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Published: September 25th 2013
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Our next stop for the night for Suzy, Sion and the rest of us was going to be the Dune du Pyla otherwise known as the Pilat Dune. Our Tour had done this tour a while ago and mentioned how busy the sand dune was so we had decided to attack it on the way home rather on than on the way out on holiday. We drove along the coast road which was busy. There were about four different campsites we could have chosen along the way each with their own access to the dune.
We chose Panorama campsite another ACSI site at 14 euros a night. It seemed busy despite being the end of the season. The plots were set irregularly in the pine trees and the Germans had taken all the good ones facing the sea. Like in the Costas around the swimming pool they reserved their pitches and picked the best places. Reception was friendly and on site there was a restaurant which typically closed on the night we were there. A shop which opened at 4.30 and had a reasonable selection of goods and a bar with panoramic views across the bay. Toilets were ample and
clean and washing machines available at 5 euros. I took advantage of the washing machines to catch up with several days worth of smelly laundry, Drying was not good under the trees as no sun could penetrate and it was considerably colder than in Spain. There was a jacuzzi and sauna and swimming pools but unfortunately much as I fancied using them I didnt get the chance. Dreaded kariaoki was advertised as well as animations for the children. And a beauty centre -- perhaps I needed that!! There were also cash machines , a skate park and tennis courts. Glamping tents overlooked the bay. Para Gliders took off from the headland and the dune itself.
We ate tea in and cassoulette which is something like the London Grill that we used to be able to buy back home. Beans and lots of them, sausage and bacon, crusty bread and fried potatoes . A feast fit for a KIng when you are hungry.
We walked over to the dune through a footpath from the campsite and what a site. It stretched for what seemed like miles. Never ending sand . We walked up one side of the dune, the
sea to our left and pine trees to our right. The hang gliders still plying their craft. The small boats marooned between the sand dunes and the sea waiting for the high tide to release them. Three steps up and two back our shoes full of sand and our legs feeling like lead. Thoughts of Lawrence of Arabia and the desert in our minds. What a shame so many people walked the dunes before us. Their footprints imprinted for ever. I would have loved to have seen the dunes pristine without all those footprints but there are too many people on this earth now to allow this.
Facts about the dune. The dune of Pilat is also called the Grande Dune du Pilat and is the tallest dune in Europe located in La Teste de Buch in the Arcachon Bay are of France. It has a volume of 60, 000,000 m³, measuring around 500 m wide from east to west and 2.7 km in length from north to south. Its height is currently 110 metres above sea level. It seemed to go on forever .
A worthwhile visit and one we enjoyed but a busy and noisy campsite.
Our next stop an aire we read about in a blog by Our Tour where we hope to see a statue placed by the Welsh assembly to commemorate a prince of Wales who fought for the French and was assassinated by a mercenery Scot.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
A lovely place to explore
Looks great.