We finally taken the plunge and traded in the tent for a caravan.
Heading over to France in July using the Pompey to Caen route. It's not my favourite but we got a damn good deal via the Caravan Club. It'll be the 14:45 crossing arriving in to Caen at 21:30, so we'll probably use Les Pommiers or Les Puits as recommended elsewhere on the forum.
As this is going to be my 1st time towing in France I'm taking it easy and giving myself 2 days to get down to Payrac in the Dordogne.
The question for the collective is can anyone recommend a good stop over somewhere in central France? Looking at the map I'm thinking around Tours Chateauroux or Poitiers?
Totally open to suggestion but would like somewhere with a bar & restaurant, if possible.
Look forward to your suggestions.
Thanks
Paul [Landman]
------------- Skoda Superb Combi with 170PS engine and DSG box [plus 3 annoying kids in the back] towing an Avondale Argente 530-5
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Hi Paul
We're doing the same route to the Dordogne in August also on the afternoon ferry.
We plan to book Des Capuchines at Ranville (near Pegasus bridge) for our first night - http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/reviews.asp?revid=9871
We've stayed overnight there before and it was fine, no noise at all.
We've already booked a stopover near Poitiers - Camping Lac de Saint Cyr
http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/reviews.asp?revid=5580
We booked the ferry and sites with the CC as well.
Hope this helps
Julie
Depending on your route you could try here
Le petit trinan
http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/details.asp?revid=7485
We stayed here in September 2011 for two nights and it was a lovely quiet site with a bar, they did meals/takeaways but choice was limited however there was a restaurant about 10 yards from site entrance but we didn't try it while we were there. Site had a small pool and crazy golf etc. When we arrived no one else was there, but were joined by a few others later.
We also stayed at Campsite de la Grange Rouge which i can't find in the directory but we found it very shady with low hanging branches, probably ok but don't think it had a bar/restaurant but was near a town (walk)
Quote: Originally posted by Mrs Anorak on 20/4/2012
Hi Paul
We're doing the same route to the Dordogne in August also on the afternoon ferry.
We plan to book Des Capuchines at Ranville (near Pegasus bridge) for our first night - http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/reviews.asp?revid=9871
We've stayed overnight there before and it was fine, no noise at all.
We've already booked a stopover near Poitiers - Camping Lac de Saint Cyr
http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/reviews.asp?revid=5580
We booked the ferry and sites with the CC as well.
Hope this helps
Julie
Julie,
Thanks for your reply.
I've now booked in to Camping Lac de Saint Cyr, however Des Capucines seems to be fully booked.
Much appreciated
Paul [Landman]
------------- Skoda Superb Combi with 170PS engine and DSG box [plus 3 annoying kids in the back] towing an Avondale Argente 530-5
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Hi Paul
Glad you've sorted out your stopover. I'm just curious, where did you find out that Des Capuchines was fully booked? I haven't been in touch with them yet; we sent them a fax last time as we couldn't find a website.
We've booked 3 other sites with CC but Des Capuchines isn't listed with them or C & CC so we have to contact them direct.
Thanks
Julie
Quote: Originally posted by Mrs Anorak on 21/4/2012
Hi Paul
Glad you've sorted out your stopover. I'm just curious, where did you find out that Des Capuchines was fully booked? I haven't been in touch with them yet; we sent them a fax last time as we couldn't find a website.
We've booked 3 other sites with CC but Des Capuchines isn't listed with them or C & CC so we have to contact them direct.
Thanks
Julie
Ah, sorry, got it wrong.
Just checked my browser history & I've realised that I looked at a similar named site in Brittany.
Must get my eyes checked!
Paul.
------------- Skoda Superb Combi with 170PS engine and DSG box [plus 3 annoying kids in the back] towing an Avondale Argente 530-5
Oh right, yes I've seen that site....
I think I'll reserve a pitch soon. We want 2 nights there so that we can visit the bridge museum and it's our son's birthday
Hope you have a good holiday
Julie
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Thanks for the comments on Les Capucines campsite - we were considering using the site but the less than positive review on here, especially regarding noise, put us off a bit. It's now back in the running!
Quote: Originally posted by bofs on 21/4/2012Thanks for the comments on Les Capucines campsite - we were considering using the site but the less than positive review on here, especially regarding noise, put us off a bit. It's now back in the running!
Hi
I suppose it's the luck of the draw on the noise front but it was very quiet when we stayed a couple of years ago. As with any site it always depends how other campers behave. The site is in a very quiet area with no road noise, the other campers were mainly french families. It is recommended on another forum and someone posted this email address (not tried using it yet) campingdescapucines.14 at orange.fr. The owner did speak a little English and we managed a little French :)
Thanks for the info. We'd be stopping at the beginning of July, so out of the main season and would hopefully be lucky and just encounter peace-loving fellow campers. Another negative from the other review was about the small size of the pitches. Did they seem that way to you?
The pitches varied in size, they are listed as being 80 - 100m2 on their "Eurocamping's page". We were told where the vacant pitches were. The one the lady suggested was big enough for the van + car with space to spare but we couldn't find the hook-up. It was dark, we were tired and we were worried about disturbing the neighbour's so we moved along to look at the others. The one we ended up on wasn't very deep so we pushed the van (6.8m) in across the pitch, it looked hideous the next morning, squeezed in between the hedges. We discovered that the electric on the first pitch was in a cupboard by the bushes at the back of the pitch.... we should have just gone on there and got the torch out :)
My advice would be to tell the site the size of your van (as we did), and have a torch handy so you can see where the hook-up is and you should be ok. You would probably have more choice at the beginning of July. It was clean & tidy and we slept well so we'll go there again. If you search the site on Eurocampings there are a few pictures.
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
We're on the same crossing and heading to the Dordogne ourselves in August. Theres a really nice municipal at Azay Le Rideau (called Le Sabot I think) just south west of Tours which is a five minute walk to the town with its Chateau. Lots of restaurants in there and a few bars too. Its a really pretty place and for us its the perfect stopover.
------------- John
May/June.....France
Aug.......somewhere else in France