Category Archives: Médoc

Last pictures from France

There’s no particular theme, just a few things that caught my eye. Now, I am all for using natural resources wherever possible but these are live power lines! Seen in Le Verdon.

The almost disused cranes at Le Verdon. The port is almost deserted these daya, although cruise ships do stop here for re-supply if they cannot get down the 60 miles / 100km along the river to Bordeaux. The tower was built as a water tower and apparently used as an anti-aircraft battery in World War Two.

One of the two ferries that cross the Gironde between Le Verdon (a different dock) and Royan.

The most often seen nautical activity in these parts.

The incredibly garish road markings appeared overnight in Le Verdon, along the road that leads to the ferry. I have never seen anything like this, anywhere!

And so it was down to Bordeaux for the final 36 hours before my flight back to Portugal. The train was incredibly crowded. There were more people sitting on the floor in my section that sitting on actual seats. SNCF, in its wisdom, decided that a 3 car train would suffice for a summer Saturday morning. The next train, which we passed on the way down , was six cars however.

To the Sunday morning ‘Brocante’ near the St Michel church. The bell tower is undergoing significant restoration. The scaffolding in place looks almost as impressive as the original structure, which dates from the 15th century. The tower is 114 metres (374 feet) high. When restored, it should be possible to visit it.

The market ranges from well ordered stalls selling ancient second hand books, postcards and records (black vinyl) and a lot of glassware, down to piles of stuff on mats and carpets. I have to wonder where the vendors get it from and more so to whom they sell it. OK dear, I will just pop out a buy a cannon. Or a set of cow horns, as one does.

Or, for that matter, a Second World War era rifle cleaning kit. I was tempted and did examine it. It looked complete and I did recall some of the tools from those long ago days in my schools Cadet Force. Cleaning Lee Enfield .303 weapons. Or perhaps take home a bear paw? Just what I always wanted!

Sme of you may be old enough to remember that this was how we used to buy nuts, bolts and screws. This stall had a huge box like this, probably from a store long since closed and forgotten. Note that they are sold by the dozen.

Look carefully above your head at the street signs and spot the previous names. Some have three, one pre revolutionary, one named after the heroes thereof and then later names like Rue Charles de Gaulle or Rue 8 Mai. This is one end of the well known shopping street.

After not having bought anything, a tram ride up to the rapidly changing area around the Bassins à Flot, the old docks. On the one hand there is lots of modernity.

But in areas yet untouched, flowers grow happily.

Looming large over the area is the Second World War submarine base, built by the Germans in 1941.

Every so often, you can trip over the remains of the area’s industrial past. But I was pleased to see that a lot of the old rails have been taken out of the ground and recycled as traffic barriers.

Last few days at the seaside in Soulac-sur-mer

It’s coming to the end of my visit. These are just a few images from the last few days.

There is a lot of very dense woodland around the area. Nice walks through them, but don’t sit down! To me, it seems that the biggest ants in the world live there, especially in the pine woods. Something else I have noticed over the years is the lack of birds, again especially in the pines. Hardly a wing flutters, nary a cheep is heard.

Then right in the middle, this standard issue German light machine gun post. Guarding what I wondered. There is nothing to suggest anything to be guarded. Behind it is a modern campsite.

The inexorable advance of the sea is exposing various layers of coastal defences and the traces of the railways used to bring the materials to build them. The higher ones date from the 1960’s, the lower structures nearer the sea from the 1920’s. This is to the north of the town. The 30 metre high dunes are gradually being pushed back.

The lagoons created by the tides are popular and safe places for children to play in the water.

The town has hired in a variety of equipment to suck and sweep that sand that was blow into the streets last week, to return it to the beach where it belongs. It does not take much imagination to picture the situation in 1741 which caused the original town to be evacuated and moved wholesale inland. The ancient church (Basilique Notre-Dame-de-la-fin-des-Terres) which I have pictured previously was buried up as far as the clock tower before it was unburied and restored in the mid 19th-century.

Another ever present danger in the area is fire. Last summer the forest trails were closed because of the extreme fire risk. Happily this year they are not, but to the south of the town along the beach there are often very large lumps of charcoal exposed. These are the legacy of a huge fire that ravaged the area sometime in pre-history. This one was about 1.5 metres long.

Seepage of oily water can be seen in many locations. The result of natural processes under the sand and exposed where the dunes are carved by the sea.

Elsewhere are distinct layers where icy cold water drips down from little escarpments. The sand is always on the move. Every now and then some artifact from ancient or modern history will show up. Only last week a local showed up a police station with a bagful of World War Two ammunition. Probably the most well known is this 1st Century brass statue of a boar found in 1989. Always worth keeping your eyes open when walking along the beach!

And finally, as ever, the first Sunday in August saw the annual blessing of the sea by various clergy. That night was a spectacular fireworks display enjoyed by thousands. My couple of photos cannot possibly do it justice.

East of Soulac, the polders

To the east of Soulac are large areas of flat farmland, reclaimed from the sea with the help of Dutch engineers in the 17th and 18th centuries. Go out there on a bike and it’s possible to hear the sound of silence, the only noise being that of the wind. This is the area between the little village of Talais and the Gironde estuary. Huge flat fields, prairies almost, stretching far into the distance. The main crops are maize and sunflowers, although do also have cattle grazing.

Looking the other way, across the tidal mud flats towards the almost disused port of Le Verdon. Oysters are cultivated here.

On the way, I passed the little airfield outside the town. Parked there was this old Antonov AN-2 aircraft. This one is registered in Hungary and seems to used for parachuting by a French group. I found some old photos of military parachutists using it for training. Around 18,000 of these were built between 1947 and the 1980’s. Many are still in service in various far flung corners of the world.

Two not very nice days at all!

This just about sums it up! Two days of 75kph (nearly 50mph) winds, dark clouds and frequent heavy showers. The wind has whipped up the sand, which I now have in many orifices. Tourists have been hiding. Not summer at all. Yesterday I went on the bus to Montalivet, which is normally a busy tourist place with a busy market. By the time I got there, the weather had hit. Most of the market traders had already cried off.

The beach at Montalivet with some terminally insane surfers. The beach was otherwise closed.
The normally bustling streets were almost deserted.
And the market almost empty.
The yellow machine was trying to put the beach back together.
But the waves were crashing in.

The picture above shows one of the sneaky lateral waves that are a feature of the coast in this area. Just when you think it is safe, they sweep you off your feet almost from behind.

The wind was so strong that standing there, above the beach, was like being in a sand blaster. Small children were almost blown away. I was grateful to get back on the bus!

Then this morning in Soulac, there were sand drifts, to the extent that the ‘promenade’ was closed to traffic. I have seen it worse, once, but even today the sand was everwhere.

Sand was two feet (60cm) deep in a few places.
As you can see from the tree, the wind was howling!
Breakers in the distance attest to the force of the waves.

So later I cycled up to the ferry at Le Verdon and went across to Royan. Bleak and rainswept it became shortly after I arrived. The huge beach at St George de Didonne was deserted. I continued to Meschers through the woods, where at least the rain held off long enough for my picnic lunch.

The beach at St Georges de Didonne.
Dark and horrible sky looking across the Gironde towards the Médoc.

Then it rained really hard and I got soaked. Back on the ferry, which was across a suitably rough sea.

A week in the Pointe du Médoc

First week here. Weather has been variable, with wind and rain from time to time but not cold. I have had some bike rides through the forests (they were closed last year because of the extreme fire risk) and also some walks around town. These are just a few random pictures of things that have caught my eye.

Fishing from the Banc St Nicolas at the Pointe de Grave
It was good weather for sailing . rather windy!
Soulac-sur-mer, the site of the Résidence le Signal, demolished before the sea could claim it.
When built in 1967, it was 200 metres from the sea. Just before recent demolition.
Another windy day!
The final part of the cycle paths along the seafront have been completed.

The whole area is very bike friendly. Miles and miles of off road cycling and almost completely flat.

Local train approaching one of the level crossings.

Deep in the woods north of Soulac are the 80 year old remains of the German fortifications of World War Two. I had not seen this particular site before, it is almost completely hidden. It must have been an important site. The whole area is covered in bomb craters up to ten metres deep. I have some books at home and will try to find out more about it.

Changing the subject completely! On a sand dune, this little flower all on its own. I did see a couple more later. Reverse image search can’t identify, too much sand. Can anyone tell me what it is?

More remains. I wonder if these will be as mysterious to the archaeologists of 4023 as those of 23AD are to us?

Early morning beach sweeping
Long before the tourists are awake. These will become beach shelters at €20 a day!
Somewhere, a small child will have been scolded for leaving this behind. The sweeper will take it.
Nearby a bird tries to tug something out of the sand the sweeper has partially uncovered.
Rue de la Plage
The Basilica style church, ancient and a UNESCO world heritage site.
Some care and attention is needed!

Farewell to Soulac-sur-mer

My last pictures from this summer’s trip. The beach at low tide clearly shows why there can be dangers when the tide comes in. The people out on the sandbank might suddenly find themselves with 2 metres of fast flowing water filling those channels between them and safety.

One the shoreline, local artists have been hard at work on the remains of the ‘Atlantic Wall’ fortifications to the south of the town centre.

Silence! And no birds!

I have noticed this before, but perhaps even more so this time in the Soulac area. Absolute silence in the woods. Even a couple of miles out of town, in the woods or on a track among the fields, there is often absolute silence, other than perhaps a little wind rustling the leave. And almost no birds. I would have thought that hundreds of acres of mainly pine trees would be bird heaven, but not. The skies are almost empty. I have seen a couple of hawks or buzzards or similar, circling lazily above the fields at a couple of hundred feet in search of prey, but that’s about it. There are no cliffs in the area, so nowhere for seabirds to nest. Nary a pigeon or sparrow to be seen.

So, any thoughts appreciated.

Tomorrow I leave for Bordeaux, where there are no doubt birds a-plenty. I shall be watching the skies!

Fête de la mer, Soulac-sur-mer Sunday 7th August

Sunday saw the traditional celebration of the sea at Soulac. A church service was followed by a parade of the great and good the short distance along the Rue de la Plage to the seafront. There, the Archibishop of Bordeaux made a speech, a band played (including a strange jazz version of the Bee Gees hit Stayin’ Alive) and offshore there was a small gathering of boats. Soulac does not have a harbour or marina, the nearest being at Royan or le Verdon, both several miles / km away. Skydivers then demonstrated their skills, some with tandem jumps, landing on the beach not too far away from the holidaymakers. Only one was slightly off target, but no danger.

The band played on. Later in the day was more music, a fireworks display (off the beach , so no worries about fire danger) and then from 2300 until 0100 a very loud outdoor disco for the teenagers. Urgh, this modern music, it’s all noise, I don’t know what they see in it. But, presumably to drive them away, the last three tracks were Queen, the Spice Girls and Frank Sinatra!

Elsewhere in town, this horrible ruin still stands. An apaartment block one home to 200 people, it has been empty for many years and is a real eyesore. It was evacuated when it decided that coastal erosion was becoming too much of the threat. It is now barely 20 metres from the sea at high tide. I asked why it hasn’t been demolished. A local said that they were waiting for the sea to do it so that it would not cost any money! Apparently there some sort of judicial process regarding compensation still dragging through the courts. Apologies for the sun streak, I did not notice it at the time.