GITES WITH POOLS
THE VENDEE
BECOMING A VENDEEFILE
If you are looking for a holiday in France why would you want to visit the Vendée? After all as a nurse who had just returned from a holiday there said to me “it’s just a strip of coastline with a boring flat plain behind it, isn’t it”? Well actually no it isn’t. The Vendée is without doubt one of the jewels in the French holiday crown. Who says so? Well actually the French, but they say it quietly because in typical Gallic style they like to keep the best for themselves.
Why the Vendee by Tate
For
years the French have visited the Vendée for their holidays, enjoying
the exceptional micro-climate, the miles and miles of exquisite sandy
beaches and the sleepy rural communities. In fact the French liked it
so much they chose to build their holiday homes, not in Provence, or on
the Côte D’Azur but on the Vendéen coast. Now the secret is out and the
Vendée is fast becoming a popular destination for holidaymaker and
émigré alike, and if you look at the Vendée in more detail you will
find a region of France that is beautiful, friendly, varied and steeped
in history. So it doesn’t matter whether you enjoy the sun, water
sports, sightseeing or just hanging out with the locals, the Vendée has
it all.
Just
to place the Vendée in history it was the only French province to
resist the French Revolution, and as a consequence a bloody war was
fought between Les Bleu’s the French revolutionary forces and Les
Blanc’s the Vendéen army which supported the royalists and the clergy.
The war raged for 12 years culminating in the defeat of the Vendéen
army and the death of some 500,000 Vendéens. A spectacular depiction of
the Vendéen War
is re-enacted on weekend evenings throughout the summer at The Puy Du
Fou. With a cast of thousands drawn from the surrounding communities,
and that’s no exaggeration, this sound, light and laser show
culminating in the raising of the Chateau is without doubt a totally
unique and unexpected experience.
So
having placed the Vendée in history let’s place it geographically. The
Vendée sits on the French Atlantic coast stretching from the Isle de
Niormoutier in the north to Marans in the south. The miles of white
sandy beaches
are a sun worshiper’s paradise, varying from beaches that literally
come into town to beaches that require a walk over high protective sand
dunes. Some are well used and some are secluded enough to offer nudism.
Not just the province of the sun worshipper there are many great surfing breaks and water sports venues, and let’s not forget the yachtsman, after all there must be some reason, the Vendée Globe round the world yacht race starts at Les Sables D’Olonne. There are plenty of marinas all down the coast, and virtually all of the coastal towns have a harbour. There are modern coastal towns like Saint-Jean-de-Monts a land yachting centre, and my personal favourite Saint-Giles-Croix-de-Vie. It has mixture of old and new architecture, a beautiful harbour and a fabulous seafront and beaches. At the far southern end of the Vendéen coastline is the Anse De L’Aiguillon a wetland paradise and a haven for waterfowl and the whole coastline has oyster and mussel beds in abundance. On very low tides the causeway out to the Isle de Niormoutier has hundreds of cars parked on the sand on either side with literally thousands of people raking all manner of shellfish. It doesn’t take much imagination to realise that the coast is brimful of fantastic restaurants specialising in seafood, making it a culinary dream for the gourmet and gourmand alike.
Not just the province of the sun worshipper there are many great surfing breaks and water sports venues, and let’s not forget the yachtsman, after all there must be some reason, the Vendée Globe round the world yacht race starts at Les Sables D’Olonne. There are plenty of marinas all down the coast, and virtually all of the coastal towns have a harbour. There are modern coastal towns like Saint-Jean-de-Monts a land yachting centre, and my personal favourite Saint-Giles-Croix-de-Vie. It has mixture of old and new architecture, a beautiful harbour and a fabulous seafront and beaches. At the far southern end of the Vendéen coastline is the Anse De L’Aiguillon a wetland paradise and a haven for waterfowl and the whole coastline has oyster and mussel beds in abundance. On very low tides the causeway out to the Isle de Niormoutier has hundreds of cars parked on the sand on either side with literally thousands of people raking all manner of shellfish. It doesn’t take much imagination to realise that the coast is brimful of fantastic restaurants specialising in seafood, making it a culinary dream for the gourmet and gourmand alike.
Behind
the coast there is a mixture of sand dunes and pine forests which is
almost entirely bordered by marshes from the Marais Breton in the north
to the Marais Poitevin in the south. Sandwiched between them and the
Armoricain Massif we find “Lucon- Fontenay Prairie” a large plain of
relatively flat agricultural land with enormous skies and a light that
artists would die for. Much of the marshland is reclaimed, it was
drained at first by the Medieval Monks and the lords of La Garnache and
further in the 18th century by the Dutch. A trip from Les
Sables D’Olonne to Fontenay le Comte on the route of the old Roman
coastal road takes you through small villages, miles from the sea, with
signposts which say to the Port.
The Marais Poitevin
is a large area of marshland criss-crossed with rivers and canals with
beautiful villages and picturesque houses scattered along their banks.
The Marais Poitevin is the second largest wetland in France; only the
Camargue is larger, holds a proliferation of wildlife and is a haven
for the twitcher and the casual observer alike. From the ruined abbey
at Maillezais to Marans the Marais Poitevin
is unique whether you drive or take to the canals on either a
supervised tour or by hiring a punt and leisurely discovering for
yourself the latticework of waterways that interlace the area. Behind
the plain and the marshes is the Bocage, an area of rolling hills,
woodlands and farms. The Vendée is one of the major food producing
areas of France, it not only grows the raw materials and raises the
livestock, but it is also home to some of France’s major food
processing companies.
The only problem with the Vendée is that there is too much to tell you about, so if you want to know more about the beautiful old town of Fontenay le Comte, or the barrage and lake complex at the Mervent Forest, or the artist’s paradise of Vouvant, or the wine route through Mareuil-sur-Lay, or the Breton salt marshes or the fishing boats in the tidal harbour of Port du Bec, you’ll just have to visit and see for yourself. Who knows you may fall in love with it and become a Vendéefile, just like me. - Tate 2008
About the
author: Tate spends the summers in the Vendee and is passionate about
good wine and good food,he writes exclusively for the www.gites-with-pools.co.uk website.
The coping of this article is permitted as long as the complete article along with its credits are published.
The coping of this article is permitted as long as the complete article along with its credits are published.
