How to spend a weekend in France - Messanges beach

How to spend a weekend in France - Messanges beach - on The Atlantic coast of The Landes departement in south west France, just up from Bayonne and near Vieux Boucau and Léon.
We spent a long weekend away in our van at a camping car park at Messange beach, just a couple of minute's walk away from the beautiful and almost deserted beach.
This is a great area to visit for the almost never-ending beaches, which are clean, but can be dangerous for inexperienced swimmers, so take care.
It's a place we usually avoid in the peak summer months of July and August, as it gets pretty crowded, but it's understandable as it is really beautiful.
The village of Messanges is a few kms down the road, where you can find bars and restaurants, boulangerie and a small supermarket, even out of season.
There is also the Vélodyssée that passes by, which is a superbly maintained cycle path that goes from the north of Norway to the south of Spain - it's great for getting around and Lac de Léon is a stone's throw away - see my video on the courant de Huchet for more of an idea.
One of the highlights of the weekend was watching the flocks of cranes migrating south for the winter, which also brings the news that winter is coming as those guys rarely get it wrong...