On the Cote Sauvage
We visit La Bouverie on the French Atlantic coast for sun, sea, sand & surf school
I always thought that if you wanted to surf, you had to go somewhere like Maui in the Hawaiian islands, or at least look like you’d auditioned for Baywatch in a previous life.
But that’s not true, as we discovered when we first visited the French Atlantic coast at Lit et Mixe. About thirty minutes south of Arcachon and the Dune du Pilat, Lit is a sleepy little town with a hidden secret, and it’s a secret that belongs to most coastal towns and villages on the nearly 200 km stretch of coast from Arcachon to Bayonne - the wild Atlantic surf.
This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
It’s difficult to explain the raw power of the sea along this coast: it’s so tempestuous that lifeguards only rescue people if they’re in the sea between two lifeguard towers set only 50 metres apart, and the undertow is so dangerous even the French are wary (The French are some of the least risk-averse people I’ve ever met).
This was our first experience of the wild French Atlantic coast, and we wanted more.
In 2023, we went camping in the Landes Forest near Moliets. We went to Moliets beach a couple of times to spend the day; our daughter had a bodyboard that she wanted to try in the slightly gentler waves, and whilst we were there, we noticed several groups of people both in the sea and on the beach that looked like they were getting some kind of instruction.
This was ‘Surf School’ , a concept we were unfamiliar with but looked like a great way to learn to surf properly; they were using real surfboards, not the ubiquitous bodyboards, and they were out in the waves doing surfing quite soon after some beach instruction.
We wanted to book, but we’d left it too late. We were going home the next day, but decided to make a special trip somewhere a little closer to our French house this year, 2024.
We put a pin in the map, making sure it was north of the Gironde estuary as we were only going for two days and three nights and wanted to make full use of our time there. We landed on a place called La Bouverie, a little beach very close to Ronce les Bains, where we booked an Airbnb. We also booked a 3-hour lesson for our daughter at the Ecole de Surf at La Bouverie, which at €50 seemed like real value for money.
La Bouverie is stunning: shallow water for swimming, and more importantly, surfing, wild-looking dunes, warm winds (this was late July), and so expansive that even as the beach filled over the day, it still looked comparatively empty.
We arrived early for our Surf School lesson to get kitted out with a wetsuit and measured up for a board the correct size; then a short session on French health & safety (laughing emoji) and off to the waves. The waves were gentler nearer the shore, where they started the seemingly endless battle to stay standing for more than a couple of seconds. As they got better, the instructor, Axel, took them further out to rougher water, and by the end of the three-hour lesson, a number of them could stand for more than about 5 seconds. I can only imagine how difficult it is to balance with zero stability, so they all did really, really well.
We decided to book again for the next morning's lesson and went to check in at our Airbnb in Ronce-les-Bains.
Part of the Commune of La Tremblade in the Charente-Maritime, Ronce les Bains is a seaside town just north of Royan and directly opposite Ile d’Oleron. Popular and equipped for French tourists (lots of sporting facilities and activities) with a good selection of restaurants, attractions, and, when we were there, a fairground. Because this is France, the tourist thing is never in your face; it’s quite reserved and appealing with its slightly bohemian take.
We had a wonderful evening: a really authentic Pizza, shopping for the usual teenage bracelets and a spin on the Ferris wheel.
Back to La Bouverie the next morning for lesson number two, we left our car in the Pine tree shaded car park and walked for about 750 metres along the wonderfully sandy forest path until the dunes appeared. The path cuts through the dunes to the beach, which at about 08:45 am, was misty, warm and slightly busy with the exercise crowd. The Surf school is just on your right as you enter the beach and was already set up for the first lesson. This lesson, because of the previous day's efforts, was much more successful with some actual surfing going on from virtually all participants.
We spent the rest of the day on the beach, sunbathing, swimming and body boarding.
I can’t recommend this area enough, it’s got pretty much everything you’ll need for the perfect getaway on the Atlantic coast: sun, sea, sand, and of course, surfing 🏄🏼♀️
This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Visitor information:
Ronce les Bains tourist office:
Location and Contact Information
Address: 50 Avenue Gabrielle, 17390 La Tremblade, France
Phone number: +33 5 46 08 21 00
Website:
http://www.royanatlantique.fr
La Bouverie
La Bouverie is approximately 12.5 km from Ronce Les Bains and is accessible by bike and car. Car parking is free and there are several refreshment stalls dotted amongst the pines that sell Oysters and other local delicacies.
Ecole de Surf
The Ecole de Surf at La Bouverie is open in July and August only from 9 am till 7 pm. You can book online on the Ecole de Surf at La Bouverie website here
Introducing Contributor, Nick Garnett:
Visit her Contributor Page — Explore more of Nick’s work
We return to this area again and again. The coastline is -often literally, thanks to Atlantic Ocean winds - breathtaking. There's some brilliant campsites with classy chalets and romantic framed tents, right on the beachside. Food here is interesting, that SW vibe.