Visiting the battlefields in France - Vimy Ridge

My son was doing a topic at school on the world wars and kept asking us various questions, I decided to take him to Vimy Ridge in France to visit the trenches and tunnels from WW1.

We stayed in a family run campsite just outside of Artois in Pas de Calais it was very sweet and very cheap about £7 a night. The campsite had a little restaurant, swimming pool, bar and play area for the children with a bouncy castle it was really lovely. In the morning the bakers van came to the site at 8am with fresh bread and croissants.

The area is really flat and a few people on the campsites arrived on bikes, I was most impressed they managed to pack a tent and everything they needed onto a bike.....I love this idea.

Vimy ridge is an amazing memorial to WW1. Captured by the Canadians in April 1917, seeing the preserved trench system, visitors’ centre and impressive memorial on Hill 145 – the highest point on Vimy Ridge. Vimy was a defining moment for Canada in World War I and this is arguably one of the finest memorials on the Western Front.

We went down the tunnels and had a tour by a Canadian student who was very informative and explained so much to the children in a language they could understand. We also visited the British memorial down the road.

 Campsite near Artois that had a great bread van in the morning with the best Croissants ever!

 One of the rooms that the generals would have slept and washed with the original beds and table

 One of the tunnels that you can walk through at Vimy Ridge they bought over welsh miners to dig out the tunnels all in chalky soil.

Amazing memorial at Vimy Ridge

A great trip and easy to get to from Calais perfect for a long weekend away in France.

St Ives Cornwall

  

St Ives Cornwall

 

 

We love Cornwall and one of our favourite places to visit in Cornwall is St Ives I always loved it and I am sure it might be something to do with a book I had as a child with the rhyme:

 

As I was going to St Ives, I met a man with seven wives,

Each wife had seven sacks, each sack had seven cats,

Each cat had seven kits: kits, cats, sacks and wives,

How many were going to St Ives?

 

I was so pleased when I first went to S Ives I love the whole area around there too. It is so busy in summer but great! There are great little shops and the Tate gallery on the sea front is a must!!

We have stayed at a few campsites but St Ives bay is huge and leads to the biggest sand dunes and beach that seems to go on forever.

 

http://www.stivesbay.co.uk/

 

I swear we heard the beast of Bodmin Moor one May when we camped there ha! I woke up in the night to what sounded like a bloody tiger but went back to sleep only to wake up to a dead rabbit (well its back legs) outside our van. It was probably only a fox or badger but I am going with the beast of Bodmin Moor story instead.

 

People always go on about the light in St Ives but it is true......my photos always come out great there and the artist that you see around St Ives always agree.

 

 

 

One of the best experiences we had in St Ives was when we went to meet some friends and we had a BBQ on the beach one night only to see dolphins swimming in the sea at sunset.

Surfing in North Devon

If you love to surf camping in Croyde is great

 

 

 

There are some great campsites in Croyde in Devon.

 

If you have a campervan you can park on Puttsborough beach for the night,  its not cheap and there is only a toilet and a cold outdoor shower but the view in the morning is worth every penny.

 

We also like Ruda because it has everything you need and you are near the beach and you can walk into Croyde for a pint in the local pubs.

Ruda has a great indoor swimming pool so even if the weather is awful you can enjoy the facilities.

 

I am not going to give away anymore secrets about that area because there are some really special places but I like them just the way they are! not too busy.

Croyde is best out of season because year on year it gets busier because it is so lovely.

 

 

Walking distance to the beach

 

We love Croyde! the beaches are amazing its great all year round.

 







Woodlands in Devon

Woodlands Devon

 

We love this campsite out of season it is so great in Spring and Autumn when the weather is not that great don't get me wrong it is great in the summer too.

 

The campsite is a 5 star campsite and has everything you need from a games room, playing field, shop and Pizza take away but we love the theme park.

Woodlands has the best indoor facilities and my kids spend hours in the main indoor barn with all the big slides and ball pits. Personally I love the animals at Woodland and I can stand and watch the Meerkats for hours and a must visit is the falconry display its amazing!

There is also a great toboggan and the outdoor water slides are brilliant.

The theme park is great for all ages, there are so many play areas for all different age groups.

 

So much to see it is hard to see it all in one weekend.

 

 

 



 

Here are the details online to the caravan park which gets you free access to the theme park.

 

http://www.woodlands-caravanpark.com/

There is camping then there is luxury on the road!!

 

I need one of these in my life this is a serious motorhome but I wouldn't want to try and get this down some of the tiny windy roads in Cornwall.



Its even got its own roof terrace

This would be great to travel around the states but I cant see it taking off in Europe on our smaller roads but I would give it a try!!! Oh just need £2 million that might be a problem!

 

 

Watch the video online:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2338810/Worlds-expensive-motorhome-goes-sale-2m-comes-complete-cocktail-bar-roof-terrace.html











If you love camping in the UK take the plunge and try Europe:

With two children this is the only way I can afford to visit the places as cheap as possible.
I can get a ferry from Dover to Calais for £35 I normally go for the early morning or late evening to pay the cheapest fares.
I fill up in a supermarket petrol station in the UK before going but generally the fuel is cheaper in France.
Some great research tools before you go:

http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/

Caravan and Camping Europe guide book (I bought mine cheap on amazon).

http://www.eurocampings.co.uk/en/europe/

I always have a toll kitty of around £200 and if there is change great!

I fill up in Lidls before I go and then just get fresh food everyday from local markets and stores and enjoy the local food.
The campsites in France and Spain are so well equipped even the tiny campsites. I have stayed in France paying £7 a night and they always do fresh bread or croissants in the morning.

Having a campervan means its easy to just pull over but with a tent you need to book or plan a campsite when I used to go camping as a child with my family we just had a tent and we used to stay in a motel on the drive down to Spain or South of France.

I don't worry too much about being prepared anymore because I know I can get everything while I am away but it is good fun packing for a camping trip abroad.
Just remember the passports!

Campsites we love in the ~UK

One of our favourite campsites to take the kids is River Dart country park. We always seem to return here for weekends away. Set in a wooded valley on the edge of Dartmouth River Dart country park has all you could wish for:

http://www.riverdart.co.uk/

We love the pirate ship but remember to pack your wetsuits for the kids and lots of warm clothes for a walk on a evening. Great food and drinks in the Sawmill on site and when I am feeling lazy I love a bacon butty and a latte in the morning.
Various activities on the site including various play areas with zip wires, tunnels and brilliant slides like the anaconda. A chance to go zorbing or on a canoeing to high wires and days out for the older kids can be arranged.
What I love most about River Dart is the surroundings and the walks in the woods early morning and at dusk.
My kids love the chance to ride their bikes and be free making dens in the woods and also swimming all day.

 

 

 

 

 

Camping in St Tropez

Stayed in a great campsite in Saint Tropez called Les Tournels this is a Yelloh campsite and one of the best campsites we have stayed in. The trip down was easy and we stopped over in the Gorge du Verdon for one night but Les Tournels is worth the drive and I would stay there again. We spent 2 days driving down and stopping off sight seeing along the way. We stayed 10 nights at Les Tournels and there was so much to do...........walking in the local vineyards, trips to San Tropez and some of the local bays and the famous Pampelonne beach.
The campsite had its own spa that you could pay extra for treatments.
The pools were amazing and for all ages with water slides, lazy river and a toddler pool with baby slides.
The campsite had a great amphitheatre and my daughter joined the children's group every morning and performed a show at the end of our week it really was amazing.
There was entertainment by the pool which is not really my thing but by the end of the week I must admit I was tempted to join in ha!
The walk to the local shop takes about 10 minutes but it does stock everything I found going in the morning when it was cooler a much better walk.
You could walk to the famous Pampelonne beach and see all the amazing yachts but this is not shaded and again very hot to walk in the day.
You could get a bus into Saint Tropez and to the beach every day. I loved the shops in Saint Tropez but the roads get very busy but I loved the early evening stroll by the boats in the harbour.
I cant recommend this campsite enough my children played with so many children from different countries and they loved it here.

Les Tournels

The Lazy River

Walking through the vineyards

Our pitch

 One of the lovely local bays

 A must visit to Port Grimaud

 Saint Tropez early evening

The childrens performance

Camping in Andorra

Camping in Andorra

We all loved Andorra what a great place to camp. I had visited Andorra as a child with my parents and was really excited to take my children there. We enjoyed the drive there it was so scenic and much cooler than the trip we had to Barcelona.
After driving around we found a great little campsite with a pool and a little shop but it was right on a river and the kids found it more exciting looking for lizards. The highlight for me about Andorra was the perfumeries and the cheap ski coats and items we bought in the outlet stores. Shopping in Andorra is great.
The kids enjoyed the trip up the mountain in a gondola and when we got to the top there was an amazing outdoor activity centre with horse riding, canoeing and a chance to go on these inflatable rings on a dry ski slope.

I cant wait to go to Andorra again and if you love road cycling you can catch various races in the summer in Andorra.

Camping in the mountains in Andorra

 
One of the great shops in Andorra