Quaint French offshoot boasts fantastic food and biking

TWO wheels rule on the Ile de Re. Everyone is on a bike on this exquisite island, and they all take it nice and slowly.

It helps that this little patch of land off  France’s Atlantic coast, which is only 19 miles long  and three miles wide, is flat.

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And that it is criss-crossed by the best network of cycle paths I’ve ever seen.

Whole families ride past — parents towing babies and dogs in trailers, teenagers on tandems. It really is the best way to get around.

Re is French seaside chic at its most relaxed. Everywhere you look are cobbled lanes and whitewashed houses with green or grey shutters. Tall hollyhocks bring splashes of colour, and lavender bushes add their scent to the salty air.

There are only ten villages, and we’re staying on the northern side in La Flotte, which has a 12th-Century covered market and a pretty harbour lined with restaurants.

After a four-hour drive from the Brittany Ferries port at Saint-Malo, we arrive in time for lunch —  a bowl of steaming mussels by the water’s edge at Le Bistrot.

It’s an excellent introduction, as much of the island’s western side is taken up by marshes filled with mussel and oyster beds. If you love seafood,  you’re in the right place.

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Our temporary home is a sea-view room with a terrace at the Hotel le Richelieu, which overlooks La Flotte’s sandy beach.

When the afternoon tide covers it all, that’s our cue for a dip in the hotel pool and a soak in the gently bubbling seawater pool in the thalassotherapy — or seawater — spa.

When we get our bikes the next day, we cycle to the island’s capital, Saint-Martin-de-Re, a 20-minute ride away.

It’s a lively port, much bigger than little  La Flotte, and its morning food market is fantastic.

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Stocking up on saucisson and deep-fried salted cod nuggets  — accras de morue — we head to the seafront for a picnic by the  17th-Century fortifications circling the village.

All is peaceful afterwards as we cycle through vineyards and barley fields that make up much of the surrounding countryside. A picnic  on our terrace makes a fitting end to our chilled-out day.

Rain the following morning sees us swap the bikes for a car as we head over to Le Bois-Plage-en-Re on the southern side of the island.

There’s a fabulous food market here too, and we can’t resist the temptation to buy yet more delicious local produce. There’s a pattern developing here.

Once the rain disappears we take a quick peek at one of the beaches in Le Bois. For most of the south coast, there’s an almost unbroken stretch of sandy beach that runs for nearly ten miles. It’s simple, rustic and a world away from the swanky beach clubs of the Riviera.

We carry on to the island’s western tip, where the Phare des Baleines lighthouse has been guiding ships since 1854.

It’s a bit of a stiff climb up the 257 steps, but the panoramic views of the island and the Atlantic from 187ft are worth it.

Spreading our towels on the beach below the lighthouse, we tuck into our morning’s buys. One of the tastiest is goat’s cheese with fleur de sel, the hand-harvested sea salt that comes from the salt pans around the oyster beds. It’s one of Re’s biggest products, and I can’t resist buying a large bag of the stuff from a shop near the lighthouse.

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I’d been noticing signs around the marshes advertising oyster producers, so I go on the hunt for one that offers tastings as well as takeaways.

I find a small oyster shack, L’Escale du Marais, on the way back to Le Bois. In a tranquil spot by a stream I’m served seven oysters for all of six euros, plus one euro for a glass of local crisp white wine. What a bargain.

That evening, we cycle off to O Parloir, a trendy restaurant at the entrance to Saint-Martin.

Its sheltered courtyard garden is a magical spot, filled with a jumble of vintage furniture. Here I discover shellfish I’d never seen before, called vanets, which are like mini scallops. They are delicious and my seafood addiction shows no sign of slowing down.

It’s La Flotte’s turn the following morning for an amble around its charming market.

Most of the stalls shelter under medieval porticos and, yet again, I can’t resist the lure of cheeses, saucissons, ripe tomatoes and white peaches that have just come into season. Bike baskets groaning with food, we cycle towards Sainte-Marie-de-Re on the beach-strewn southern side.

We end up at the nearly empty Plage des Grenettes, where the big waves have attracted a handful of surfers — which means free entertainment for us. Meandering back to La Flotte  we stop by the harbour for another treat that I had been waiting for — a crepe with salted butter caramel. I’d seen local salted caramel everywhere on the island — no surprise with all those salt pans — and the  caramel drizzled on the pancake is divine.

As luck would have it, the tide is out far enough on our local beach for a quick dip in the sea. I let the waves gently carry me along the shallow waters.

We top off our final dinner of grilled sardines by the seafront at A la Plancha with a salted caramel ice cream by the harbour.

Sun, sea and sand may make the perfect holiday — but I’d add two wheels and a pinch of salt.

GETTING THERE:

Check out AFerry () for  ferry times and fares. Brittany Ferries  sails from Portsmouth to St-Malo from £524 in July and August, for a car and   two passengers in an  en suite cabin on the outward overnight sailing. See  .

STAYING THERE: Room only at Hotel le Richelieu is from £149 a night. See .

OUT AND ABOUT: Bike hire with Cyclo-Surf starts at £6.80  a day. See .

MORE INFO: Charente-Maritime Tourism’s  site is .