Enjoying a little piece of paradise in Brittany
JOHN SCHEERHOUT finds that the old town of Benodet is the perfect spot for a French family break
NESTLING at the mouth of the river Odet on the easternmost cape of Brittany – where it curls out into the Bay of Biscay – is the handsome old French town of Benodet, our home for the next week.
It’s a favourite of holidaying families, from France as well as England, and it’s easy to see why: nearby there are long, pristine white sand beaches edged by dramatic rocky outcrops; the coast is fringed by immaculate cycle paths, turning inland to wind through marshy woods; then there is the harbour town itself, dotted with bars, restaurants and creperies looking out over the anchored boats bobbing in the water.
Whisper it, but this is a little paradise – just what we needed after a long journey from Manchester.
Together with Mrs S and our three kids, we had driven south to Portsmouth and taken the overnight ferry to St Malo, a crossing we’ve done a few times and have always enjoyed.
Just leaving aside the undying thrill of driving a car into a boat and then spending the night on board, the kids always look forward to the entertainment: this time it was Alexander Wells, a charming magician who thankfully wasn’t put off by the presence of a grown man in the front row among the kids. (What can I say – I really like magic).
Early the next morning, we rolled off our ferry and a little over three hours later we were at our little portion of paradise: a 22-acre holiday park called L’Escale St Gilles operated by Sunelia, which has 31 such sites across France.
Our home was an immaculate three-bed cabin with its own kitchen-diner and a large terrace outside. We had the cleverly laid out prestige version, which looked like something from an Ikea showroom. There were two bathrooms and a kitchen-diner cum living room, complete with flat screen TV.
Far more noteworthy, so far as the kids were concerned, was the heated on-site swimming pool with its slides and ‘river’: we had generally good weather for a week-long stay during the Whit break, but when it turned a little chilly or rainy the pool’s ingenious roof was pushed shut.
There was plenty to do to keep exuberant young ones entertained: a play park at the site entrance and an adjacent sports field, with a football pitch as well as football and tennis courts.
Shows were put on during the evening. Anyone who comes to L’Escale Saint Gilles will bump into the ubiquitous, ever-smiling Denis, pronounced Duh-nee for anyone with un petit peu Franglais.
Every night he was on stage hosting kid-friendly entertainment.
He also works behind the bar.
And runs the bike rental. The guy is everywhere.
The site felt safe and was clean.
The staff – and Denis in particular – were friendly.
There was a lovely on-site restaurant, a spa and a take-away for those who wanted a night off from the cooking.
It was Denis we went to (of course) to hire bikes to explore Benodet and particularly its beaches, which are a real treat.
We rode out of the site and along the water’s edge into Benodet.
There, we shoe-horned our bikes onto a tiny ferry more used to foot passengers, which took us the short distance across the river into the small fishing village of SainteMarine with its narrow streets.
After negotiating a coastal path through the dunes, the all-but empty Kermor beach appeared before us, its pristine sand stretching out as far as the eye could see.
A lovely sunny afternoon was spent there.
We took a different, slightly longer route home across the high level bridge over the Odet, from which there is a beautiful view over Benodet.
By now the sun was beating down so your correspondent had no time to soak up the panorama when there was a surprisingly heavy child behind me in a trailer to be propelled up and over the bridge.
When we arrived back at the site, we made a beeline for the pool to cool down.
It was by no means the only beach we enjoyed. There are a few in the town itself.
East of the Odet is Le Letty, another spectacular expanse of sand along a narrow promontory.
The charming town of Benodet has plenty to recommend it.