I had to go back and check if we’d had this one before (and I’m still not convinced we haven’t). There have been quite a lot of boats, including French yachts, so a little sense of deja vu.
Arcachon is a seaside resort on the southwest coast of France. It was a tiny town with nice weather until the railways arrived in the 1850s and it was (a) declared a free town by Napoleon II and (b) fated to become a popular tourist destination. The new railway opened the town up to visitors keen to take the fine sea air, supposedly good for all sorts of ailments.
For a while Arcachon was home to Alexandre Dumas and it also boasts the largest sand dune in Europe, which is nearly 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) long, 500 metres (1,600 feet) wide, reaching 110 metres (360 feet) in height, and moving inland at rate of 5 metres (16 feet) a year. I never thought I’d be scared of sand dunes…
Stamp of the Day 