Thu 23rd – Fri 24th June
After all our exertions at the house, we decided we needed a holiday; a sort of “holiday …on holiday”.
The popular French holiday destination of Arcachon, is a small town on the southern coast of the Arcachon Bassin. A large area of tidal water which is almost encircled by land. The area is very low-lying and flat. The nearest city is Bordeaux which lies around 50km inland and to the south, on the coast, there is the largest sand dune in Europe, The Dune du Pilat, which reaches a height of 110m above sea level.
Thursday 23rd June:
On our way to Arcachon, we called at the Réserve Ornithologique Du Teich, to look at the oiseaux sauvages (wild birds), which occupy an area of wetland to the south east of the Arcachon Bassin. Our RSPB membership allowed entry at a reduced rate, so we paid-up and set forth along 6.5 km of well maintained paths, stopping at the 20 observation hides along the way.
The origin of this area is a managed area of wetland, which has been used since medieval times, when it was opened to the sea annually, then closed trapping small fish which were caught later when they had grown, providing a supply of food out of the normal season.
The wetlands are still managed with water-levels maintained to provide a good wetland habitat for all types of wildlife.
It is a beautiful area with much to see and overall it took us 4 hours to do the circuit, including time in all of the hides. We were glad it was not as hot as it had been recently, as there is not much shade around the first half of the route.
Friday 24th June
The main industry around the Arcachon Bassin is tourism, but there is a strong tradition of oyster farming with a large number of sea food restaurants offering these and other shell-fish delicacies.
We explored some of the many marinas, docks and wharves firstly by bicycle, then by car and on foot.
There has been much redevelopment since we last visited and we had difficulty finding some of the huts that we remembered as being in a picturesque state of dereliction.
Thirsty work, all this wandering. We did partake of a little refreshment at one of the quayside restaurants:
At one stage, Alison remarked that this was “nothing like Blackpool”, then later said: “This reminds me of Morecambe sea front”. I responded: “Yes, you can almost make out Heysham Nuclear Power Station if you squint”.
There is a saying that: “If you go to the barbers often enough, sooner or later you will come out having had a haircut”. We had been debating the pros and cons of trying some oysters, all day. Neither of us really fancied the idea, but we talked ourselves into a corner and entered one of the specialist restaurants, who also produce them.
They were OK …ish. Hmmm. I think they are probably over-rated and over-priced, but perhaps the lack of champagne to accompany them was the problem.
"See-u-Later" 