It’s inspiring to see how an entire nation of people will rally to protect something that’s precious to them.

In the face of potential destruction, thousands in France stood up to save their beloved Mont-Saint-Michel.

For years it was overrun with disruptive cars, attracting hundreds of tourists to view the marvel that is a mound of history, but it was blocked by congestion around the entrance and tainting the aesthetic.

Now it’s become a sanctuary, with more than a mile to walk and admire its beauty, with a new unique invention trying to restore nature.

The Mont is clearly something very sacred to the French and now after 10 years of redevelopment it has become something they can truly celebrate.

For me, it was a chance to retrace the steps of my loved-up parents who went to see it on their honeymoon almost 25 years ago.

But for them it looked very different, trapped by vehicles and coaches packed with hundreds of people as around 2.5 million people visit a year from across the world and tourist shops filled the alleyways.

I have a vague recollection of what it looked like from a school trip, as a 14-year-old I probably didn’t appreciate it as much as my teachers had hoped, but going back and seeing the astonishing amount of work that has been put into it since then – I was gobsmacked.

It’s a tiny detached village that has a romantic feel to it, cobbled streets climbing higher and higher, little boutique shops selling the pride of Normandy and smiling faces enjoying the chance to appreciate history and explore the centuries-old Benedictine Abbey.

It’s transformed from a place of worship, to a place of sanctuary for thousands of Christian pilgrims, to a village, to a tourist attraction, since first being discovered around 708.

But more than a decade ago experts realized that their Mont could disappear by 2040 if they didn’t work fast. The entry road covered in cars was blocking the water which so famously isolates the island, causing the water surrounding it to erode the ground and create a type of sediment which was building up, making it impossible to continue.

So the French took action with many petitions being signed to do something and the Centre Des Monuments Nationaux joined forces with representatives in Europe, Brittany and France to invest millions of pounds in rescuing it.

They’ve succeeded and now their work is complete for people to admire, with an innovative dam working to sieve out the silt and help restore the land around the Mont to its original form.

One of the main mysteries that fascinates and brings people to the Mont is the fact that with the ebbing tide it changes from part of the land to a solitary island twice a day.

A team of conservationists, designers and engineers have made it possible to truly enjoy this.

Now it’s beautiful, the car park hidden by hundreds of trees so people can enjoy a leisurely stroll up to the Mont, taking it all in and enjoying a street of boutique shops and cafes as well as an information centre to find out about the restoration work on the way in.

Without fail, hundreds of people gather at the crack of dawn to take in the sunset and watch as the water slowly builds up with the tide and separates them from the Mont – or become trapped on the island at sunset when the water envelopes everyone in.

There’s a powerful calmness that washes in as the water magically seems to appear and it takes over the bridge connecting the Mont to civilizations momentarily.

People can now appreciate the Mont as it was meant to be, even taking a barefoot walk in the mulch and sand which so quickly becomes filled with water at certain times in the day.

The miles of land that surround the Mont are excellent for families to explore, with squelchy sand to muscle through with expert guides talking about the history of nomads travelling across these lands seeking sanctuary with the monks in the abbey, making pilgrimages in the hope of finding their faith.

The abbey is astounding, rich with history and secrets, climbing right to the top was a true privilege, being able to admire the views and the hidden bits of medieval architecture which have been protected. Outside of the Mont there are hidden gems in Normandy.

The town of Avranches has a museum packed with relics from Mont-Saint-Michel, and not far from there is a farm in Saint-Leonard, with a family of dairy farmers rebelling against the harsh costs of milk by using their cream to make delicious caramels under the name Cara-Meuh!

The whole region is rich with history, culture and adventure and only a ferry ride away.

Factfile 

Overnight return cruise ferry ticket for on-foot passenger with Brittany Ferries from Portsmouth to St Malo – £70. Entry to the Abbey of MontSaint-Michel – 9 euros.

Places to eat in Mont-SaintMichel l’Auberge – Saint Pierre for a traditional Normandy omelette, Domaine de la Besnerie in Tanis is the perfect B&B just a few miles away from the Mont.

Place to eat in Avranches – La Croix d’Or. For the best salted caramels, visit cara-meuh.com.

To organise a trip seeing the best sites of Normandy, visit en.normandie-tourisme.fr/ normandy-tourism-109-2.html.