Canvas Holidays Review
When the term “the great outdoors” crops up in a holiday slogan my brain immediately rewinds three decades to memories of carrying a backpack for several days over some of the most inhospitable terrain to be found in Britain.Yes – it was fun, but as a teenager, most things that don’t associate with ‘homework’ and ‘housework’ or indeed anything with the word ‘work’ contained within them seem like fun. Even then, despite being cold, soaked-through and exhausted to the point of collapse, it was fun!
So then, what were we to make of “the great outdoors” with a Canvas Holidays ‘Lodge Deluxe’ on their site in Berny Rivičre in central France? After an effortless drive down, despite having been given a map that you only drive onto five minutes before you reach the site, we bounced into reception, announcing our arrival in our adequate, if a little rusty, French. Not that you need to be a master of French to get along here. Everyone seems to speak English fluently anyway. The gentleman on reception advised us that this was the “Site” reception and that we would need to check-in with Canvas Holidays’ own reception around the corner. It was at this point that we realised that the site was shared by many (over 10 I believe) holiday companies. On finding Canvas’s reception we were greeted by Heather and after explaining the basics to us, she asked us to follow her while she cycled around to where we would find our ‘lodge’. This is when we got some idea of the magnitude of this site. Comprising of everything from the simplest of pitches for a small tent through to the latest and greatest of mobile homes, apartments, motorhomes and lodges, the site radiates outwards from the central area, where most of the activity is.
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The range of facilities is remarkable. I could go on almost ad-nauseum, but included on the site is swimming, cycling, boating, canoeing, fishing, tennis, table-tennis (or as it is so cutely referred to in the French tongue as “Peeeeng Ponnngg”), bouncy castles, trampolining, archery (the latest craze for Matthew – our 13 year old)… to name but a few. There is a restaurant with a varied and reasonably-priced menu, a bar, games rooms, a disco, three swimming pools, a souvenir shop, a supermarket and a ‘boulangerie’. There’s even a good old-fashioned burger bar for those who have had one ‘escargot’ too many on their Gallic journey. The nearby village of Vic-sur-Aisne has a good selection of smaller shops and just a little further afield, the towns of Soissons and Compičgne have everything you could need. Paris and Disneyland are only 1 hour away too!
Anyway, back to the Lodge…. On first impressions it’s Swiss / Austrian / Alpine… you know the sort of thing… Heidi rounding up her brass-belled cattle with her Alpenhorn on the Alpine foothills, celebrating her day’s achievement with a good old yodel before dinner. However, this is the Aisne valley in Picardy in rural France, where there’s not a cross or a St Bernard to be found anywhere, so the Alpine theme instantly dissolves into a quite different, but equally charming scene.
Set on the shore of one of the three lakes on the site, only a few metres from the river, the location couldn’t have been nicer. Ducks waddle up in search of remnants of yesterday’s baguette, a heron stands statuesque in the reeds of the lake and fishermen cast their bait into the depths and wait for Mr Unsuspecting Carp to take a bite. It is quiet, serene, pretty and it virtually compels you to relax from the moment you arrive. The lodge is built entirely of pine wood and yet contains all mod-cons including a cooker, fridge-freezer, dishwasher, microwave, a gas barbecue, and a patio heater on the decking outside and even a central heating boiler with radiators in every room should the need ever arise. There’s a stairgate top and bottom and a travel cot for babies. Everything is immaculately clean and brand-new.
The inventory is impressive, although despite this our culinary skills were somewhat throttled by the absence of a decent sharp knife. Mr Ikea’s repertoire is stunning in many ways, but he still hasn’t yet mastered the art of the sharp knife!
Being entirely timber is one thing. It is.... well... It’'s.... Nice! Very homely and cosy! It swathes you in constructional comfort!
But… (oh no, you all sigh… there’s a ‘but’)
There were five of us sleeping in this beautiful carboniferous ode to Ikea.. and even though there was ample room for all of us it is quite ‘open-plan’. Downstairs there’s a lounge-cum-diner-cum-kitchen, with a loo and bathroom tucked in the corner. The staircase (wooden too) goes up from the lounge to a sort of mezzanine double bedroom off which is the second bedroom. Comfy, cosy, but very open-plan! Let’s put it another way: Someone in bedroom 2 needs a midnight ‘tinkle’;
Firstly, enter bedroom one (Click.. Creak);
Descend Open-plan staircase (CREAAAK CREAAAK, CREEEAAAAK);
Cross Lounge/Diner/Bedroom 3 (Creak Creeak);
Finally reach loo where relaxed state is regained.
I would also love to know where the architect sourced the toilet amplification system because I swear that each nightly visit could be heard from space! Beings on other planets observing life forms in other solar systems could be deafened by the findings. I was reliably informed that even my own snoring was shattering windows out there in Andromeda somewhere.
Don’t get me wrong though. This was peace and quiet in the extreme. A lovely quiet, safe place to rest and recuperate, away from it all, with more than enough to keep the kids busy all day every day. Little ones are catered for with the Toddler Club (Under-4s) and Hoopi Club (4 - 11), offering anything from Disney Days, Face Painting, French Breakfasts, Cake Making, Collages, Nature Games, Self-portraits – you name it! At the end of every week, each new club cohort gets to take part in a talent show – where everybody wins – of course!
The Canvas Staff were polite, friendly, helpful, and made us all feel very welcome.
All in all it’s a chance to completely wind-down in a beautiful new lodge in a peaceful rural environment, but at the same time not losing the little bit of home that we like to keep. Being only two and a half hours drive from Calais, it’s conveniently close too.
Would I go back again? Definitely! It’s wonderfully refreshing to find that “the great outdoors” is still fun after all those years!
Nigel Crawford
8 July 2007
Canvas Holidays are one of the many clued-up companies who know that if the kids are happy, then Mum and Dad will be too. After all keeping the children entertained is an essential part of the recipe for a successful and relaxing holiday.
Read Member Reviews about Canvas Holidays Here
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