Sancy Loisirs water sports base

Lac Chambon is a dammed lake at the foot of the Sancy, awarded the Blue Flag label, with two sandy beaches and water that warms up reasonably well in summer. Sancy Loisirs runs the hire base, right at the water's edge on the Chambon beach side.

You hire by the hour and off you go: pedalos (water bikes), paddleboards, giant paddleboards for several people, canoes and kayaks. Life jackets provided, even for the very little ones from 3 kg. Expect around €10 to €15 an hour depending on the craft, payable on site, card accepted. No supervised lessons: self-service hire, no booking.

The base has a long season, from early April to the end of September: full days (10:00 to 18:00) from mid-June to the end of August, afternoons for the rest of the season. Opening depends on the weather, an overcast sky can cancel everything. Swimming, for its part, is supervised from 1 July to 30 August, on the beach right next door.

Our take: the perfect activity to break up a family beach afternoon, an hour in a pedalo and everyone is happy. Check the condition of the equipment when you take it over, and avoid the midday slot in the thick of July, there's a queue.