We were toying with the idea of trying Ile d’Re again. All the sites we tried appeared to be full and generally very busy. New plan, North on Oleron! Ile D’Oleron is a much bigger island than the Ile de Re, busy but not completely rammed and the campsites seemed quieter. We headed North to Saint Denis Oleron ( there should have been a clue in the name!) Camping Les Lauriers. This site had a good write up in both Camper Contact and Searchforsites.
After a busy hours drive up to the top of the island, we found it. Loads of French wrinklies on the roads in campers and the odd caravan, no Brits!
We had soon set up our camp. Nice large pitch with a hedge, good toilets and showers with hot water. The village of Saint Denis was around the corner and the beach a five minute walk from the site. The site was family run and was a mixture of statics and touring pitches. Very busy and we actually stayed 2 weeks with the site very often full.
The village was a typically small French place, with a super market and a large daily market. There was a harbour with lots going on and loads of beach bars and restaurants. The beach was fine sand but a bit dirty in places. We did try the water but for us a bit on the chilly side, for the rest of the world probably fine!
The harbour just around the corner.
Two weeks here passed in a flash. We were very lucky with the weather with some days being almost too HOT.
Lots of interesting things happening here. We watched two weddings in the village. One on horseback!!
Bride and bridesmaids all made it to the church on horseback.
D ‘ Oleron is of course made for le velo. Bikes and bike paths everywhere. We road up to the Chassiron Lighthouse it was busy.
Built in 1836 it’s the oldest lighthouse on the island. 224 steps up and 46m tall. It was too hot to climb to the top so we wandered around the grounds and had a beer in the shade.
Lots of places to visit on the island. We took another ride to La Bree les Bains, another beach down the coast.
We had a couple of meals in a very nice Brassiere around the corner. Very French indoors, outdoors.
Den found his own place 😊😊😊
All in all, we enjoyed our stay and would go back as there is loads more to explore.
