Family holiday in Il de Re, western France

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Originally uploaded by Phil Haygarth

Last weekend we returned from the most perfect 9 nights away camping in France. We left home at 4 am on Thursday morning 2 August and drove the 105 miles to Poole harbour. Awakening our 3 in the early hours was a pleasant revenge for all the early mornings of recent years! The transport to Cherbourg was a 0730 departing ‘Fast ferry’ and to be honest we were a little dazed for the 3 and half hours it took us, with Anne and I taking it in turns to doze whilst we amused the excited trio. We drove about 100 miles to Camping des Ormes near Dol de Bretagne, close to Mont St Michelle on the Normandy/Brittany border. The stopover site was a bit crowded and commercial, but the draw of four outdoor swimming pools was too much for us and, donning arm bands and swimming nappies, we took the plunge in the rapids pool, the wave pool and the slides. We took the boys’ bikes and this was to prove one of the great moves of the holiday, as they cycled around the camp site. After the overnight stay and a pony ride, which the boys loved and Helen rejected, we luxuriated in the marvel of the 4 hour ~300 mile journey to our final destination in the Il de Re, a sandy island separated from La Rochelle by an impressive toll bridge. Our campsite was called Camping Interlude and it turned out to be perfect for us. It was situated about 10 minutes lazy flat walk from the beach, it had two swimming pools, a shop, a children’s club, a new and clean toilet block and lots of sunshine and shade. We were on one of those ready-made-tent holidays with a company called Canvas and had all mod cons in the tent, including gas cooker and fridge, plus ‘proper’ beds for us. The other great thing about the location was it was an island of cycling, as cycle paths seemed to dominate over car ways and this, combined with being flat, meant that even the most normally unenthusiastic about two wheels ended up having a good time. On one of the days we hired bikes and a trailer and the five of us cycled across the island for lunch and a swim – lovely. For six of the mornings I managed to get out for a run, in part thanks to my new Nike Air Pegasus super spongy bouncy shoes, got out for at least a 30 minutes accompanied by Matthew and Angus enthusiastically tagging on (or setting the pace). After a couple of mornings Anne and Helen felt left out so they joined us by departing after on a brisk walk (with pram) and would meet us on the return leg. Angus was a particular beneficiary from the cycling and explored the whole camp site on bike and graduated to the bigger bike of Matthew (much to Matthew’s repeated and justified irritation!). Other greats of the week were Helen’s enthusiasm for the swimming in the pool, she seems to be a natural and I loved to throw her in the air in the pool and catch her only to her repeat “Do it again” – one of her latest catch phrases (along with “Big hug”). Matthew loved the surf and we bought him a surf board, he is such a mature and confident swimmer and I am so proud of him. Anne had a birthday on Tuesday 7th and I have great memories of a shopping trip to buy a birthday cake with Helen, she loves the birthday concept at the moment. I think Anne’s party has to be one of her best yet, spent having moules de mer in St Martin, accompanied by Il de Re White and frites, just the 5 of us by the harbour. Another great memory for me is the boys learning to explore the campsite on their bikes alone and the great friendships they made with Maisy, Max, Meg and Harry, who shared our camping cul de sac. Watching them play together in the evening, whilst drinking Le Petit Seargent red and smoking a select cigar is a great memory for Anne and I! The holiday was capped of with another night on the way home at Dol de Bretagne and a special treat was a visit to Mount St Michele on the afternoon before our evening ferry home. A perfect holiday, what a great life!

For pictures see here
Video to follow!