageway, relatively quiet and mostly tree lined with a fabulous array of Autumn colours – Tilly wasn’t bothered but I appreciated the colour display to while away the miles.

We arrived in our Aire for the night in the small seaside resort of St Michel Chef Chef in the Pays de la Loire region and once settled headed out for a walk along the beach. Unfortunately most of the beach was hidden under the tide but we enjoyed a sunny walk along the promenade instead, taking in the quaint fishing huts on stilts – ‘carrelets’ – a revived historic way of fishing by lowering nets into the sea from these huts and then hopefully hauling in the fish….

Note the blue sky – not that we are far enough south yet to really make a difference but I’m happy we have made the right call.

Further along the Plage de Tharon has some exposed sand with the Carrelets visible at the southern end of the beach and the surfers hanging around at the northern end where the small harbour wall was creating some suitable surf….

We hung around and watched the surfers for a while before heading back to the van for the evening….

Thoughts of the day:

  • So far my experience of the road systems here has been very good (though as I’ve said a bit more chaotic in the built up areas) and this is the first time I have done an extended bit of main road driving and yes it was quite straightforward and relaxed largely due to the lack of volume traffic we are accustomed to in the UK.
  • We shall get out for a walk in the morning before heading off and check out the beaches when the tide is out.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 148
  • Miles walked – 4
  • Beaches – 1
  • Aire – £11.13
  • Fuel – £36.09

Monday 3rd November 2025 – Crozon to Locronan….

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At the risk of sounding boring it is another grey and showery day, maybe the showers are not as heavy or as long lasting but even so – boring.

We started the day with a walk from the Aire down to Plage de Portzic, a little further than I had originally thought – probably a mile and all down hill, which of course means just one thing! Still we were treated to a rare glimpse of sunshine and blue sky – however the beach was not dog friendly so it wasn’t long before we started to make our way back up through the town to the van….

After stocking up the food cupboards we left Crozon and were soon parked up at our next beach – Plage de Postolonnec….

This beach was dog friendly so we took the opportunity for a little play around as the clouds are beginning to gather again. Next stop was the long sandy beach – Plage de l’Aber and watched a while as a lone windsurfer made his way up and down the beach in the brisk winds….

Next on our list was Plage de Trez Bellec another long sandy beach, with much of the sand fast disappearing under the rising tide…

A little further along the coast was yet another long sandy beach, a bit more easily accessible with parking all the way along the front and a few bars and restaurants (though mostly closed up), there were a couple of dog walkers and at the far end some kite surfers enjoying life….

Our next and last stop was not so much a beach walk as a dune walk as the tide is almost at its peak – Plage de St Anne la Palud and over a headland to look down onto Anse de Kervijan….

With a slight change to our norm, tonight we have headed inland a bit to take a look around Locronan a traditional village of character!….

The village appeared almost deserted with many shops closed, to be fair it is late afternoon and from experience a lot of the smaller shops don’t open on Mondays – never mind at least we get to wander around the quaint little streets and the sweetie shop was open – all hand made from natural produce so I’m told and believe based on the price!!…

Fruit jellies and they are 😋

Thoughts of the day:

  • I think I’ve mentioned before that the tides haven’t been an issue up until now but all these on the Crozon Peninsula seem to be completely tidal, whereas I guess that hasn’t been the case before.
  • On the subject of beaches – I am not finding these ones very attractive, partly it is the weather and tides but also the sand is a bit coarse and a sort of dirty sand colour.
  • Partly influenced by the above – I have made the decision to head south (quicker than currently) and chase some better weather – I can always fill in the gaps another time but I’m fed up of everything looking grey and getting wet!!

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 27
  • Miles walked – 6.5
  • Beaches – 7
  • Aire – £11.51
  • Groceries – £38.98
  • Sweets – £10.19!!