South of Bordeaux begins the region of Les Landes. It feels like another world with the coast stretching virtually uninterrupted from the Gironde estuary all the way down to Soustons, Hossegor and Cap Breton before reaching the foothills of the Pyrenees and Basque country. It is remarkably unspoilt, open and natural as the coast is dominated by long stretches of sand washed by broad Atlantic rollers; in all there is more than 220km of coast-line from the Gironde estuary down to the border with Spain with a total of 55 supervised beaches. Climb the dunes and before you, stretching as far as the eye can see, lie the pine forests of Les Landes, 1100 km2 of pine forest planted during the 19th century.

Although the line of the coast may be straight, the variety it encompasses is huge: oyster beds and yachting marinas, fishing villages and vineyards, names of towns and half-timbered houses that seem (and once were) more English than French, the highest sand-dunes in Europe, and where the Côte d'Argent turns – quite literally – into the Côte Basque, some of the Continent's best surfing. The magnificent sandy beaches of Les Landes, backed by sand dunes, pine forests and inland lakes are blessed with a superb climate and sea conditions throughout the year, which are perfect for water and other holiday sports of all descriptions from surfing to kayaking and golf to cycling.

The freshwater lakes that punctuate the forest provide a great alternative to the ocean and safer bathing for children. Rather like the Lake District in England , each lake, or étang , has its own atmosphere. Apart from the local Lac d'Soustons, there are others nearby to try: étangs Blanc , Hossegor and Léon ; at the latter you can canoe from the lake along the serene Courant d'Huchet to the ocean's edge!

The remarkable thing is that it's something of a French (and Spanish) secret; unless you're a dedicated surfer, the chances are you won't have heard of the beaches and villages that make up this fantastic region.