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 Topic: Sites: France, Italy, Austria, Slovenia
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17/5/2009 at 5:01pm
Location: Dorset
Outfit: Campervan - IH Irmao
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Joined: 23/10/2004 Standard Member
Forum Posts: 35
| Site Reviews Total: | 6 |
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Here you will find details and GPS ref for campsites.
Last year Foxy (our campervan, in case you wondered) took us round the lanes, passes, roads and tracks of Europe, concentrating mainly on the Pyrenees and the Alpes, travelling through France, Italy, Austria and Slovenia.
We used a mixture of sites, many from the ACSI guide, some from the Caravan Club Europe guides, websites, including this one, camperstops and France Passion stopovers. The France Passion information is useless without joining, so I haven't posted those, otherwise I'm listing the lot.
I'm typing them up on wet days when at home, so it may take a while - we were away 6 months. We headed south down the west of France, meandered through the Pyrenees, scooted round the south of France, then went through the north of Italy, into the Italian and Austrian Dolomites and then into Slovenia, before heading back to spend yet more time in France, especially Provence. If you are headed that way and want information before I've typed it up here, drop me a message and I'll tell you what I can.
Here's the first bit:
Campsites round Europe
A short entry about each place we stopped in our campervan during a 6 month trip from April to September 2008, hopefully just enough to help anyone else decide if it may be a useful stopover or good for a longer stay. Generally the location is given by Lat/Long, the reading taken from our pitch, so if it's a campsite that won't be exactly the entrance, but it is a good guide if it's a camperstop. I haven't included sites which are now closed (like Manoir de Senleque - they retired) or France Passion farms and similar for which membership is required. Many of the sites are listed in the ACSI book - if you have a DVD on your laptop, join ACSI and get the DVD database of sites and enjoy the off-peak discounts.
1. CL. Holmlea, Cheltenham. N51.90427, W002.12624
Convenient for M5, but expensive for what it is. There is a hard standing area.
2. Wirral Country Park Caravan Club site, Thurstaston. N53.3460, W003.1524
Plenty of hard standing. Alongside the traffic free Wirral Way, great for cycling/walking to West Kirby, with plentiful trains to the rest of Wirral and Liverpool. Typical Caravan Club facilities.
3. Caravan and Camping Club, The Warren, Folkestone. N51.09347, E001.20590
Access in a campervan was fine, larger units beware of unmapped road, access past houses (follow signs) in Wear Bay Road. Small, pleasant site, hard standing, right by coast with views of channel. Very handy to channel tunnel.
4. Albret-Plage, Vieux Boucau on the Atlantic coast of France, north of Bayonne N43.79722, W001.40402
Reasonable facilities, watch for soft ground on some pitches, looks good for children. Beautiful walk through dunes to Atlantic sandy beach. Good access to level cycle routes through forests. Shops nearby.
5. St Jean Pied de Port, camperstop in car park next to sports centre, south east of Bayonne, western Pyrenees. N43.16544, W001.23161
First impression if you aren't used to car park camping is a bit off-putting, but it was fine and a great way of swapping information with other campers. Easy walk into the beautiful old town which is on the Way of St. James (ECamino de Santiago, French: Chemin de St-Jacques)
6. Camping du Pont d'Abense, Tardets-Sorholus, south west of Pau, western Pyrenees. N43.11200, W000.86275
Lovely simple green site, with old-fashioned but good facilities and a most hospitable owner (you'll need to practice your French). WiFi on site. Pleasant walks alongside the river, easy access to the village and some great trips round about, e.g. Gorge de Kakuetta.
7. Lourdes, camperstop in car park of LeClerc shopping centre, handy for early morning shop, western Pyrenees. N43.11167, W000.03864
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Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
26/5/2009 at 9:29pm
Location: Dorset
Outfit: Campervan - IH Irmao
View Profile
Reply
Quote
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Joined: 23/10/2004 Standard Member
Forum Posts: 35
| Site Reviews Total: | 6 |
|
| Site Reviews 2024: | 0 |
| Site Reviews 2023: | 0 |
| Site Reviews 2022: | 0 |
| Site Reviews 2021: | 0 |
| Site Reviews 2020: | 0 |
| Site Reviews 2019: | 0 |
| Site Reviews 2018: | 0 |
|
| Site Nights 2024: | 0 |
| Site Nights 2023: | 0 |
| Site Nights 2022: | 0 |
| Site Nights 2021: | 0 |
| Site Nights 2020: | 0 |
| Site Nights 2019: | 0 |
| Site Nights 2018: | 0 |
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Continuation (still in the Pyrenees)...
8. Artouste-Fabrèges, above Laruns, western Pyrenees. In winter a ski resort, but after the snow has gone the camperstop is pretty much the only life in this wonderful location, above a lake and in the midst of real mountains. Great for exploring the Ossau valley. The GPS reference here shows exactly where we camped. N42.88054, W000.39894 (Elevation 1216m)
** WORD OF WARNING **
If you go east from here towards Arrens-Marsous, via Eaux-Bonnes and Gourette over the Col D'Aubisque, the D918 (and it is a wonderfully rewarding mountain pass to drive) keep a sharp look-out in Eaux-Bonnes for signs about the state of the pass. We missed the signs and had a 2 hour drive up, merely to find the pass closed and had to come all the way back down then drive round the other way. Be warned!
9. Parc Natura at Estaing, Parc National des Pyrenees. N42.94204, W000.17761
Set on the valley floor, surrounded by mountains, about 5 miles north east of the Lac d'Estaing. Get an ACSI book and pass, you'll save a lot here out of season. If you love nature, this site is for you. We did a walk, guided by the fascinating site owner, to a farm in the hills for a great local meal.
10. Mazeres sur Salat, Haute-Garonne, Midi-Pyrénées. N43.134667, E0.976444
A camperstop beside the river, with a level walk into the village - where there is a great bakery.
11. L'Arize, La Bastide-de-Sérou, Ariège, Midi-Pyrénées
N43.000833, E1.446944. Campsite on the green valley floor, near a river and surrounded by wooded hillsides with lots of footpaths around and a very helpful owner.
12. Municipal camping, Mérens-les-Vals, Ariège, Midi-Pyrénées. N42.648056, E1.831111 (Elevation: 1,087m)
Another valley floor site, in easy reach of a quiet lane into village, and with access to high mountain paths. Don't let the title "municipal" put you off, this is a good site with clean facilities.
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Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
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