The word that gave Maison Estran its name, the strip of sand in front of Ker Gonan, and what the numbers in a French tide table actually mean.
Estran (n., masc.), say ess-TRAHN. The Académie française defines it as the part of the shore between the high-water and low-water marks: the ground the sea covers and uncovers, twice a day. In English it is the foreshore, or, more poetically, the strand. The two words are cousins: the Académie traces estran back to the twelfth-century estrande, borrowed from the Old English strand.
The strip of sand in front of Ker Gonan, on the Plage du Nau at Le Pouliguen, is an estran. It gave us our name. This is how we read it.
Twice a day, a little later each time
On this coast the sea comes in and goes out twice a day, roughly every twelve hours and twenty-five minutes. Which means the tide is never at the same time two days running: it arrives about fifty minutes later each day, and a low tide at breakfast on Monday will be a lunchtime low tide by Friday.
How far it goes depends on the day. At Le Pouliguen, the difference between high and low water is between about 1.3 and 2.2 metres on the quietest tides, and around five metres on the biggest. On those days the sea goes a very long way out, and comes back with the same enthusiasm. In summer, we have been known to have lunch where the sea was that morning.
The number that matters
French tide tables give a second number next to the times: the coefficient. It is a French speciality, calculated by the SHOM, the navy's hydrographic service, and it tells you how big the tide will be, on a scale from 20 to 120.
- Around 45: a small tide, the average neap. The sea barely seems to leave.
- Above 70: spring tides. A lot more beach.
- Around 95: an average spring tide.
- 100 and over: what the French call a grande marée, a big tide. The biggest come around the equinoxes in March and September.
- 120: the theoretical maximum, rarely reached.
Strictly speaking the coefficient is calculated for Brest, but the same number is used all along the French coast, and it is the one everyone on the beach will be talking about.
How we read it from the balcony
Two pieces of information are enough: the time of low water and the coefficient. The first tells you when the beach will be at its widest. The second tells you how wide.
A coefficient of 40 and low water at eight in the evening: a quiet day, swim when you like. A coefficient of 100 and low water just before noon: the beach becomes enormous at lunchtime and half of Le Pouliguen walks out with a bucket. Then, from early afternoon, the sea starts coming back, and by the end of the day it is back where it started.
We check the times on the SHOM's tide pages for Le Pouliguen, or on maree.info, which publishes the same data.
Pêche à pied, properly
At low tide, the Plage du Nau is a popular place for pêche à pied, shore fishing on foot, especially for cockles. It is a lovely thing to do with children and a bucket, and it comes with rules, which the locals know by heart and inspectors do check.
- Sizes: cockles at least 2.7 cm (3 cm on La Baule's beaches), clams 3.5 to 4 cm depending on the species, mussels 4 cm. Bring a gauge, or a ruler.
- Quantities: a few kilos per person per day at most, depending on the species.
- Tools: hands, a small rake with no more than three teeth, a knife or a spoon. Nothing mechanical.
- Times and places: no shellfish gathering between sunset and sunrise, and none in the port or the channels.
The water is tested regularly, and the results decide whether gathering is allowed. In 2026 the Nau was closed to shell fishing several times, and the town's standing advice is to cook everything you collect. Before you go, check the map of the regional health agency, the ARS Pays de la Loire; notices are also posted at the town hall and at the entrance to the beach.
Coming back in time
The sea comes back faster than you think, and not always from the direction you expect. It can fill the hollows behind you while you are busy with a bucket. The usual advice is simple: start walking back about forty-five minutes after low water, stay away from the foreshore in fog or a storm, and keep an eye on the children and on the time.
If something goes wrong, dial 112 from the beach. At sea, the number is 196.
Nobody owns it
One more thing about the estran. In France, the shore, everything the sea covers and uncovers, belongs to the public maritime domain. It cannot be sold, nobody can claim it, and access on foot is free. Which is a long way of saying that the best thing in front of Ker Gonan is not ours, and never will be. We are quite happy with that.
Good to know
- Tide times: SHOM (maree.shom.fr, harbour "Le Pouliguen") or maree.info.
- Coefficient: above 70, a lot of beach. 100 and over, a big tide.
- Tidal range at Le Pouliguen: about 1.3 to 2.2 m on small tides, around 5 m on the biggest.
- Shell fishing: check the ARS map before you go, and cook what you collect.
- Emergencies: 112 from the beach, 196 at sea.
Ker Gonan is closed for the winter and opens again for the summer of 2027. In the meantime, the sea keeps leaving twice a day. It always comes back. You can read how the house came to be in Who we are, and how its tide compares with those of our other two houses in Three houses, three tides.
Lola
The house
Ker Gonan, on the Plage du Nau, Le Pouliguen, Bay of La Baule, Brittany. Eight guests, on the beach. Summer 2027.
