St Marc sur Mer

Pornichet is described in the pilot as being a huge modern and rather dull marina, this isn't strictly accurate. Huge it certainly is however it's very limited in the size of boat it can accommodate ( we are towards the top end ) it is no longer modern in fact is a little shabby and it could be considered dull but in fact everyone we met here is very friendly, they are almost all French and have small yachts or motor boats and the main preoccupation seems to be fishing.

However we were here for another reason.

I have been a fan of the films of Jaques Tati for some time and one in particular " les vacances de M Hulot " it was filmed, well the exterior shots were, at St Marc sur Mer which is just along the coast from Pornichet. There is an occasional anchorage there but it involves some intricate pilotage and a large scale chart. It would also require one of us to stay on the boat on ' anchor watch ', We decided on the easy option. A trip to the tourist information as usual proved invaluable. We would need to catch two buses, one of which was free and the tickets required for the other we could buy at the tourist information. Armed with our maps and timetables we set off. It all went very well and the free bus driver especially was very helpful and spoke excellent English.

In what's becoming a regular occurrence there was a market on in St Marc when we arrived but the sign for the beach told us all we needed to know, we had made it!

We wandered a short way down the street towards the " Plage de M Hulot " and the hotel on the beach where the majority of the film is set.

Of course things have changed slightly since 1953 however M Hulot himself still  regards the beach in typical pose however when the statue was installed someone stole his pipe and it has never been replaced.

As we had arrived coincidentally at lunchtime the beach was deserted, a running gag in the movie that like all good comedy is based on close observation. Of course we had lunch in the English fashion 'on '  the beach.

The beach itself and the small mole and rocks are very familiar although there are new buildings ( not too many ) and the hotel seems to have grown a new wing and frontage. The front entrance from the beach in the movie was apparently built for the film and was false.

These two photos are from roughly the same angle ( but not altitude obviously as the balcony which was also featured quite a lot was also built specially for the film.

These two photos are not quite the same distance but the angle is similar.

There is now a modern observation platform built adjacent to the hotel ( upon which the statue sits or rather stands )

As usual we were overheating and having forgot our swimming stuff had to be content with a paddle in the sea. I kept an eye out for M Hulots canoe crocodile!

As we walked around the town we noticed some little beach huts which proved to provide information about scenes in the film.

This one for example marks the location of the tennis courts where M Hulot astonishes everyone with his unique serve. It is now a children's playground.

Although only a few miles from Le Baul which is a bustling tourist town and Being effectively a suburb of St Nazaire, St Marc sur Mer has retained that sleepy Brittany seaside town feel and is utterly charming. It's also quite beautiful. We had a great day out and finished up by having a cooling beer in ,where else? The bar Hu'lot........you would have had to have watched the movie to understand the significance of the apostrophe.