FATHER PANCAKE
French holiday rental house in Noirmoutier

NOIRMOUTIER

The Presque-ile of Noirmoutier, where Father Pancake, this lovely beach house in France is located, is joined to the Vendée on France’s Atlantic coast by both a bridge and a causeway.   This internationally famous causeway, known as Le Gois - is passable only two hours either side of low tide and can be treacherous.  Until 1970 this was the only way of getting to the island.   Each year, a handful of motorists judge the timing incorrectly and have to be rescued by the security services from the refuge platforms above the waters. Their cars are taken by the mud and the tides and are often difficult to recover.

With its own sunny micro-climate, forests, dunes, salt marshes and countless sandy beaches, Noirmoutier’s white houses with their blue shutters give a Mediterranean feeling despite the Atlantic location.  The climate is mild in winter and can get quite hot in summer.  In Spring, it's famous as the island of Mimosa and in Summer, it's Hollyhocks and Agapanthus.

The island is famed for its early potatoes and salt production – not to mention the seafood.  There’s a fishing fleet in the port of L’Herbaudière that lands its catch daily and there's oyster and mussel farming everywhere.  With a food market three times a week in the main town in high season, you are guaranteed to eat well!