A stunner of a day for us, a little breezier but warm and sunny. As we are sadly nearing the end of this amazing coastal journey of the West Coast of France we are also slowing things down a little to savour this beautiful sandy stretch of coastline down to the Spanish border. Tempting though it is to pop over the line we are not going to as there are slightly different rules for driving in Spain and I am quite comfortable with the French speed limits etc and don’t wish to confuse things before our reasonably long journey back up to Caen.

The resort of Mimizan-Plage is split in half by the river Courant and yesterday we explored the beaches on the northern half, so today we are off to walk along the seafront of the southern half – starting by crossing over the road bridge between the two….

The beaches here have also been given quite distinct names as you wander along the seafront even though they really are still just sections of this wonderful strip of sand we have been following for the last 10 days running from La Verdon-sur-Mer essentially to the Spanish Border and beyond.

Plage des Goelands….

Plage des Cormorans….

Plage de Mouettes….

Plage de Courlis….

Plage de Gourbets…

And finally – Plage de Mailloueyre disappearing off into the distance southwards….

Here we treated ourselves to a sit down, well I did but Tilly soon found a couple of sticks to chase. With just the sound of the crashing waves, the odd sea bird and the very occasional passerby it was my idea of heaven.

Heading back we wandered through the sleepy hollow that we have come to expect of these coastal resorts, all the bars and shops are on the other side of the river and this side appears to be purely residential (though I use the term loosely!).

This side of the river also appears to be fighting a loosing battle with sand ingress….

Thoughts of the day:

• This weather, though I don’t think it is going to last, was well worth the additional miles to get down here and the beaches well they just speak for themselves.
• I wonder if these coastal properties are second homes or holiday lets – it is hard to tell.

Today’s stats:

• Miles driven – 0
• Miles walked – 6
• Beaches – 6
• Aire – £11.09 EHU

A cloudy but warm start to the day and timed perfectly a lovely sunny afternoon. We spent the morning doing laundry and a bit of a food shop and then headed straight for our Aire for the night in the coastal village of Mimizan (the main village is inland a bit but this is the resort bit). The coast is about a mile from the Aire so we set off on foot to enjoy the lovely warm sunshine on the beaches of Mimizan. O

ur first stop was Plage de Courant just a small beach on the banks of the river – Courant de Mimizan, nice and sandy and covered in driftwood, no doubt from the river as it rises and falls with the tides…

We followed the river the short distance to the sea and Plage de la Garluche….

Beyond the breakwaters at the mouth of the river is the other half of Mimizan and Plage des Goélands to the south which we shall visit tomorrow. For now though we wandered northwards enjoy a little sea breeze and the lovely sun as we walked along Plage de Mimizan….

Then Plage de Remember….

And finally to Plage du Vivier as it disappears into the distance and after a bit of a military section eventually ends up in Biscarrosse….

Here we sat for a while enjoying the sun until hunger got the better of us and we wandered back to the van via the pine trees backing the dunes….

Thoughts of the day:

• Little bit of a pinch me moment when I realise it is mid November and we are sat in the beach enjoying the sun shine in a T-shirt and shorts!! So glad we moved further south.
• Not quite so keen on these dark nights but doesn’t really bother us as we are well and truly settled in the van by 6pm when it goes dark.

Today’s stats:

• Miles driven – 30
• Miles walked – 6
• Beaches – 5
• Aire – £11.06 EHU
• Groceries – £18.84
• Laundry – £9.74

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