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