Boyardville

We initially anchored in Boyardville because it was going to be a long
and wet beat to Saint Denis, the optimum place on ile d'Oleron to wait
for good weather to sail down to the Gironde estuary. Once anchored
there we realised that it was miuch more protected than we thought,
especially on higher low waters of neap tides which allowed us to get
closer in to the beach.
The beach is the first we have come across where we would be happy to
dry out. As it is September the beach is not as busy which also helps.
There is a longish walk in to the town which is small with limited
facilities, but there is a very pleasant restraunt / cafe on the beach
and behind the beach is a lot of pleasant woodlands with paths and the
municipal camp site.

Boyardville beach looking towards harbour entrance

What makes the biggest difference here is the weather: blue skies,
strong sun, warm water and wind means that buildings that would look
dreary in Britain (stained by rain and algae) look at worst OK here.
Our only problem whilst on the anchor was getting weather predictions as
we could not get a decent mobile phone connection. What we found is
that it is essential to carry something like an iPhone around with you
as there are cafes and restaurants (such as the one on the beach) which
have Wifi but do not advertise the fact. Going in to the marina at
Boyardville was not really an option as it is small, full and access
restricted to close to high water and we would be wanting to leave
closer to low water.