France

[Chris_374311745]

Next year we want to take the caravan to France for the first time. My husband wants to visit the trenches for a couple of days and then we will move on for the rest of the holiday. I want to spend some time by the sea.

Has anyone any suggestions of where to go and where to stay, it all looks like a load of double dutch to me.

 

[RayS]

Assuming since it's your first time and with the cost of fuel and all that you'll not want to go huge distances.

Main advice is to get Caravan Club Europe volume 1 guide book which not only list sites - mostly member's reports with a few paid for, but also lots of good advice on electrics, law, towing etc.

Then get a good and current map - i still think michelin is the best - and start seeing what you can put together. You could get to the normandy beaches easily from northern France, but the weather might be a bit "UK" depending on time of year. You could go a bit further to Brittany or down the west coast without spending days travelling.

Read the other threads on France in this topic - lots of good advice there.

If you want to plan routes, go to www.viamichelin.com which will give you printable routes in English with the road signs you will see on the roads, tolls where applicable and even current roadworks. An alternative is www.mappy.com Many of us find planning an enjoyable part of the process - done during the cold winter months it gives a feel of early holiday.

Try to avoid the main French school holidays and you should not really need to book sites in advance except the most popular large sites. Municipals are usually good value for money but may be a bit basic for those used to CC sites in UK.

Do try it - we all had to be first timers once but the vast majority go back time and time again.

 

[Michael_374349176]

We went to the Somme in April with our two eldest grandsons. The Somme tourist board have lots of information, in English for anyone visiting the area. Alternatively obtain a copy of Tonie and Valmai Holts book "Battlefields of the First World War A Travellers Guide" (ISBN 1 902616 29 4), for a really informative guide to the battlefields. We stayed at the "Les Castels" Chateau de Drancourt site at St. Valery sur Somme. It was a bit too far to travel to Vimy Ridge comfortably but Amiens and Albert are within reach. Whilst you are there do some "field-walking", our two boys filled a shoebox with spent rifle cartridge cases, bullets, and shell fragments. I also found an unfired British .303 cartridge so the detritus of war is still there after 90 years. Let me know if you want any other information.

 

[Charles_374240409]

Hi Chris

We went to Normandy last year and stayed at Port'Land site, and I can't recommend it highly enough. It's part of the Sunelia Group. The owner and his wife a really friendly and helpful. It's a fairly big site, but spotlessly clean and quite reasonable, with a really nice restaurant, indoor pool, etc You're not far from Omaha beach, and a visit to the American Cemetery there is quite emotional - over 6000 graves.

Also, you're not that for from another landing spot at Aramanche, and the round cinema there is not to be missed. There are no seats, just handrails, and the entire walls inside are screens. The film they shown is a mixture of orignal footage from the D-day landings and also scenes from the countryside today. With the sound effects you could almost believe you were there at the landings. You can also visit the church ST marie Eglise, where the paratrooper got stuck on the steeple in the film 'The Longest Day'. They've left a dummy paratrooper hanging there, just to remind people. If you want any more info about the site, let me know.

Charles