This small island off the coast of La Rochelle, France was honestly one the of most delightful places I've ever visited.
The island can only be reached by boat and you can get these from some of the larger towns along the western coast; the trip out took us around an hour and the sights along the way were delightful.
These small fishing huts lined the river bank as we left the mainland and all looked like they had been there for many years.
Further out to sea we came across Fort Boyard which has stood there since being completed in 1857! It was built to help defend against invading forces and then was later used as a military prison. So much history surrounds this Fort, but that would be a blog post in itself.
The island of Île-d'Aix is also steeped in history; some very nice, but most extremely dark and torturous - it has been used as a military base over the years and also a religious prison where many were left to die. Thankfully in modern times it is a tourist island and once there the only way to get around is on foot, bike or horse (the only vehicles allowed are service vehicles).
So the first thing you'll need to do to is hire a bike or jump on a horse and cart!
Exploring this little island is what it's all about; we found beautiful old cottages, manor houses, lighthouses and also Fort Liédot.
You'll also find a selection of simple honest restaurant serving fresh fish caught from the Atlantic.
A very happy @secret-gardener tucking into the most incredible Mussels :-)
After some lunch, it was time to explore some more and I just loved the old abandoned fishing boats we found littering the shoreline.
As the sun set it was time to head back to mainland and we will take back some wonderful memories xx
If you ever get the chance, you must visit the small island of Île-d'Aix and find out how relaxing the world can actually be!
Big hugs
Sacha xx
Wow! The things I'm learning on Steemit! I am grateful for the wealth of knowledge and the photos of boats are beautiful. I want to visit an island on day and how fun to travel on bike or by horse drawn cart. Thank you for sharing. Resteemed
Hello Janelle! You have have the best time exploring this Island - so pretty :-) xx
One day, my friend, for now I live vicariously ❤
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Very beautiful place ☺
It was so nice! Thanks for stopping by here :-)
I have followed you Will you follow me too
Given you a follow and will check out your posts :-)
I have never been out of the US. I would love to travel. Love all your pics.
You must travel Tess! Europe is such a fantastic place to explore :-) xx
I so wish I could.
Love all the pics here! Must be so lovely a place to go!
This island is so relaxing! Thank you so much for stopping by :-)
Yw! :-)))
Only been once so far, but loved it. I think the TV series Fort Boyard was still being filmed at the time (been a while). Thanks for sharing the pics buddy. 👍
Thank you for taking the time to comment, it means a lot! Glad you enjoyed the island as well :-)
I love this isle - and those mussels were such fun... tasty too. When are we heading back @Totallysacha? Long overdue. xx
One day!