The crab boats, Tourist attraction in Royan, France
Les carrelets are wooden fishing huts built on stilts along the coast of Royan and the Charente-Maritime, each with a small cabin above the water and a square net lowered and raised by a winch. Narrow walkways connect the huts to the shore, and the whole structure sits directly above the sea.
These fishing structures first appeared along this coast about a century ago, used by local fishermen working in shallow water. After the Second World War, more were built, and many gradually became small leisure retreats rather than working fishing posts.
The carrelets have been part of daily life along this coast for about a century, and locals still use them for fishing and as small retreats by the water. The know-how needed to build and maintain them has passed from one generation to the next.
The carrelets can be spotted at several points along the coast, including Pontaillac beach in Royan and the cliffs near Talmont-sur-Gironde, and walking the marked coastal trails is the easiest way to see them up close. The light is best in the late afternoon, when the wooden structures stand out clearly against the water.
After a storm in 1999 destroyed many of these structures along the coast, some were rebuilt using old wooden poles recovered from disused electrical plants. This reuse of materials is still visible on some of the older huts standing today.
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