Dune du Pilat

I was hoping for a better blip than this and Technophobe and I headed off to the beach in search of a nice sunset.

Trouble was that as we walked through the forest the sky got darker and darker and thunder started rolling in. Discretion got the better part of valour so we aborted the photo shoot and headed back to the campsite as the heavens opened and there was a lightning storm around us. We were glad to get back to the shelter of our motorhome although rather worryingly there is now a strong smell of woodsmoke. We are in a campsite in the middle of a tinder-dry forest!

Anyway, this blip is the best I can do. The Dune du Pilat is the largest dune in Europe and is fairly spectacular (although rather puny compared to the Namibia dunes we climbed last year).

We cycled a round trip of 28 miles in 30 degree heat with high humidity! A few beers and ice creams were consumed along the way.

The fence in the picture is a sort of avalanche protector to protect the fixed stairway you ascend to get to the top. I rather liked the shadows reflecting the ripples in the sand.