Day 103
7.30am start = Sunrise reward
We were on the road by 7.30am today. Still a bit dark, but with a mist rising from the river and surrounding fields and the sky turning red and golden as the sun rose we were chilly but awestruck by the quiet beauty of dawn. The EV1 soon took us onto cycle only paths and another easy day’s cycling had begun. We rode through a vast area of swamp ground interspaced with small canals, then headed into the forest that dominates this coastal region. As we cycled on a smooth tarmac path, we passed hundreds of smaller sandy tracks tempting us to explore. A glimpse of the sea took us to a beautiful beach for a stunning spot to eat our lunch.
Back on the main path we stopped to see the La Coubre Lighthouse. It was opened in 1905 and is still in use today, it is 64m high, and if you climb it’s 300 steps you are rewarded with a stunning view over the Gironde estuary. We unfortunately arrived at lunch time and it was closed. Nothing for it but to continue to Royan and another Ice-cream! The town has built up around a coastline of sandy beaches, beautiful villas from the belle epoque period of 1870s to more modern ones of the 1930s, mixed with modern Post war architecture such as the concrete Notre-Dame de Royan.
No Warmshowers host tonight so we booked a campsite. Not the only cyclist here, we had passed a lady pulling her dog in a trailer several times. A few hours after we arrived so booked in opposite us!
