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| A pool at Chateau des Ormes site in Dol de Bretagne |
So it's May Half Term and we decide on a little break in Brittany.
It's only just over the water, we're going with the market-leader Eurocamp to stay on a top-rated site - what could go wrong? Well how about the French Fishermen going on strike? Nah...... didn't anticipate that one!
The plan was to travel overnight with Brittany Ferries from Poole to Cherbourg and then drive for a couple of hours to the park at Chateau des Ormes in Dol de Bretagne to be there in time for lunch. 'The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry' however as you will see if you read on.....
Arrived at Poole Harbour in plenty of time but to the news that the French fishermen had blockaded ALL the French ports in their strike for more pay and there was little chance of us sailing to Cherbourg! Apparently the ship we were due to sail on had already been to Cherbourg earlier and had had to turn around because of the blockade. In other words some of the passengers on board had been on board for nearly a day already! We were told that there was a possibility however that the ship might be able to berth in Caen and we were asked if we minded. As Caen was nearer to our Eurocamp Park, of course we didn't mind. Anyway, after a wander around the very swish Barfleur(it's years since I've been on a ferry and what an improvement!) we went to our cabins hoping for a good night's sleep. The next morning I looked out of the window and lo and behold we were still in Poole Harbour! Talk about a disappointment. Within minutes of waking, the Captain's voice came over the tannoy saying that the ferry was now cancelled because of the French Strike, we had to disembark and we needed to contact Brittany Ferries for more information. We had visions of being asked to drive to Dover or being asked to return 24 hours later but no........
We drove off the ferry and then at the suggestion of a member of Brittany Ferries' staff , drove back round into check-in again as there was a slight possibility that the ship could sail to Roscoff at 12.30pm. Bear in mind that it was 8am now and we'd assumed that we'd be in France at 6 am! The Brittany Ferries staff were excellent and kept us infomed throughout the whole delay. How they managed to stay polite to some of the travellers who were getting unbelievably irate, I don't know!
I could go on, but to cut a long story short, we did sail at about 1pm and after a 10 hour journey with problems unloading at the other end, we drove off down the very dark and very wet roads of Roscoff to our camp-site. I think with the time-difference we actually got to Dol de Bretagne at about 2am on the Saturday so not too bad a delay. It's very hard to tell when you're tired and wet if you like a place but our initial impressions of the accommodation were very positive.
We were staying in a 3 Bedroom Deluxe with Decking on the vast, sprawling site. Matthew was in one room on his own - his spare bed was used to store all our bags. Megan and Holly (Meg's friend) were in another bedroom and Nigel and I obviously had the double. (The other sprogs (18,17 and 17) were back home - but NOT alone! )
The accommodation was spotlessly clean and the Eurocamp reps had left us a Welcome Pack with coffee/tea and other useful bits and bobs along with a lovely bottle of French Red too. They very kindly came round to see us the first morning to introduce themselves and to see if everything was ok. They made the appropriate 'Aww poor you..' noises when we had a bit of a moan about our delay and gave us a bit of info about the area. That first morning, in spite of the rain hammering down in a truly spectacular un-summerlike fashion, the kids couldn't wait to go over to the various swimming pools to check them out. There are 4 pools at Dol de Bretagne, including outdoor, covered, heated and children's with waterchutes, waterslides, beaches and wave-machines to add that extra bit of fun. The girls tended to shower in the lovely hot, clean facilities by the pools even though we had our own bathroom in the mobile home. Not entirely sure that Matthew showered much at all that week but as a 14 year old boy, I suppose that's his prerogative!
The 'blurb' in the Eurocamp brochure describes the Chateau des Ormes site at Dol de Bretagne as being an 'exceptional parc' in 'a magnificent woodland setting' and I certainly agree that it's a fabulous park offering just about every facility and activity you could want or need on a holiday. The parc adjoins a spectacular golf course which I'm sure Nigel would have liked to have played. There was no way though that we'd have been able to get his clubs in the Passat which was full to the gills before we even bought food! The kids did the Pedalos one day, tried out the Disco, went to see the reps put on their version of High School Musical one evening, did the High Ropes and generally mooched around in the way that teenagers generally do. The horse-riding school, offering rides for all ages and treks for all abilities, seemed very popular but with a husband seriously allergic to horses, we kept well clear of all things equine. Checking out the boards in the large reception area, it was apparent that toddlers and babies were extremely well catered-for too with lots of different clubs and activities meaning that mum and dad can get the odd bit of us-time which is always nice on holidays.
I mentioned the Eurocamp brochure above even though we did all our parc-choosing online on the very clear and easy-to-navigate Eurocamp website. Nonetheless, I think that flicking through the brochure is invaluable too as you can kind of compare parks and facilities much more easily with pages in front of you than online. It's also good to browse through when you're nowhere near a computer. Talking of computers, we found the FREE Wireless Internet in the hotel on the site very useful when we needed to check emails one day. (I know, I know... a holiday is a holiday and we shouldn't have been checking emails but needs must and all that........!!!!)
Anyway I digress......Fortunately for us, the bad weather was intermittent and we enjoyed lots of lovely sunny walks around the area. It was particularly idyllic sitting outside the local pub in St Leonards in the sunshine surrounded by lovely old houses with red geranium-filled window-boxes, nursing a lovely ice-cold beer and people-watching in a pavement cafe in Dol de Bretagne was fun too. I read somewhere that parts of Dol de Bretagne date back to the 11th Century but fortunately that didn't extend to the loos which were remarkably modern by French standards.
Back at the site, we had the odd bevvy al fresco at the Lakeside bar but even though there was an array of restuarants including 'posh', pizzeria and takeaway, we did all our own cooking. We even had a barbeque one evening. I seem to remember we ate a lot of salads, baguettes and pasta but perhaps because of the recent enrolment at WeightWatchers, we didn't really do the usual cheese and wine thing much at all.
If I could have changed anything it would have been the weather and the kitchen would have been equipped with a sharp knife.. Last year we went to the Berny Riviere site and said the same thing. Why oh why don't they put a sharp knife in the kitchen? If you have ever tried chopping veg with a blunt bread knife, you'll know exactly what I mean.
Booking the holiday with Eurocamp was so simple and one good thing was that there were NO hidden costs which we've found on other similar holidays can irritatingly mount up. A few weeks before we travelled, a goodie-bag and a well-trendy beach bag were sent out to us with maps and parc information and all our calls and queries were dealt with efficiently. It was a very relaxing break and I'm already browsing through the brochure trying to decide where we can go next year but making a mental note to try to avoid booking in a rainy May. Italy? Spain? A Motorhome in Florida??? Mmmmm.........
Kathryn Crawford
Co-Editor of TheBabyWebsite
June 2008
Incidentally, is it park or parc?
USEFUL INFORMATIONIf you'd like to book a Eurocamp Holiday Telephone 0844 406 0552 or simply check out their website at www.eurocamp.co.uk
We sailed with Brittany Ferries, outbound on the Barfleur and homebound on the extremely fast and comfortable Normandie Vitesse. To book a crossing go to www.brittany-ferries.co.uk
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