By ROBERT HARDMAN

Chic and unique: Ile de Re is a popular Parisien hangout


This must be the highest concentration of people on two wheels you’re ever likely to see outside Amsterdam or Cambridge.

There are cyclists everywhere: middle-aged couples on fold-up bikes; posers in Lycra on whippet-thin racing machines; hearty families on matching mountain bikes (heaven knows why — there isn’t so much as a hillock, let alone a mountain, for miles).

And all of them are cheerfully overtaking me as I pant along on an ordinary bicycle pulling a trailer carrying two sleeping children and all the requisite clobber for a day at the seaside.

It’s no ordinary seaside, either. Do you want a day of bucket and spade? Or do you want nature reserves and bird sanctuaries? Perhaps you would prefer a trek to a lonely lighthouse or some rejuvenating thalassotherapy?

For a sliver of land just 20 miles long and three miles wide, the Ile de Re can sometimes be an irksome bundle of choices.


Bucket and spade: Matilda, Robert and Phoebe enjoy some beach time


We had heard a lot about the Ile de Re, but there was no room at the auberge — or any of the pretty clapboard gites — when we started making enquires.

On further inspection, it turned out to be an island with a stupendous bridge attached. Only the French would build something the size of the Severn Bridge to reach a place dwarfed by the Isle of Wight.

So there’s no need to stay on it; you can just pay a return toll of £14.

Once the home of a grand Cognac-making clan, the chateau is now a boutique hotel with the chi-chi ‘123’ restaurant attached (try the goat’s cheese quenelles and the Cognac Baba).

We stayed in the apartments in an air-conditioned family flat overlooking the pool.
It’s a big coast in every sense. South of La Rochelle we found the Edwardian resort town of Chatelaillon-Plage where the sea rolls in and out so far that when we arrived, at low tide, the Atlantic seemed to have wandered off to America.

A perfect spot for two free-range children who have yet to master swimming. There is plenty of sea in the deeper waters around the Ile de Re. It is two miles over the bridge but it has the feel of travelling to another land.


Bicyclette etiquette: Bikes are the most popular mode of transport on the island


Suddenly, the big, bustling coast roads of Western France turn into a lattice of narrow lanes through small villages and lush farmland.

There are surprisingly few cyclists on the road. They are all pedalling away along their own 60-mile

network of cycle tracks that traverse the island. Every now and then, bike and car routes meet, but the intersections are amicable.

We decided to hire bikes in the pretty village of Le Bois-Plage for the simple reason that the bike shop was near a merry-go-round.

It’s always worth remembering that hiring anything in Europe during the holiday season consumes the same amount of time as a decent meal so it seemed wise to have some entertainment while I faffed around with the paperwork.

Sure enough, renting two bikes with child seats and a trailer took an hour — plus a parking ticket on the car. But at £11 a day, a bike here is about a fifth the cost of a ‘Boris bike’ in London.


Rural bliss: Beyond the beaches, there is plenty to explore


Our favourite spot was just outside the village of La Couarde where we rounded off a morning of sandcastles and rock pools with lunch at a beach shack called Taxi Brousse.

It’s cash-only, but does superb mussels on a shady deck and has a swimming pool just for customers.

Other highlights included a family day out in La Rochelle. It’s a big port city but the centre is a wonderful labyrinth of cobbled streets and grand colonnades leading down to an ancient port.

It’s full of great restaurants; try the cheaper joints one street back from the quay on the atmospheric Rue St Jean du Perot.


Travel Facts
Domaine du Chateau apartments from £41 per night for a two-person studio, 0033 5 46 07 48 68, www.revalisever.com. Portsmouth-Cherbourg fares start from £79pp return based on a standard car plus two, 0871 244 1400, www.brittanyferries.com.

For further information, see www.poitou-charentes.com. For Normandy stopovers, visit www.normandy-tourism.org.

Chateau de Quineville has rooms from £55, www.chateau-de-quineville.com and l’Hostellerie du Chateau has rooms from £63, www.lhostelleriebricquebec.com.

source: dailymail