Adlard Coles Shore Guide: Channel Coast of France – book review

Adlard Coles Shore Guide: Channel Coast of France
Paul Heiny
Adlard Coles, £18.99

There is a good idea behind this book. It is meant for when you have arrived in a new place.

Everything on board is in pristine condition and you’re ready to explore – or if you’re not, because all you want to do is have a drink and then put your head down for a while – your crew members claim their just reward for the effort of the passage.

This is definitely a book to consider if you are going on vacation with children.

Paul Heiney doesn’t quite deliver on his promise to tell you if there will be tokens on the beach, but he does give useful information about beaches in general, safe pools, and attractions such as amusement parks. adventure or aquariums, neglected by the most conventional. fellow cruisers.

The direction of travel in the book is unexpected and well chosen.

It starts at the westernmost point – L’Aber Wrac’h – then moves east along the northern coast of France to Dunkirk, moving with the flow of the rising tide. I found that made me want to do it.

Then, as it seems the end has been reached at Dunkirk (now France’s third-largest port), the book turns in circles to visit the Channel Islands with the interesting observation that their existence makes it possible to depart from the coast south and have a vacation. without night navigation.

Continued below…

Another point in favor of this book for summer family cruising.

This book will appeal to people with limited vacation time.

It does not compete with volumes such as that of Cumberlidge Northern Brittany and Channel Islands Cruise Companion with their wealth of suggestions for possible anchorages and the general atmosphere of reflective and relaxed exploration.

It is a relatively thin book, focusing on selected ports from which it is easy to go ashore.

I wondered if all the space in the book was put to better use.

Each of the 40 ports visited is the subject of a succinct and skilful introduction.

Then, information is given under the headings “things to see and do”, “food and shopping”, “further”. Walking distances are helpfully given.

However, there are no phone numbers or other contact details.

In the disorientation of arriving at a new destination, I would personally have swapped some of the attractive photographs for a simple street map of the immediate area or the telephone number of the local tourist office.

Available from May 26, 2022.

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