Day 10, 15th Oct 2025,
Guerande & La Baule, Loire Atlantique.
This morning we set off for a walled town called Guerande, only a short drive away. There was a convenient car park 5 minutes from one of the town’s ancient gates where we could just squeeze the van into a space.
Making our way to the old town via one of the gates, we were a little disappointed to see that it looked as though it had been rebuilt and they had forgotten to adorn it with a crest or shield. So it was quite plain.
Through the gate as we approached, we could see bunting hanging, which immediatly made us smile. Gareth said they must have known we were coming 
.
Being Wednesday it was market day, ooh lucky for us 
. We love a French market.
Guerande is only a small walled town but it is really pretty.
There are lots of little roads and alleys with original buildings still standing and being lived in or used. The market centred around the imposing church, and the square was lined with reataurants, cafes and shops.
We had a good walk around the lanes and then did a little window shopping before coming back to the square to peruse the market stalls.
It was all much prettier because of the bunting. Not sure if it’s up for an event or it’s a permanent fixture.
After a little gift shopping, we had a coffee and watched the world go by. The coffee was one of the best we have had so far 
.
It was another lovely, sunny day so we decided to find a beach for Meg to have a run along.
Gareth chose La Baule, a large marina town with a humongous beach – apparently it’s about 8km long if you wanted to walk it’s length.
We parked up on a Camping Car Park Aire alongside the river marina. A strange one as we were parked on one side of a road in single file – the road was only accessible to Aire and Marina users so wasn’t busy with other traffic.
We had a little lunch and then set off for the beach. The walk took us along the marina to the sea, passing some very nice yachts and boats on one side and posh, modern apartment blocks on the other.
Wow! The beach was one of the longest we have been on. The tide was also out so there was plenty of sand for a good play for Meg.
She must have been desperate because she ran around like crash bandicoot as soon as she was released.
The properties along the seafront reminded us of Royan, and probably like many seaside places now. Traditionally built homes fighting for sunlight next to bigger, modern, concrete blocks. I hope they are maintained so that you are always reminded where you are.
Such a lovely early evening walk. We watched kite surfers on the water. Meg didn’t like the kites, especially when they chased her! We came across two other dogs off lead, an old Beagle ( well, we thought it was old, but do beagles ever look young?), and a young Golden retriever puppy. The puppy was trailing his lead so was still under training.
They were lovely. The Beagle immediately wanted to play with Meg but the retriever wasn’t very sure and just dipped in and out.
We love it when she gets a good, tiring run 
. We walked about half of the beach before coming off and looking for a restaurant or bar for a sit down.
Sadly, we were a bit early and even looking for a bar turned out to be fruitless. The only restaurant we found open was a bit too expensive, I think Gareth saw a dish of Sole for €48 and decided against it. Sometimes it just doesn’t add up.
Anyway, we wandered back to the van, I got the magic little airfryer out and heated up some bacon, onion and cheese Galettes I’d been saving for such a time as this. Accompanied by a glass of wine, a salad and the last rays of the sun, perfect.
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