An unexpected traffic hazard on a roundabout near Marennes!

Saujon to Marennes

A bracelet around oysters.

It becomes repetitive to mention that landscape is not Charente Maritime's forte but the temptation to do so is almost irresistible because there is, seemingly always, some aspect of each area which gives it some special alternative glory. Readers of these notes could well be tempted to make the circuit from Saugon to Marennes by going via St Sulpice and la Tremblade and then returning along the D128 and the D733. Its about 50 kilometres, say an hours excursion - were it not for the fact that you'd be passing the doors of close to 40 Estate Agents. They, excellent souls though they may be, are not the riches of this district! That prize belongs to the oysters of Marennes and Oléron.

La Greve - the canal-like port of la Tremblade - is one of the principal centres for the flat-bottomed oyster boats.

Gourmet sea-food.

On the above trip it's possible hardly to notice that you are circumnavigating a shallow inland sea which, along with the shores of the nearby Île d'Oléron (see our Area of that name), produces about half of the oysters eaten in France. To lovers of sea-food these are claimed to be what the best wines of Burgundy and Bordeaux are to knowledgeable wine buffs. Most of the communities around what is, in fact, the tidal estuary of the river Seudre have creeks and small harbours surrounded by fishermen's huts and cafes serving the local produce.

Seaside beaches and a salty, silted estuary.

There are some beaches on the seaward end of this Area - notably at Ronce-les-Bains and Marennes itself - but it is not overwhelmed by the summer holiday industry. The towns and villages are most numerous on the south west side of the oyster beds and they all are but a stones throw from Royan and the Beautiful Coast (see that Area on this site). And, in that Charente-Maritime contrast between landscape and townscape you'll find two villages in particular to savour. In the distant past Brouage was often considered to be one of the prettiest ports in France. Established in early history as a trading centre for local salt the present enclosing walls were built in the first decades of the 17th century when it remained an important naval base - but the estuary became ever more silted and the sea receded. Nevertheless the ramparts remain to fire the imagination.