Once we realised the coming weekend was a bank holiday, we tried to extend our stay in Flower Camping Le Bel Air but it was fully booked. Luckily we found a spot in Camping Huttopia Ars-en-Ré on the west of the island. It’s only thirty minutes away so we fill up with diesel at great cost and arrive before 1pm.
It’s a ‘natural’ campsite next to Plage Campiotel so no hedges or mown grass here. We wander up to the beach for a look. It’s huge and a mix of yellow sand and rock with a smattering of people widely spread so looks pretty empty.
Once we are settled on our pitch after much dithering about which one and where to park we eventually get around to a tasty salad lunch with our first patê of the trip.
Late afternoon we rouse ourselves and get back on our bikes to cycle to Ars-en-Ré. We park up in the village square and wander around the church which has a steeple similar to the one in Saint-Marie. It’s not as lovely inside but the beautiful colours of the stained glass reflected on the walls, benches and floor is unusual and gorgeous. Now time for refreshments in the square!
On a further half km, we decide to walk to the marina where T realises we’ve been here before when we visited back in 2018. Some of the boats are very swanky and definitely a step up compared to La Flotte. You’ve guessed it, time for a cold beer which doesn’t stay cold very long in these temps.
A visit to the bakery for bread with our BBQ and a gorgeous strawberry tart for afters before we head back to our campsite. The campsite bar and garden area is busy with people eating and drinking so we decide to join them.
A game of scrabble at the van which I win, before and after a late BBQ. Excited to record Eurasian Nightjar and Eurasian Scops Owl with the Merlin bird app!
T takes a stroll to the beach to catch the sunset and then we finish our evening with a quiz before heading to bed.
A lovely day on the Ré.
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