Charente-Maritime: Where Land Meets Sea | EUROtoday

Alison Hughes heads to Charente-Maritime to go to the Plus Beaux Villages of Mornac-sur-Seudre and Talmont-sur-Gironde and expertise life alongside the estuary…

Two seagulls flying side-by-side, one blue and one inexperienced, make up the emblem of Charente-Maritime. Blue is for the ocean and inexperienced for the land – the 2 parts which have formed and fashioned the lives of its inhabitants for hundreds of years. Although now a part of the a lot bigger area of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, this division has retained its personal distinctive character, marked by white-washed homes with low terracotta-tiled roofs, vineyards and salt marshes.
I used to be heading to La presqu’île d’Arvert, within the southwest of Charente-Maritime, a stretch of land sandwiched between two rivers, the mighty Gironde and the smaller Seudre. On the sting of every stands a Plus Beau Village de France – Mornac on the banks of the Seudre and Talmont on the Gironde. Both even have the label of Village de Pierre et d’Eau, highlighting the significance of water, be it sea or river, to each day life. In reality, salt and contemporary water mingle in these estuaries and this ebb and circulate is important to one of many important industries of the realm oyster farming. The flat floodplains beside the river Seudre had been initially salt pans, the place salt was harvested for greater than a thousand years, first by the Gauls after which by the Romans. This exercise continued till nicely into the nineteenth century when the farming of oysters within the shallow basins (often called claire) took priority. Having stated that, salt manufacturing is now having fun with one thing of a revival, and the 2 industries reside fortunately alongside one another.

THROUGH MARSH AND VINEYARD

An effective way to see the extent of this marshy panorama is to hop on Le Train des Mouettes, which runs from Saujon to La Tremblade, with stops alongside the best way at Mornac-sur-Seudre and Chaillevette. This renovated steam practice, among the many oldest in France, chugs alongside at a leisurely tempo following the trail of the Seudre, with loads of time to absorb the patchwork of channels and basins and occasional vineyards.

The concept to resurrect the previous ‘oyster practice’ was born some 40 years in the past, and these days greater than 120 volunteers guarantee its clean working. It needs to be stated that they appeared to be totally having fun with themselves, whether or not waving a flag for clear passage or tooting the whistle when setting off. Leaving the practice at Mornac-sur-Seudre, we had been in for a deal with: it was the annual pottery market, and stalls laden with ceramics of all types from cow-shaped bowls to Gallo-Roman-style pots -lined the streets main all the way down to the port. The village started attracting artists and craftsmen within the Nineteen Fifties, drawn by its tranquil environment and ever-changing vistas. Shop doorways stood open, inviting us in to admire excellent craftsmanship. At the doorway to the village was a store devoted to macramé, with the whole lot from plant hangers to a deckchair. Nearby was an artist who made issues totally from driftwood discovered alongside the shoreline, and a jeweler who made necklaces from sea glass.

SEEKING SHELTER

A round stroll leads from the medieval market corridor previous the austere façade of the Eglise Saint-Pierre. Its inside may be very easy with a nod to oyster farming in an oyster-shell-shaped receptacle, now used for flowers. One of the numerous Romanesque church buildings for which this space is known, its forbidding exterior reminds us that in occasions passed by church buildings additionally served as refuges from assault. The highway leads all the way down to the port, circling again previous whitewashed homes with colourful shutters. The slim alleyways reminded sailors of North African medinas and so they dubbed this a part of the village the Arab quarter.

The following day took us throughout the Arvert peninsula to the Gironde estuary and one other Plus Beau Village, Talmont-sur-Gironde. Like Mornac-sur-Seudre, the village is pedestrianized and has grow to be residence to a number of artisans and artists. But it’s Che iconic church which first captures your consideration as you method. Standing on a promontory on the very fringe of the cliff, its silhouette is hanging.

Dedicated to Saint Radegonde, it appears to be like out in the direction of the Gironde and the ocean past. Above the north door are some Fine examples of Romanesque sculpture, designed as a pictorial information to salvation. On the left-hand facet, the warning is obvious: to keep away from being devoured by evil, represented by two dragons and a monster, solely Christ can save the soul. On the best, penitents who’ve overcome their passions, symbolized by a tamed lion, are proven on their approach to heaven.

On the orders of Edward I of England, who was additionally the Duke of Aquitaine, the village of Talmont was constructed as a bastide, with straight intersecting streets making it simpler for navy maneuvers. By fortifying the village, Edward may management the entry to the estuary and entry to the vital port of Bordeaux. Today solely the White Tower stays out of the village’s authentic 4 towers, because the fortifications had been destroyed by the Spanish in 1652.

The sea has dominated the historical past of Talmont, with each nighs and lows. For centuries, native fishermen caught sturgeon out, so the story goes, it was an opportunity go to by a Russian princess who taught them that the valuable eggs had been the supply of high-quality caviar – they used to throw the eggs again to not the ocean or feed them to the geese! A Parisian chef, Émile Prunier, heard the story and arrange a producing enterprise within the space which was a convincing success. However, the inevitable occurred and overfishing resulted in a ban within the Nineteen Eighties. Other conventional strategies of fishing have continued although, corresponding to one-man boats which fish for meager, detecting shoals by the sound the fish make to draw females.

Anyone who has visited the realm could have seen the distinctive fishing huts on stilts which line the shoreline of Charente-Maritime. The sq. nets, often called squares, are raised and lowered from the platform above by way of a winch. Although the huts are the property of people, the house owners need to pay lease for the usage of their little patch of sea. These days they’re used very very like seashore huts within the UK, a spot to hang around with household and mates and maybe catch one thing for supper. Talmont has an interesting museum of native historical past and fishing housed within the previous schoolhouse with a standard flat-bottomed fishing boat, a skiff, on show.

VILLAGE LIFE TODAY

Talmont-sur-Gironde’s port space has been the main focus of a number of formidable schemes: in 1917, after the United States entered the First World War, American forces started preparatory work within the Gironde estuary for a navy transhipment base; and in 1972 a serious marina was proposed, however neither challenge was accomplished, and at the moment the harbor stays a working fishing port.

Back within the village itself, I met Christine whose boutique, Le temps des roses, was full of playing cards, candles and work, painted together with her fingertips (no brushes). She advised me that she had began portray as a type of remedy after a critical sickness and he or she had solely wished to color roses, a logo of peace and love. She appears to have a discovered an ideal work/life stability, solely opening her little store a couple of hours every week, the place she indulges her different ardour, music, to the delight of consumers. Slightly additional alongside, I used to be happy to see a boutique displaying a standard product – Charentaise slippers. Once solely worn by the third age they’re now obtainable in brilliant colours and patterns.

Before leaving Talmont-sur-Gironde, my information Caroline identified a stone on which was engraved a Latin palindrome. The stone had in all probability come from the Gallo-Roman city of La Få, the stays of that are simply two kilometers away – a hyperlink again to a time when, little question, its inhabitants had been additionally drawn to this space of ​​inexperienced and blue, land and sea.

MOST BEAUTIFUL ESSENTIAL VILLAGES

WHERE TO STAY

Le Port du Paradis, 17600 Nieulle-sur-Seudre

portparadis.com

WHERE TO EAT

41 rue du Port, 17113 Mornac-sur-Seudre

HOW TO GET THERE

• Charente-Maritime is 4.5 hours drive from Saint-Malo. Brittany
• Ferries have in a single day sailings from Portsmouth to Saint-Malo.
• Le Train des Mouettes: The practice runs each day in summer time season, lowered timetable in off-season. Themed journeys are additionally out there.

seudre-ocean-express.fr

INFORMATION

For info on the realm: royanatlantique.fr

From France Today Magazine