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Subject Topic: Is it worth going to France for one week?
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09/8/2017 at 1:42pm
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I have driven to the Med for a weeks camping, when I was younger, I drove back from Arles in 1 go, slept in the car near St Quentin, ready for morning ferry.

However, it's different if you live in the north or the south of England. We keep saying we should spend a holiday in Devon or Cornwall, but by the time we've driven all those miles, we prefer to be in France. If we lived within easier access to the south west of England, we would probably go there for short breaks.


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09/8/2017 at 1:55pm
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Quote: Originally posted by lidds0 on 09/8/2017
Quote: Originally posted by Mucker1884 on 08/8/2017
For us, we wouldn't bother just for a week. Probably look at Scotland or Cornwall if that was our limit, and most probably end up in Norfolk or Wales (We're in the middle of England), and just keep our fingers crossed re the weather.



One summer, it took us 13 hours to get from East Yorkshire to Mevagissey in Cornwall (due to traffic jams), then we had cold weather and rain nearly all of our stay. We realised we could have driven well below Paris in the same time, and been moving rather than sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic. I recall the words "Never again" were uttered!



I can fully believe it, Lidds.
In all honesty, I only made reference to Cornwall for effect! LOL!

I have been invited to go camping down there a number of times in recent years. My reply remains the same today as it was the first time... "If I'm driving that far, I may as well drive onto a train under the sea, and keep going until I get there"!!



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10/8/2017 at 7:55am
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Quote: Originally posted by Babana on 08/8/2017
Thanks for all the input everyone. It's been really helpful. We've been all over the UK and just fancy a change. Our kids are 10 and 12 and would enjoy going somewhere different. I was thinking probably over night Ferry to Caen and drive 4 ish hours south. We're not especially beachy people so being by the coast isn't a priority. I was thinking maybe Poitiers?



I would do it like a shot. My daughter and 3 children younger than yours drove to the Ardeche last year for a week at the end of August and loved it.

We like the area south of Poitiers. How about this site at Couhe just south of Poitiers. That is the link to the reviews on here and this is their website. We have not been there as we tend to choose simple municipals but it is highly recommended on here for people with children.

And this is only one out of loads of site within 4 hours of Caen. I envy you, you have months of fun planning although I suppose if you are going in August booking would be a good idea, another thing we don't do as we are old and go out of season.

Latecamper


10/8/2017 at 8:30am
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Quote: Originally posted by Babana on 06/8/2017
Due to hubby's work he's not able to easily take more than 8-9 days for holiday in one go. I'd love to go to Camping in France next summer (August) and go south enough to hopefully get some nice weather. But is it worth going all that way for essentially just a week plus two days of travel?



With your time constraints I would suggest as little travel as possible. Home to Plymouth is a 3 hour drive after work one day, the overnight ferry to Roscoff leaves at 10pm. an en suite four berth cabin costs £75, arrival in Roscoff is at 0800 next morning, and you can be on a nearby site in Brittany within an hour. Any sort of site you wish, simple or fancy, cheap or dear. Yes, you are taking a chance with the weather, but you can have the whole experience of a week in a lovely part of France with no trouble at all. You can go further when you have a bit more time. Good luck.






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10/8/2017 at 10:04am
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We've done week long trips to Europe many times, but only to statics, so we aren't hauling loads of kit or having to set up. This way we've managed to get as far as the Dordogne without too much hassle.

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10/8/2017 at 1:04pm
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Quote: Originally posted by Francais on 07/8/2017
Sorry but I have to disagree with others, the cost of getting to the campsite makes it an act of madness to go for just one week.

If you are going for guaranteed sunshine say June or July, then it has to be the Cote d Azur or at a pinch the Southern Ardeche.

So that's around 2 over night stop's each way and the cost of the the ferry.

12 nights on the main campsite I would consider as a minimum for the amount of travelling cost and time involved.

Personally I can't see the point of going to Northern France ( North of Lyon), might as well spend a week in Cornwall and enjoy the rain!

What kind of job only let's you have 9 days max in a row for your annual leave, surely we work to live, and not live to work?

Post last edited on 07/08/2017 22:25:55



Blimey, give the bloke a break, he runs his own business for goodness sake.

"Act of madness to go for just one week" Total rubbish.

"Guaranteed sunshine" no such thing.

"Can't see the point of going to Northern France" I thought this comment was a joke to start with......I am right, it is a joke. Northern France is a fantastic place to visit, comparing it to Cornwall is sheer madness.

I see you live in Gloucester, get the ferry from Plymouth overnight to Roscoff, Brittany is awesome, you will love it.

Do it, you will have a great time. 👍😀

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10/8/2017 at 2:16pm
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There's a les Castels site near Poitiers which we used and it's also close enough to the Loire to see some of the chateaux if the kids are into history. There's a big theme park, Futuroscope which they might also like near Poitiers. The scenery and countryside is gorgeous, great for cycling.
http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/reviews.asp?revid=7485


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11/8/2017 at 10:22am
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Yes go for it we have done 7, 8, 9, 10 days, if you view the journey as part of the holiday ie a good road trip I don't see a problem. I have pitched my tent and all that goes with it in the UK for a weekend so no difference except, hopefully, the weather being a bit better. A couple of years ago we stayed near Saumur in early September and had lovely weather and that is only about 5 hours from Calais and driving in France is so much easier than the UK.


11/8/2017 at 12:48pm
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Quote: Originally posted by Mike3003 on 10/8/2017

I see you live in Gloucester, get the ferry from Plymouth overnight to Roscoff, Brittany is awesome, you will love it.




Why do people assume Plymouth to be the go to port for Gloucester when Portsmouth is about 40 miles closer?

There was another thread with similar assumptions not too long ago.


11/8/2017 at 2:35pm
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Quote: Originally posted by longcol on 11/8/2017
Quote: Originally posted by Mike3003 on 10/8/2017

I see you live in Gloucester, get the ferry from Plymouth overnight to Roscoff, Brittany is awesome, you will love it.




Why do people assume Plymouth to be the go to port for Gloucester when Portsmouth is about 40 miles closer?

There was another thread with similar assumptions not too long ago.



Mmmmm. Sorry but I did not assume anything, why you think I did is a little strange.

What is the point in going to Portsmouth if you are going to Brittany, especially Western or Southern Brittany. That 40 miles further to Plymouth is going to save you far more at the other end......I assume.

My go to port is the one that is most convenient. When I went to Normandy for the beaches last year I went from Portsmouth - Caen, I assumed that to be the most convenient route.

But you know what assume does! 👍😀

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11/8/2017 at 3:04pm
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I don't think the OP was on about going to Brittany - Loire and Poitiers have been mentioned.


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11/8/2017 at 4:44pm
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Quote: Originally posted by longcol on 11/8/2017
Quote: Originally posted by Mike3003 on 10/8/2017

I see you live in Gloucester, get the ferry from Plymouth overnight to Roscoff, Brittany is awesome, you will love it.




Why do people assume Plymouth to be the go to port for Gloucester when Portsmouth is about 40 miles closer?

There was another thread with similar assumptions not too long ago.



If you look at my post you will see that I was suggesting Brittany, but your comment above is stating that the go to port from Gloucester is Portsmouth. Surely it depends where in France you are going.....Doesn't it. 😀


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11/8/2017 at 5:52pm
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Quote: Originally posted by MaxieCat on 11/8/2017
... I have pitched my tent and all that goes with it in the UK for a weekend so no difference except, hopefully, the weather being a bit better...



That's actually a very good point. We do that numerous times each year without a second thought!
We have a weekend set up (2 nights) and a full on set up (Fortnight). We've already done the single night overnight stay set up (35mins max, all in), and thanks to the modular aspect of our tent, we can have numerous options in between, and adjust the rest of the gear to suit.

Obviously, I'd still much prefer a fortnight, but if we ever do get limited to a week, for whatever reason, I (now) see little problem with a two day journey from home (inc. overnight camp, not hotel) and a 3 night stay somewhere, before returning home again over two days. Or even a 2am start/7am Tunnel, and have 4 or 5 nights on site before returning home.
OK, we'd stilll be limited with the mileage, but it's still France, when all said and done!

I like your thinking, and it has given me a potentially different outlook since my earlier post.   



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11/8/2017 at 9:19pm
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We've just been Hull to Rotterdam on the 5 day return cheaper crossing because we booked last minute and that was what we could afford. The key for us was then not traveling too far from the port (we drove minutes into Holland from the ferry) so that our arrival and departure days still felt like part of the holiday (it's an overnight crossing). We weren't desperate for hot weather though as we have very young children and I'm not sure how I'd reconcile that. We just wanted the abroad on holiday different culture feeling which we got and the whole trip was really good for us and definitely worth it even though we were only on site for 4 nights.



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