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.
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.
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 http://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.
WHY THE
VENDEE.
By TATE