Overview
Les Conches, part of the Bud Bud stretch, is a dune-backed beachbreak on the golden run of sand between Longeville and La Tranche in France. The peaks break over shifting banks and range from mellow and cruisey to hollow and punchy depending on how the sand is lined up. Les Conches itself sits closest to the car park and tends to offer an easier, more walling ride. Walk south to Bud Bud and the sandbars get shallower and the waves get more powerful, with hollower peaks that pick up more swell. Further south, La Terrière is where surfers go to slip away from the busier main peaks.
When It Works
This is a consistent, decent-quality beachbreak that peels both left and right. It draws swell from southwest through northwest (SW-NW), with west (W) swell the best match. The break is usable from 0.3 m / 1 ft to 2.4 m / 8 ft, holding into the overhead range on the shallower southern banks. Autumn and winter deliver the most reliable surf, when both the swell size and its power step up.
Wind and Tide
Look for northeast (NE) offshore wind to clean things up. It works through low, mid, and high tide, though a rising tide is generally the better call. Higher tides tend to wall up more, and at size those walls can taper off through channels for a good length of ride.
Local Tips
The stretch suits intermediate surfers and just about any craft, from shortboards and fish to funboards, longboards, bodyboards, and bodysurfing. Expect a moderately busy lineup when it is working. The main peaks can get competitive when it is good, but it is fairly easy to walk the beach and find quieter waves along this run of sand.
Access
There is a big beachside car park at Les Conches with free parking, and facilities run to restrooms, showers, a surf school, surf shop, camping, and lifeguard cover. From the car park you can walk along the beach or through the pines to explore the peaks to the south.
