Beaches

Saturday 4th April 2026 – a walk up to the Phare du Camarat….

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At the risk of sounding a little boring, it was yet another beautiful day here by Plage de Pampelonne….

All the big guns were out to play over the Easter weekend with various gin palaces arriving in the bay and shuttling over to the rather expensive and in some cases quite elitist beach restaurants and bars (though we are at the quieter end of the beach) and plenty of other craft scudding across the bay. I haven’t seen many people braving the rather chilly waters just plenty of paddlers like me and I’m not sure how good these waters are for swimming as the beach seems to shelve quite dramatically. Anyhow we spent a pleasant few hours on the beach just watching and in Tilly’s case, collecting driftwood and creating a little burrow to lie in, enjoying the cooler sand underneath, before returning to the van for something to eat and then heading back out in the cooler late afternoon sunshine for a walk up to Phare de Camarat….

It was a pleasant walk up a mostly leafy lane, having initially walked around the edge of rows and rows of vines….

It was lovely to be walking and surrounded by wild french lavender, though surprisingly not as fragrant as I would have expected….

Just beyond the lighthouse was a viewing point affording spectacular birdseye view of Bonne Terrasse and Plage de Camarat and then beyond to Plage de Pampelonne with snow capped mountains in the far distance – a truly beautiful and peaceful walk….

Today’s stats;

  • Miles walked – 7
  • Beaches – 2
  • O/N – £20

Friday 3rd April 2026 – a lazy day on Plage de Pampelonne…

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Another cracking day, may even have hit 20 + degrees – not too hot but very agreeable! Even did some hand washing which dried beautifully outside – I could quite get used to this life and it would certainly be too hot to be travelling from place to place.

We did venture out for a bit of a walk to one of the holiday resorts about a mile further down the beach which had a very well stocked supermarket for a few essential supplies – ie cold drinks! But mostly just enjoyed the beach, finding a nice quiet spot (I think actually on the naturist section which is near to where the Aire is) and Tilly was quiet content collecting bits of driftwood and occasionally wanting them thrown.

As the sun was setting we ventured out some more and after an unsuccessful visit to the stream to spot any wildlife – just a couple of ducks….

we headed down for an evening stroll along the beach…

Almost deserted apart from a couple of fishermen.

Wandering back around the Aire to see if there are any other Brits around – there aren’t….

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 0
  • Miles walked – 5
  • Beaches – 1
  • O/N – £20

Thursday 2nd April 2026 – just a stroll along Plage de Pampelonne…

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Another beautiful day with cloudless blue skies and temperatures in the late teens (perfect) and as we have decided to stay put over the Easter weekend to avoid any Easter traffic and also the uncertainty of finding somewhere else suitable and safe to park, we spent the morning doing adminny things and then set out for a beach walk in the afternoon….

Today we ventured along the beach heading eastwards….

Noticing that the beach bars that appear intermittently along the beach are all gradually opening up….

Not particularly my thing, especially travelling solo and also not within my budget which is already under strain from the increased over night coasts on this stretch of coastline and the increased fuel costs, but looking very inviting none the less.

Beach walking is fairly heavy going as there is no firm sand to walk along as the Med doesn’t appear to be very tidal so we took respite where we could on the slightly more built up areas offering boardwalks. Strangely there doesn’t appear to be any focal town or village along the beach just stretches of holiday villages (and bars) interspersed with stretches of natural scrubland or private gardens. Some of the bars / restaurants appear to be very exclusive and in the case of Club 55 we witnessed queues of very expensive cars arriving and waiting for valet parking and to say we would have been underdressed is putting it mildly – clearly a go to destination from the likes of St Tropez etc.

Not to worry we are quite happy to lower the tone and sit on the beach and drink from our coffee flask and in Tilly’s case, water bottle and consume our own snacks! All the while with the enviable back drop of Monaco and the snow capped Dolomites….

A lovely place and a lovely lazy day.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 0
  • Miles walked – 7
  • O/N – £20

Tuesday 31st March 2026 – a bit of a lazy day just pottering and enjoying the sun in Le Lavandou….

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It was quite a windy night last night, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect this morning – I needn’t have worried, another sunshiny day and without the wind which had blown itself out, a lovely warm one too.

I took the plunge and swapped some of my winter wear for summer wear – not a complete commitment mind as it is only the end of March but hey we are on the Med!

We pottered down on the beach for a while and then set off in an easterly direction along the cycle path that runs along the back of the Aire over the top of Cap Negre and down into the little seaside community of Pramousquier for a wander and play on the beach there….

Thoughts of the day:

  • I have spent quite a while looking for possible places to stay, heading east towards and into Italy and it is not looking very good. The campsites (which are just opening) are all around 40 to 50 euros a night, which is way too much for me and the Aires de Camping Car Park which have held me in good stead throughout France do not appear to have a presence in northern Italy. So I’ve decided I’m just going to have to jump between the few coastal aires that are available and wing it for a while – time will tell.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 0
  • Miles walked – 4
  • Beaches – 1
  • O/N – £19.16

Sunday 29th March 2026 – a long drive south to the sparkling sands and seas of the Cote d’Azur….

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Another fine sunny day for us as we brace ourselves for what turns out to be a full day driving as we meander our way down through the French Alps, at one point the sat nav decided to take us off the motorways (which we had opted to use due to the fact that we have had quite a few long driving days and just wanted to make our lives a little easier) and head across country.

However 5 miles or so in down a windy country lane I pressed the reject button and turned round to head back to the motorway. I have no doubt the tolls for this journey will be pretty eye-watering but to be honest I think I speak for us both in saying we just want to get there.

And eventually at just after 5 we arrived on site and without further ado made our way straight to the beach (about 100m away) and then the long day became worth it…

With temperatures of the late teens set for the next few days, we are going to pause and just enjoy.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 204
  • Miles walked – 3
  • Beaches – 1 (yay)
  • O/N – £19.17
  • Food – £20.05