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.