Plage de la Milady

This beach is named after a Scottish noblewoman, and the story of how that happened is pure nineteenth-century Biarritz. Lady Mary Caroline Bruce was a descendant of the Kings of Scotland and married the Marquis of Ailesbury. She came to Biarritz and fell in love with the place, as everybody seemed to in those days. She chaired the British Club of Biarritz for twelve years. Twelve years running the social calendar for every British aristocrat on the Basque coast.

In eighteen sixty-three, she had the Villa Marbella built in Moorish style, perched on the cliffs overlooking this stretch of coast. The French locals didn't bother learning her actual name. They just called her Milady. When she died, both this beach and the neighbouring Marbella beach were named in her honour. So you have a beach in France named with an English word for a Scottish woman who built a Moorish villa. Biarritz, everyone.

What's interesting about Milady today is how different it feels from the rest of Biarritz. Grande Plage and Cote des Basques get the crowds, the surfers, the scene. Milady is quieter. It's where locals come when they want to actually relax without performing for tourists. The beach has a more neighbourhood feel, with families and dog walkers outnumbering the selfie crowd.

The beach is also a leader in accessibility through the Handiplage initiative, with ramps and dedicated staff to help people with disabilities access the water. It's one of the most thoughtfully designed beach access programmes in France.

Lady Mary Caroline Bruce probably wouldn't recognise much about modern Biarritz. But this beach, a little removed from the chaos, overlooking good waves with nobody trying too hard, feels like the kind of place she chose on purpose.