We planned to get up early and hire bikes, but we first needed to get some baguette and pastries eaten and some coffee drunk!

When we were finally ready to hire the bikes there were none left! Undeterred we headed to a cycle hire shop closer to town.  Once the Hythe Adamsons were fully kitted out with helmets, we headed off.  Well I say we headed off… most of us did.  Gordons seat fell down and by the time he had fixed it he saw us in the distance and set off to catch us up… except it wasn’t us he caught up with it was another family! So when we all got to town there was no Gordon to be seen!

The first stop, once we had Gordon back in our peloton was the salt flats where we could see the manufacture of the famous Noirmoutier salt. From there we headed on down the coast, and saw some sheds selling oysters, which looked perfect… and for less than  £10 you could buy an oyster knife, a bottle of wine and a dozen oysters that had just been picked out the sea! if only they were this accessible in the UK!!

We carried on along the cycle path, headed for the Passage du Grois, a road only accessible when the tide is out and until the 70’s was the only way onto the island.  We arrived and cycled out to one of the emergency towers, which are there incase your car breaks down! if it does, you climb the tower, and wait for the tide to go out again!  There were hundred of people out collecting their sea food, some of them after razor clams, other mussles, oysters or clams.

http://uk.ile-noirmoutier.com/activities-outings/shellfish-gathering

We decided to head back, and at this point it was clear that the children would be in need of serious medical attention should they not be given some baguette instantly! amid the drama and whinging we made it back to a shop for an SOS stop for some bread and pate, washed down by an ice cream given to us by a stranger who had finished his holiday and had 8 ice creams left over!

After a brief stop to get bread for the evening meal, and to buy a new fin for the paddle board, we headed back to the camp and the kids hit the beach.  It was all going really well until one of the paddles got lost.

After extensive searching we gave up, and transported the contents of freckles culinary offerings over to the beach side tent. We cooked up moules, clams we had foraged, prawns, burgers, sausages, and opened oysters and much wine! the children continued to search with binoculars for the missing paddle.  At one point there was an unconfirmed sighting…. categorised as drift wood.  Shortly before a medical incident involving Joel, and enthusiastic first aider and a near miss of a head injury diagnosis!  Thank goodness there were some responsible adults around!

Once the ferrel children had finished their tent disco and gone to bed, we openend some port and cheese and rounded off the night with a walk along the beach with the worlds brightest torch looking for the blinking paddle!

In lots of ways had we not lost the paddle, the evening would have been less fun, but it is a shame that we won’t have it for tomorrow.

With the Hythe Adamsons headed back to Saint Malo very early the next day we called it a night, and a great end to their french adventures.

Last night when we went to bed we had just seen a few flashes of lightening.

Strangely there had been high wind through the evening (and not from Stewarts bottom for once) and as we went to bed the wind completely dropped.

As we got into our beds the heavens opened, and for what seemed like forever the rain bucketed down hard onto the camp.  Fraser was snuggled in his tent, completely oblivious to what can only be described as biblical rain! The thunder rumbled and the lightening lit up the whole sky.  Lady Penelope in her double bed beneath us was warm and dry as toast.  Stew and I took it in turns to get up and remove the water pools from the canopy outside the van, but in the end the weight of water was just too much for it and it ripped under the strain! We have well used our sun awning over the last few years, and will be definitely investing in another.  https://www.funkyleisure.co.uk/vw-t2t25-camper-van-sun-canopy-awning–brilliant-orange-10771-p.asp

The next morning as we woke up we could hear the rest of the campsite cleaning up from the storm.   As fraser staggered into the van he was baffled as to why his pillow was wet! The tent survived the storm remarkably well, with the only casualty being his pillow… as we walked around the rest of the camp it was cleat that others hadn’t been as lucky!

I headed on into town with Penny to get supplies (after id eaten all the cheese the night before!) as we had visitors arriving!

When the Hythe Adamsons arrived at camp we headed to the beach to get some clams ready for dinner tomorrow night.  All the children (and adults) loved collecting the clams and it was absolutely teaming with the shell fish. I do wonder if the storm the night before had confused them! with a huge bucket full we headed back to camp, opened some wine and oysters and settled down for a long relaxing lunch!

Once the other Adamsons had checked into their tent, we went back to the beach with the paddle boards and got the boat out.  We all went out to the ponton in the middle of the sea which aside from being covered in bird poop made a fun adventure and Fraser and Joel particularly enjoyed the ride back being towed on the paddle boards!

We got ready and headed to the campsite for more seafood and fun before setting back into our beds.

With low tide in the morning, we got up and headed into town. The town is only about a mile away and its along a causeway.

We had a walk around the town and looked in our favourite shops.

After buying more baguettes we headed back to the campsite for some lunch and to get all out boating equipment inflated!  I think it was our first proper french lunch of the holiday with lots of cheese and ham!

Once we had finished lunch we set about inflating all of our boats!  We have a little inflatable tender with an outboard and a couple of paddle boards.  The rest of the day was brilliant on the water! The paddle boards were great fun!  everyone managed to stand up and the children were fab.

For the children it was an ultimate burger on the bbq and some pork chops…. whilst Stew and I had oysters and prawns again and chatted until late… there may even have been some more cheese and port involved!

Just as we started to see a few flashes of lightening we went to bed.