coastal path

Monday 10th November 2025 – Le Porge to Cap Ferret….

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A pretty good day again today, warming up nicely in the afternoon. We were on our way fairly promptly and soon arrived at our first beach of the day – Plage du Porge….

The surf was incredible – though it is quite difficult to make out the height of these waves they certainly looked huge – no one brave enough to be out there to put them in perspective…

All along the coast access to the various beaches means quite a long drive from one beach up to the main road and then back down again to the next beach as the main road is probably 4 or 5 miles inland and only the cycle tracks and footpaths run along the shore – today for example we travelled 46 miles but actually only covered 14 miles of coast – mind you the drives are along almost deserted forest roads so a pleasure to drive. Our next stop was a little more difficult to get to as it appears the village of La Jenny is actually a naturist holiday village so no randomers getting in there – however we did find a forestry track on the outskirts which lead us to a car park just shy of the beach…

A stunning deserted beach for us to enjoy for a while. Finally we arrived on the edge of Cap Ferret a coastal resort running along a spit of land almost enclosing Arcachon Bay. Our first beach here is La Grand Crohot….

Another beautiful stretch of coastline backed by dunes and pine trees – here we also found a free overnight Aire for campers and as the sun is shining we decided to park up and just enjoy the afternoon on the beach….

Thoughts of the day:

  • I am amazed at this stunning beach, somehow managing to look slightly different at each stop but literally running unbroken from La Verdon in the north to Cap Ferret in the south – some 70 miles.
  • Beautiful though this sand is – walking on it is tiring even lightweight Tilly sinks into it and is having to make a real effort to get any where – the wet sand on the beach is fine it is just getting along the sandy forest paths and over the dunes that is a battle – good for the heart though!!

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 46
  • Miles walked – 7
  • Beaches – 3

Sunday 9th November 2025 – Hourtin to Lancanau….

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Another lovely mostly sunny day as we wander down to Lac d’Hourtin for our morning stroll…

The waters are flat calm and incredibly clear and there is even a little sandy beach, though there are signs saying no swimming which seems a shame….

We enjoy a good walk before heading back to the coast for our first proper beach walk of the day at Plage d’Hourtin….

A magnificent sweep of dune backed sands, much as we have come to expect on this coastline, but of which we will never tire.

Our next stop is much the same at Plage de Carcans….

Here they have recently embarked on a major planting of different grasses, I guess in an attempt to try and keep the sand on the beach and from encroaching on the small resort here….

We enjoyed a fine walk here as parking was very straightforward and plentiful, though unusually chargeable during the season before moving onto our final location for the day – Lancanau. Parking here was much trickier and all very much chargeable, though we did manage to find a little spot towards the far end of town and walked back over the dunes….

Down onto South Beach and along to Central Beach….

The small town was buzzing on this lovely sunny Sunday afternoon which is nice to see and something we haven’t seen for quite some time. Our Aire for the night is on the outskirts of the town and we were soon settled for the evening.

Thoughts of the day:

  • We are really enjoying this area which almost has an island feel to it – separated from mainland France by the river Gironde to the east, spectacular sandy beaches and dunes to the west, with forest land and lakes running through the middle – what more could you ask for?
  • I cannot image the beaches ever being busy apart from around the resorts but I’m equally sure that it is much nicer driving and walking around now whilst it is quiet – we drove for 12 miles along the forestry road from Carcan to Lancanau and didn’t meet another vehicle or see another soul

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 32
  • Miles walked – 6
  • Beaches – 4
  • Aire – £15.09

Saturday 8th November 2025 – a lovely beach day from Soulac to Pin Sec…

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Oh yes – a lovely warm sunny day for us today – what a difference it makes. Not to miss a minute we wander down to Plage des Naiades, which is literally next to the Aire, albeit we’re faced with a 5m drop down a vertical sand bank, so opt to walk along the sand bank to a point that has been levelled and cleared before getting down onto the beach..

Only a trio of surfers out and about. Shortly we move on a few miles south to Plage d’Amelie….

All along this section of coast there seems to be a battle with the sand blowing up onto the roads and parking areas, half of last nights Aire was in accessible as it was under almost a metre of soft sand in places – I wonder if erosion is a problem too – not that I have seen any evidence of it. Our next stop was the wonderfully remote Plage La Negade with exposed sand walls or cliffs, rather than dunes….

Not that I have ever been, but it feels almost dessert like – Tilly is getting quite adept at finding a bit of wood or something to play with…

She loves these deserted beaches and will happily play and run around (no more than about 25m away from me), whereas on beaches where there are other people and dogs she is much more reticent and will generally trot along at my side.

Our next stop was at Plage du Gurp….

Here there are several broken WWII bunkers, as we have seen on so many beaches, both here and in the UK and for some reason, no matter how remote they are the are always subject to Graffiti, but in this case a couple of exceptionally good pieces of artwork….

In amongst the usual political guff and signatures….

It is so lovely to walk along this firm sand on these pretty much tidal beaches, we soon found ourselves on Plage d’Euronat the next bunker strewn beach along….

Almost reluctantly we returned to the van and drove to the next series of beaches, stopping briefly at Plage de Vensac…

And then the small seaside resort of Montalivet and its lovely sandy tidal beaches…..

Plage de Montalivet above and disappearing off into the sunshine, Plage du Helio-Marin….

Our final beach for the day was Plage de Pin Sec, here again the beach was littered with broken concrete bunkers but still stunning…..

We had planned to hunker down for the night in the Aire just behind the dunes but either the barrier wasn’t working or the Aire was closed for some reason, any ways we couldn’t get in – shame as I think the sunset here would have been amazing….

Thoughts of the day:

  • I dislike seeing graffiti, especially in such a natural environment as a beach – I know these bunkers aren’t exactly natural or attractive but they are a part of our history and the beaches history. If these ugly bunkers were covered in the kind of artwork above would I have the same problem? Probably not.
  • This whole area is part of a National park and is an absolute gem for any cyclists as there is a vast network of cycle paths crisscrossing through the woodland and dunes.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 38
  • Miles walked – 7
  • Beaches – 9
  • Aire – £12.78 EHU

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