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Ok multiple questions here...

Never camped in France and quite fancy it next year, how far south do you need to go to be sure of decent weather?

Are there areas better suited to the first timer, it'll just be me and the wife, we dont mind kids running about but would avoid the sites most popular with young families.

I have no problems with driving big distances, I live in the NE of Scotland so have a decent drive before getting to France, what's best, taking the ferry from Hull to Belgium... or the tunnel ... or the Calais ferry?

Any other advise for France camping rookies?

G...   

Graeme as you might guess, Calais is cheapest and quickest. We normally go down to Spain to ensure the sun and there is more to do, but we did try the west coast at a place called Landivielle not too far from and north of La Rochelle, which we enjoyed but it was very similar to the East Coast of the UK, very flat and quiet. I would say its a good place to start with though if you haven't tried France before.

Apparently it has its own micro climate and reflects that of St Tropez and that area !! At the time I thought .... oh yeah ....... but the man who told me was from Bolton and had stayed there for 6 years on the trot. He was right the weather was fantastic and on many evenings we would see a storm brewing and get treated to a show of lightning but (just as our man would predict) it went inland and missed us every time.

The site has an unfortunate name in La Pong but it was very nice and is flagged by the Caravan Club.

If memory serves me right it was about 450 miles from Calais and took around 8 hours though they have now opened up a new stretch of motorway so it will be quicker than the old N20.

Good luck

Another British owned site south of Saumur you might like to look at.   We work on site as holiday relief and can recommend it.   Expensive but this year you could use the ACSI Card for 14 Euros out of season. Have a look at their website anyway.

www.caravanningfrance.com

We don't bother booking anything and we go in August.  Just drive a bit and if the weather isn't warm/dry enough just drive a bit further south and stop when it looks better. 

You are unlikely to have problems getting on most sites at any time of year

Thanks for the tips so far, are there any must have books...camp sites...lonely planet...etc etc?

And quite fancy the Loire, any quiet site recomendations?

G...

http://www.loire-gites.com/

Le Chant as previously mentioned. You'll go a long way to beat it! Lovely site.

We have friends in the tulouse area who are insisting we visit when over, are there any areas/sites in that general area we should visit...

G...

I'd say 'must have' books are a Michelin Road Atlas - very detailed, and great for finding out of the way places, the Michelin Campsite Guide, the Caravan Club Europe 1 book, and Alan Rogers (you don't necessarily need all three - but we have them).   You can borrow good tourist guide books, usually, from your local library.

If you're going outside peak season then www.campingcheque.co.uk, www.touringcheque.co.uk, and www.campingcard.com all offer discounts on site tariffs, so you can get fantastic four star sites for as little as 10 euros (this year's prices - next year may be more).  All also give you a guide to their campsites, and a map, which can be very useful for finding good sites.

Haven't done the Toulouse area - so can't help with sites - but I do recommend the Gorges du Tarn/Jonte/Dourbie areas (all converging at Millau) - and that way you'll get to go over the Millau viaduct too.