Hi there, my wife and I are looking to spend 5 days plus in Normandy. We are looking for a small adult only campsite that would be ideally situated for all the attractions,
Any recomendations , and when would be the best time to go.
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I don't know of any 'adult only' sites in Normandy - they are very rare in France. If you avoid the main holiday period i.e mid-July to mid/late August, you will come across very few children on any French campsite. We normally these days take our main holiday in June and hardly ever see children on site (a drawback for us, as we enjoy children's company, but it may be a plus for you).
I'd agree with Chrissie7 - avoid the main British holiday weeks (ie not Easter, Spring Bank Holiday, or during the summer holidays, and you'll see hardly any other children, indeed you may see hardly any other adults - some sites can be very quiet indeed in April/May and until mid-June.
Some British owned sites in France may be 'adult only' - and you'll see these advertised in the back of the Caravan Club magazine, normally. There are also adult only sites listed on the Campsite search section of this forum - see here for results: http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/articles/view.asp?id=122#France
Depends what aspect of "adults only" appeals to you. If you go during school term time you are almost guaranteed no children of school age virtually anywhere in France, even at weekends, but you run the risk of families with pre school children. During this period, most sites will be populated by either these young families or post children/retired types from a wide range of nationalities, notably British,Dutch,or Scandinavian. If you can put up with this demograph you have massive benefits.You get free run of sites which in July/August are knee deep in screaming kids. You get chance to use the water slides as often as you like without having to elbow the ten yr olds, and in the evenings you can ride on the swings and roundabouts.
If you are looking for like minded souls in the "no kids yet" category, choice is perhaps more difficult. Never really come accross such sites.
Time of year in Normandy ? Depends what you want. July/August sun sea and sand, is probably best done the further south you go. But April/May /early June are beautiful. Climate frequently mild. Trees coming into foliage, blossoms on the apple trees a plenty, roads uncrowded, everyone looking forward to the summer, restauants optimistic, sea food superb, definitely as good as it gets.
September is a bit similar but in reverse. Colours in the trees towards autumn are phenominal. You still get some balmy days, and loads of harvest produce.
Where to see it ? Can't go wrong by following Sue's recommendations above, but you might encounter a few kids, some not so young.
Les Puit at St Martin de Besace I wouldnt say is much more of a safe bet in terms of avoiding screaming kids...the reason we stopped there was due to its proximity to the WW2 historic sites, Bayeux, Villedieu les Poeles, Mont St Michel etc. The campsite itself was great, but only if you prefer smaller campsites with more basic facilities-small bar & takeaway (only open for a couple of hours or so a night when we visited late season) clean, basic sanitary facilities...Overall the site is clean,tidy, very pretty, well shaded, large pitches, the irish owners extremely helpful, prices reasonable (stay for 2 nights get one free in low season if I remember rightly!)
The village of St Martin de Besace provides essentials (boulangerie, charcuterie, tabac-bar, petrol, cash machine), but you had to travel to one of the larger towns in the area for a supermarket. Its not the prettiest of towns - one of the typical Normandy villages consisting of a main road bordered by rows of houses - but it does serve its purpose.
The only downside of the campsite is the proximity to the autoroute and the main road that went through St Martin de Besace. We were expecting it to be more rural than it was - the noise from the road did spoilt it somewhat for us. This might not be a problem for those more use to road noise but it did put a bit of a downer on our week there when we actually spent time at the campsite other than for sleeping and eating!
If you are looking for somewhere as a good base for exploring the western area of Normandy it is spot on.
Les Brevedent at Blangy Le Chateau I really cannot fault...however being a Les Castels campsite I wouldnt recommend visiting in Summer as it will be swamped by families with kids and be extremely expensive. We visited in mid-september, just before the campsite closed. The campsite was very peaceful, some families with small children so we just camped away from them! The area surrounding the campsite was picture perfect - the town of Cormeilles not far away, very beautiful, nice market at the weekend. Not far from Honfleur, Pont L'Eveque etc. Really looking forward to visiting again on our way further south in June!
Quote: Originally posted by Suebeedoo on 09/1/2011
Les Brevedent at Blangy Le Chateau I really cannot fault...however being a Les Castels campsite I wouldnt recommend visiting in Summer as it will be swamped by families with kids and be extremely expensive. We visited in mid-september, just before the campsite closed. The campsite was very peaceful, some families with small children so we just camped away from them! The area surrounding the campsite was picture perfect - the town of Cormeilles not far away, very beautiful, nice market at the weekend. Not far from Honfleur, Pont L'Eveque etc. Really looking forward to visiting again on our way further south in June!
Kept us awake all night - before we had to leave at 6am the next morning to catch our ferry....was NOT pleased. We were not warned how long it would go on for in the evening. Ah well!
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Once a year, end of season, chance to let off a bit of steam. The crew work really hard for 5 mths . No comfort to you if you did n't expect it. Sorry if you were disturbed. It happens every year though, so maybe be prepared for next time.
FM
ps Similar things happen July 14th but not as loud or as long.
Not the smallest site in Normandy but have a look at Kawan Village Haliotis which is at Pontorson just 9km from Mont St Michel. Its a campingcheque site for low season so if you go June they are accepted (website www.campingcheque.co.uk ).
It is in easy walking distance of the village of Pontorson which has a range of shops and restaurants, and there is a reasonably sized supermarket (Champion I think) also within walking distance of the site (about 500 yards). Both of these are an advantage for motorhome owners which I believe you have.
Worth noting that the site is a "top camping" site as quoted by campingcheque which means it has to score at least 4.5 out of 5 on all categories as judged by campingcheque users in an annual poll.
It also has a limited number of superb private facilities (toilet/showers etc - even have a heated towel rail). As you can imagine these are very popular but the actual shower block itself is very good.
Dinan and St Malo (old town well worth a visit) are not too far away.
For smaller sites check out www.campingfrance.com which is the official campsite website for french sites and contains over 11000 sites across France.
I completely appreciate that, and think that the festival was a great idea and thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment!...but had we been warned that the noise was going to be as excessive as it was that late into the night, we wouldnt have stopped that night...couldnt help feeling we had been neglected a little as a paying customer.
Will definately return, but not at the end of the season!
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: camping in Normandy
