BURNHAM-ON-CROUCH AND DISTRICT TWINNING ASSOCIATION
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L'AIGUILLON SUR MER
Our History
Burnham-on-Crouch is twinned with a town in France called
L’Aiguillon-sur-Mer. The towns have been twinned since May 1980 and
since then there have been many exchange visits between the two
communities over the years. The aim of Twinning is to promote
friendship between the communities and encourage visits from
families and groups to share cultural, educational and recreational
activities.
As a mark of the established link between the two towns, Burnham has
a Twinning Garden outside Warwick Court and L’Aiguillon has Square
Burnham-on-Crouch which has a working traditional red British phone
box!
L’Aiguillon sur Mer
L’Aiguillon-sur-Mer was chosen as our Twin Town as it has many
similarities to Burnham-on-Crouch.
It is a small picturesque fishing port in the Vendee Region
on the west coast, about twenty kilometres northwards as the crow
flies from La Rochelle. The port at L’Aiguillon was created in the
11th century and during the Ancien regime, the best
canoneers of the coastguard militia were recruited here.
Today it is an important centre for fishing and the cultivation of
oysters and mussels. At low tide, rows of stakes can be seen off the
coast marking out the oyster grounds. These are called bouchots
giving the name to the “moule de Bouchot” which are well known
throughout France.
There are opportunities for country walks and also a bird sanctuary.
Sailing and surfboarding, tennis, horse riding, boules and mini golf
are also available.
The seaside resort of La Faute-sur-Mer is adjacent to L’Aiguillon to
the west. La Faute has ten kilometres of sandy beaches backed by a
pine forest. It is joined to L’Aiguillon by a bridge over the River
Lay.
L’Aiguillon has interesting shopping and a fine fish market of some
renown. All this and
more can be viewed on their excellent web-site at
www.laiguillonsurmer.fr
which has English text available.
