royan and st georges-de-didonne

ROYAN IS WORTH A FEW HOURS of anybody's time — to poke around the port, examine the buildings, cathedral, what have you. Another place severely mauled by the attentions of allied bombing, trying to dislodge the rump of a defeated occupying force in the last weeks of the second world war, with no success at all but with tragic results for the local inhabitants. There isn't much left of the fashionable seaside resort it used to be but Royan did and has risen from the ashes, is vibrant once more, and is, as Michelin would have it, worth the detour.

It rather fails on the lighthouse front, however. Le Chay is a resurrection of a previous feu (and I use the term advisedly) bombed flat by our side, now showing once more its antérieur guidance. The Posterieur associated with it is on top of a blinkin' watertower fgs, way back up the hill somewhere and certainly does not deserve anything beyond a mention of 'being'. Chay is tucked away on a square of grass amongst flats and offices. We found it almost by chance. It shows a red rapid flashing light. It's a feu. So is the other tower shown top left: locationally the clue is in the name: jetty. You pass it coming and going across the Gironde on the ferry. Flashes red twice every ten seconds, I shouldn't wonder. No, if you want a real lighthouse on this side of the estuary you have to motor on to adjacent St Georges de Didonne.

We have done that, to enjoy breakfasts here on the strand, overlooking the sandy bay with distant views of Cordouan and even Pointe de Grave. Valliéres, or St Georges lighthouse stands proudly on the headland there but is blind, non functioning, dark. The white paint that once covered the stonework is all worn off. But there are clear signs of fresh paintwork and generally the lantern appears to be in good repair. The loss of the paint on the tower, if we look back to old photographs, is no bad thing.

Jean Benôit Héron has committed paint to paper on behalf of both Le Chay and St Georges so this is honourable mention being given herewith. Not postcards though. St Georges obviously was a fine light in its day and somehow escaped destruction in the unpleasantness. I think you can climb it in season even. Pity it is now defunct as a lighthouse.

At this stage I was going to cross the Gironde estuary, as one can, as we have done several times, and fetch up under the watchful eye of the Phare de Pointe de Grave. I was going on to expand upon that lighthouse (and its delights) under the overarching title — royan, st georges-de-didonne, pointe de grave — but I have changed my mind. Instead I shall do a post on that light in association with the phare that dominates the scene hereabouts, albeit from a discreet distance, namely Cordouan: for reasons that will be more apparent if you waste a bit more of your allotted span by skimming through that posting.

I realise this decision of mine may have disappointed your hopes just now, but be patient, please. Try to take life a little more sedately. Good things generally come in small doses…

footnote: St Georges-de-Didonne (or Vallières as JBH has called it in some of his published output) was built in 1901 but has been inactive since 1969. The tower is 29 metres tall. Huelse sports a historic postcard view of it. This was the rear light of a downstream (westbound) range guiding ships toward the port of Royan. It is built on the Pointe de Vallières, the promontory in St.-Georges-de-Didonne seen in my photographs which is about 5 kilometres southeast of Royan.