14/07/10

Regular contributor Barry has been on his holidays for 2009

Mrs B and I have just returned from 2 weeks holiday near Royan in France.

We were able to check out 3 local beaches: La Grande Cote, La Cote Sauvage and Ile d’Oleron’s Grande Plage.

Grand Cote

For us Grande Cote was the best. It was easy to get to and park, and only 10 minutes walk down a sandy path to the beach. An official naturist beach, this wide sweep of fine sand is backed by low dunes and pine forest. The dunes and forest are off limits to naturists and are regularly patrolled by police to prevent unwelcome activities. Very  much a family centered beach, there were also lone females as well as males; always a good sign. By the afternoon it was very busy, but still relaxing and friendly. The water was warm with plenty of excitement from the Atlantic breakers.
The naturist and textile sections merged imperceptibly into one another. Everyone seemed so laid back here. We spent many an hour on this beach and were sad when we had to come back to GB.

Grande Cote

Some 10 km north beyond La Palmyre is the Cote Sauvage. There is a road down to Pointe Espagnole where you can park and have a coffee or ice cream. A path leads though the dunes and the you must go left to reach the naturist section. Its about 25 minutes from the car park to the 'plage naturiste'. The beach is wider here and backed by undulating heathland and on back into forests. There is lots more room to spread out here. We only made one visit as it offered nothing extra to Grande Cote and was harder to get to. Still very much worth a stop if you are nearby though.

Our final beach was the Grande Plage at Ile d’Oleron. This is very popular and on our first visit we ended up parking 10 minutes walk up the road from the car park. This official beach is magnificent; wide and sweeping with rolling dunes that go on into the distance. Again the wonderful Atlantic sea. Once away from the car park end the crowds thinned out quickly. I went for a wander after lunch along the shore and back along the dune edge. There is something quite exhilarating about strolling along completely naked with only the sea, sun, sand and sky. Again there were families here but I did see more lone males including ‘meerkats’ in the dunes. But if you want a naturist beach on a grand scale then this is for you.

Grande Plage

Now we’re back in Blighty and missing the sun.

All the best
Barry

Thanks for the words and pictures Guys sounds like you had fun!