On a trip to Morocco earlier this year I wanted to visit Legzira, of the country’s most striking beaches. Here’s how I did it. Read full story below

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The trip nearly didn’t happen after a booking made in the UK failed to materialise. But I was rescued by Bakhazouz Tours at my seaside base of Agadir.

It was early morning when small, wiry tour guide Imad arrived in his smart four-wheel drive jeep. My companions for the day were a pair of friendly, polite older French ladies – it was time to scrabble around for my schoolboy French. In the back were a young Russian couple who seemed content in their own bubble. Yet somehow they made it into one of my photographs.

The fabled stone arches of Legzira were a good three hours from Agadir, but this road trip came with a number of stops along the way. First it was a rustic Moroccan service station, complete with a butcher’s shop.

We reached the Youssef Ibn Tachfine Dam, with an artificial lake creating some unexpectedly beautiful landscapes. And close to this was a tiny scrap of full-on Sahara Desert, with orange sands and even a resident camel.

But for me a real highlight along the way was the old city of Tiznit where I could have spent much longer exploring and gathering photographs. Moroccan cities are intoxicating, colourful and humming with life. Tiznit’s ancient walls and crooked back streets were a thrill on the way to the main coastal attraction.

We finally got to Legzira by way of another beach called Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdelah, where buildings cling to the headland. Legzira itself is a small beach settlement of simple restaurants serving fish tagine, while there are also rooms for hire. Very tempting for catching blazing sunsets.

The beach is a broad sweep of sand with its famous ochre stone arch creating a corridor that you simply have to walk through. On one side it was enveloped in mist, from the other everything was clear and bright. You could spend hours wandering up and down the beach and exploring its rugged rock formations. Legzira was definitely worth the effort of getting there.

Our final stop seemed like a bonus. Further back up the coast, paragliders swooped around the sky catching some of those Atlantic thermals. A breathtaking sight, but a serious challenge for the camera.

Back in Agadir, I was the first to be dropped off. The end of a day trip is always tinged with sadness. Your companions head off into the sunset and are never seen again. It’s not usually long enough to establish real human connection. But I’d achieved my goal, I’d seen the Legzira arch and more besides.