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Victim of capricious maritime monopolies and moneyed nobles - not to mention winds and tides - Ré has always been an isolated isle. Even a few decades ago this was still a dozy atoll where Fishermen with sun-pleated faces wheeled their wiry froth of nets past lordly mutts sunning themselves in the middle of the one main road. Then a bridge was built to span the watery gap separating Ré from la Rochelle and thanks to this - some would say poisoned - kiss, La Charente-Maritime’s sleeping beauty woke up.

I turned greener than a frog prince myself when asked to pay the whopping 17 euros aller-retour fee to use this facility. Grumbling I’d rather spend my dosh on some local Rose des Dunes wine, or a crate of Ré beer - or even a stuffed donkey in britches, forsooth! - I prepared to moan for the entire 3 kilometres. My gripes were soon silenced, however .Built in 1988 and hailed as the engineering wonder of its day this costly roller coaster ride is an essential part of the ‘Real Ré Experience’.

As my vehicle climbed beyond the busy toll booth an embroidered relief of oyster grids unfold beneath me like needles stabbed into a vast chocolate pin cushion. The tide was on the ebb and sulphurous mud odours soared from the mucky mousse below to do battle with invigorating whiffs of brine above. Far out to sea Fort Boyard, the doughnut-shaped fortification built by Napoleon and now the site of France’s eponymous game show, stood guard over a glittering expanse strewn with sails. I was so high up Ré looked like an ordinance survey map and seagulls flying on a level with my car peeked inside from time-to-time to see who was driving. These companionable volatiles veered off with a friendly wing flip as my 2CV puttered down the other side of Ré’s ramp and I found myself on a salmon thread of road stitching together a sparkling sequence of marshes, fishing villages and dunes along a ledge of turquoise sea. Not just a pretty face, that omnipresent mer has been a constant theme in Ré’s alimentary leit-motif. 12th century monks, whose abbey is still visible near Rivedoux, first dreamt up the idea of draining marshes and digging salt pans. They also planted the island’s first vines. Thanks to these ecclesiastic luminaries Ré was transformed from a soggy rock struggling to survive in the wild Atlantic ocean, to a flourishing holm exporting wine and salt to her northern neighbours. Perhaps inevitably, pecuniary success brought its own penalties. During The Hundred Year’s War this affluent atoll was passed back and forth like a parcel between French and English crowns and was finally conquered by Louis XIV in 1627.

A long period of peace and prosperity was brought to an end by The Revolution when able men between the ages of 16 and 60 were pressed into service and saltpans and vineyards were sadly neglected. The island’s economy was already ailing when Grape phylloxera hit the Charente-maritime area in the 1840’s and islanders watched helplessly as two-thirds of their vineyards withered and died. As if this wasn’t enough to satisfy the century’s God of vengeance, a decade later The Industrial Revolution brought trains carrying cheap salt to compete with Ré’s staple produce. Faced with starvation beleaguered islanders emigrated en masse.

These days some 200 families still farm salt on Ré, but oyster and mussel farming now provide Rétais with a regular source of income. A bike ride via the Chemin des Marais is the best way to visit the oyster parks and from here you can ride to Loix where the saulniers will be happy to show you round their salt pans.

On this 30 kilometre-long island pedal power is definitely cool. Ré is the only French island where the gendarmes still ride bikes and it’s easy to see why. With more than a 100 kilometres of cycle paths, in high season when the roads are packed and pale-cheeked tourists outnumber the leather-skinned locals by 12 to 1, these ecological vehicles are a great way of getting around. From the capital St Martin, to mediaeval St Marie ten hamlets lie in wait to surprise the blasé tourist. Modelled like mini-medinas to confound repeated pirate attacks, these carefully whitewashed labyrinths could easily be Spanish pueblo blancos. Look closer, however, and you’ll see bottle green and pastel pink window shutters which are unmistakeably French.

“Our ochre roof tiles are more like the south of France and that’s one of the reasons why Ré has been dubbed St Tropez of the French Atlantic coast,” said Chantal Lemoyer at the local tourist office. She told me Ré la blanche boasts 2600 sunshine hours per annum - almost as much gold stuff as her Mediterranean homonym. I wondered out loud if this explained why, just as Messrs Vadim and Bardot ‘discovered’ St Trop’ in the 1950’s, so Ré has become a haven to glitterati ranging from tough Jean Reno, teenage heartthrob Patrick Bruel and trendsetter Sonia Rykiel? Chantal suggested I head for Les Portes-en-ré, the islands trendiest resort, to find out. Sat out at the terrace of La Bazenne bistro armed with a glass of Pineau (fortified wine made with grape skins soaked in cognac) and a plate of Mouclade (mussels braised on a bed of pine needles) my patience was rewarded by sightings of Emmanuel Béart looking sweet on a bicycle and a slightly sour-looking Lionel Jospin carrying a bottle of cognac and a fresh lettuce.

Dizzy with punch-packing Pineau I determined to spot the island’s other famed fauna and headed for the Lilleau des Niges nature reserve at Fiers l'Ars, one of the largest reserves for migrating birds in Europe, but failed to spot a nesting stork, let alone a barnacle goose. Disappointed, I set a course for the capital St Martin, where I discovered a darker side to this island of light. From 1860 right up until 1938 the forbidding 17th century citadel at the heart of this pretty walled city was used as a holding pen for convicts on their way to the fever colonies of French Guyana. Henri Charrier, alias ‘Papillon’ left from here and so did Dreyfus the officer championed by Emile Zola in his pamphlet ‘J’accuse’. To lighten my mood I followed curious crowds to Babette Park where donkeys clad in stripy bloomers trotted round the green. Eminently snigger-worthy, these ludicrous accoutrements once served a serious purpose, protecting the mules from mosquitos’ bites as they worked in the salt marshes

I terminated my Ré adventure at the beach. The best are on the southern edge of the island, and to the west near the 57 metre high Phare des Baleines where the last whale, washed up in 1922, is still on show in the museum beneath. Still soggy with Pineau I lay with my head pillowed by a golden dune, roasted in glorious Spring sunshine and reflected that “St Tropez of the Atlantic coast” wasn’t so far wrong.

As the descending sun painted the dunes scarlet I clambered into my old banger and whistled past marshes, pine forests and sea to the flyover. Then I was back in traffic outside la Rochelle and it was easy to see why Ré had became a haven for French celebrities. Gripped in motorway madness I longed to be back there myself. Just a couple of kilometres away the peaceful Atlantic atoll beckoned like a ‘Ré’ of light.

DID YOU KNOW?
The Ré potato is the only tuber in France to boast an Appellation d’Origine Controlé and Salted butter caramels, another island specialty, are said to be a big favourite with sweet-toothed Jean Reno.

VISIT WITH A DIFFERENCE
If you want to try a visit with a difference try ‘Sur les pas des bagnards’, a two hour tour which tells you everything you ever wanted to know about the island’s convict past but were too scared to ask. Contact St Martin-en-ré tourist office for details.

TAKE A BOAT TRIP
The company Interiles organises boat trips from Ré to visit Fort Boyard as well as the neighbouring isands of Oléron and Aix. Contact the tourist office for more information:

WHERE TO STAY
Except for high season July and August when the island is packed, it’s fairly easy to find accommodation. Ré has a wide variety of hotels and a host of campsites. Contact the tourist office for more information.

WHERE TO FIND OUT MORE
Office du Tourisme, Quai Nicolas Baudin, St-Martin-en-ré TEL/ +33 (0)5 46 09 20 06 Or visit: www.iledere.com

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