Mont Saint-Michel turned into island by 'supertide'

Dazzling Supertide Transforms France's Mont Saint-Michel Into an Island, Delighting Thousands

France's famous Mont Saint-Michel was turned into an island by a 'supertide' on Saturday.

Thousands of tourists visited the attraction as the so-called 'tide of the century' rushed in and out along the northern French coast.

According to the Associated Press, the phenomenon happens every 18 years. The 'supertide' is said to rise at the pace of a horse's gallop.

The fairytale village and monastery is usually linked to the mainland by a narrow causeway at high tide. During the day at low tide, people normally walk on the flat seabed.

Wilfred James visited the site on Saturday and told AP: "It's been a long time since we've seen Mont Saint-Michel surrounded by the sea. I was born in this region and I never saw it like this."

Speaking to France 24, Nicolas Pouvreau, a tide specialist at SHOM, the French national oceanography organisation, said the morning surge fell a few centimetres short of expectations.

Meanwhile, Michael Dodds, the director of the regional tourism committee, said: "This natural phenomenon is an incredible opportunity for tourism in Brittany at this time of year."

In Britain, surfers took to the River Severn to tackle the rare high wave on Friday, while others hit the beach in Devon.

Ben Howe, 31, a surfer at Croyde, told the Daily Telegraph: "I have never seen the beach this packed down here this early in the season, the conditions are ideal. I think Thursday night's supermoon may have affected tidal conditions too as the waves were absolutely mammoth on Friday."