Camping de mon Village of Rouillac - AWFUL

[HKF]

Well, we finally got away for two nights and thought we'd try the above site. Oh, how I wish we hadn't!! The site says

"A few feet from the lake
Green environnement with pitches in the shade and defined by hedges
Quiet and next to the town"

Sounds idyllic, right? Wrong! The site is near a very small lake, a childrens play area, public grassed area and on a very, very busy crossroad. There is also no hedging or fencing between the site and this public area. At 6.30pm, the local youths came and started racing around on a trials bike, doing their best to break the swings, slide etc., throwing stones at each other and in the lake, screaming and shouting etc. This went on for about 2 hours. The noise from the road is really bad, too, and relentless. It's such a shame as the village looks lovely, with pretty houses and lots of little cafes. We're moving on tomorrow and won't be back

 

[Ber090]

How Sad. We had a totally different experience when we stayed last month. Our pitch had lovely hedges on 3 sides and was beautifully kept. The public area was on the other side of a fence and of course the Gendarmerie is next door. We found the road was quiet. Lovely area for walking and cycling. Just shows how different experiences can be. You must have been very unlucky.

 

[Mousy]

Shame it’s been spoiled for you. Did you have to pay anything?

We are moving northward from Spain to Dieppe and had to move on last night for similar reasons. We only use park 4 night and choose then check the reviews about an hour before we want to stop.

Luckily we could move to the next village 7 Kms away and had a really peaceful night.

It was young kids on 2 stroke scooters doing wheelies that did our head in.

That is the beauty of France though always somewhere else to park.

 

[HKF]

How Sad. We had a totally different experience when we stayed last month. Our pitch had lovely hedges on 3 sides and was beautifully kept. The public area was on the other side of a fence and of course the Gendarmerie is next door. We found the road was quiet. Lovely area for walking and cycling. Just shows how different experiences can be. You must have been very unlucky.

There is no fence between the public area and the site now. The post are there but nothing else. It's completely open. The hedges around the pitches need a really good trimming and the grass needs cutting. There is broken glass on two of the pitches we looked. And some of the EHU points are just blanked off cables out of the ground. We're on pitch number 24. The road is still busy with virtually non-stop traffic (11:05pm). Maybe you were lucky

 

[Rob Turner]

Marco de Bignac would have been a better bet and only a few mins down the road.

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[DuxDeluxe]

It was young kids on 2 stroke scooters doing wheelies that did our head in.

A rite of passage for French youths unfortunately………

 

[HKF]

Shame it’s been spoiled for you. Did you have to pay anything?

We are moving northward from Spain to Dieppe and had to move on last night for similar reasons. We only use park 4 night and choose then check the reviews about an hour before we want to stop.

Luckily we could move to the next village 7 Kms away and had a really peaceful night.

It was young kids on 2 stroke scooters doing wheelies that did our head in.

That is the beauty of France though always somewhere else to park.
View attachment 607555

Yes, we've paid €12 for this pleasure Not a huge amount but that's not the point. We're moving on tomorrow

 

[HKF]

Marco de Bignac would have been a better bet and only a few mins down the road.

This is only our third time out, so we're nowhere near knowing what's out there and available yet. It sounded so nice on the description. Oh well, hey-ho, we live and learn

EDIT: I just had a look at that site and it's way too busy for us but thank you for the recommendation, anyway

 

[Mousy]

This is only our third time out, so we're nowhere near knowing what's out there and available yet. It sounded so nice on the description. Oh well, hey-ho, we live and learn

Indeed. My advice is don’t prebook anything. That way if you don’t like the look of it you can leave.

Do you need EHU every night?

 

[HKF]

Indeed. My advice is don’t prebook anything. That way if you don’t like the look of it you can leave.

Do you need EHU every night?

I don't know, actually. I think so. We have solar, though, so we might be ok. I'm not sure I could deal with the stress if nothing worked. I'm still trying to convince myself this was a good purchase after having a roof leak and boiler problem, so i don't think I could stand anything else going wrong!

I was going to offer for you to stay at our place on your way up to Dieppe to help make up for your bad night but I think your MoHo is too long to get to us It's a shame because you'd hear nothing but nature at ours; birds and bes in the day and owls at night. But there are two tight bends down to our house

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[violet]

A rite of passage for French youths unfortunately………

And not just French youths. We stayed at the small aire in a residential area in Heerde, Netherlands. The noise made by youths at night was awful. We thought it might have just been unlucky so we tried it on our way back but it was equally bad.

 

[Mousy]

I don't know, actually. I think so. We have solar, though, so we might be ok. I'm not sure I could deal with the stress if nothing worked. I'm still trying to convince myself this was a good purchase after having a roof leak and boiler problem, so i don't think I could stand anything else going wrong!

I was going to offer for you to stay at our place on your way up to Dieppe to help make up for your bad night but I think your MoHo is too long to get to us It's a shame because you'd hear nothing but nature at ours; birds and bes in the day and owls at night. But there are two tight bends down to our house

That is so kind of you thank you, yes we do have a rather large back end! Your place sounds fabulous, too nice to leave!

Take this trip as a huge learning curve, try not to hit anything or injure anyone then everything else is a bonus.

Start a new thread with pictures of your set up and knowledge Funster’s will advise.

Aires do sometimes have electric but you may be fine without.

The main thing is to try to have fun and enjoy yourselves. Honestly, we are 7 years in and still have calamitous trips but we’ve kinda learnt to enjoy it.

 

[Ber090]

There is no fence between the public area and the site now. The post are there but nothing else. It's completely open. The hedges around the pitches need a really good trimming and the grass needs cutting. There is broken glass on two of the pitches we looked. And some of the EHU points are just blanked off cables out of the ground. We're on pitch number 24. The road is still busy with virtually non-stop traffic (11:05pm). Maybe you were lucky

We must have been lucky both times we have stayed there. Make sure you do a review forCCP, they do act on them. I have phoned them on occasion when on site with an issue and they react immediately. They always have a local who will sort things.

 

[HKF]

That is so kind of you thank you, yes we do have a rather large back end! Your place sounds fabulous, too nice to leave!

......

Sending you a PM

 

[MisterB]

if youre around the Charente region (from your location??)

Verteuil Sur Charente - stunning town, great Aire with full facilities.

Tonight's stopover. Stunning town, Aire is about 200 yards from The Charante, through a small park (with children's slides etc) adjacent to to the Aire itself. This is definitely a place to visit. Another one from All The Aires books, they really are a useful resource but quite often dint do the...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

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[HKF]

We must have been lucky both times we have stayed there. Make sure you do a review forCCP, they do act on them. I have phoned them on occasion when on site with an issue and they react immediately. They always have a local who will sort things.

You must have been. Non-stop traffic again this morning and also noticed that some of the lights on site are broken

 

[MisterB]

and another one

Aigrefeuille D'Aunis - what a cracking park up for anyone heading down west coast of France.

I found it on All The Aires, but it's obviously on most apps. The Aire is a free Aire adjacent to the Lac Du Grace. Set in a wooded area 100m from the lake itself. The lake has fishing and I assume boating in the summer. Toilets are clean and facilities for waste and water. It's the type of free...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

its Lac du Frace - not Grace though.

both reviews were about 3 weeks ago, so pretty recent ! i would definitely highly recommend both of them, though if youre looking for shops, bars, restaurants etc, then they are limited at both locations - if its peace and quiet, nice walks etc then they are ideal

 

[Riverbankannie]

I use the app Camper Contact and have a good read of the reviews. Of course at the moment they can be out of date. I am careful to look at the reviews overall and discount the odd one that is obviously grumpy or overly fawning
A good look on google street view is another very useful aid.

 

[DDJC]

Well, we finally got away for two nights and thought we'd try the above site. Oh, how I wish we hadn't!! The site says

"A few feet from the lake
Green environnement with pitches in the shade and defined by hedges
Quiet and next to the town"

Sounds idyllic, right? Wrong! The site is near a very small lake, a childrens play area, public grassed area and on a very, very busy crossroad. There is also no hedging or fencing between the site and this public area. At 6.30pm, the local youths came and started racing around on a trials bike, doing their best to break the swings, slide etc., throwing stones at each other and in the lake, screaming and shouting etc. This went on for about 2 hours. The noise from the road is really bad, too, and relentless. It's such a shame as the village looks lovely, with pretty houses and lots of little cafes. We're moving on tomorrow and won't be back

Indeed. My advice is don’t prebook anything. That way if you don’t like the look of it you can leave.

Do you need EHU every night?

Sorry you had a bad site abroad. It's horrible when it happens. Not least because unless you have a decent command of the language, you can't do much about it.

When I am booking, I check reviews assiduously. The Germans and Dutch reviewers are the best as they are very critical. Also, check the dates because sites deteriorate (and improve!) quite quickly. The ACSI is my usual source of sites, but Alan Rogers is helpful too. I have found that the CaMC and CCC sites on the continent are often not as good as independents.

We have to pre-book, largely because we don't do aires. Personal reasons due to our two boys. I don't really book a site that is less than 8.0 on ACSI. I went for a 7.7 site a few years back because it was exactly where I wanted, but it was loud, extremely dated, dirty pool, rubbish shop, so was pleased to move on. Only >8.0 since then.

The idea of trudging round in the early evening, trying to find a pitch simply doesn't bear thinking about. But what I always do in France and Italy is look at the Google streetview of each site and the surrounding area to ensure that it is easily accessible, and to get a feel of what it looks like. I discard sites where the surrounding roads look unkempt or covered in litter.

No, we don't need EHU, but as we nearly always book more then one night, we tend to go for the best pitches available, (water, drain, EHU, >100m2 etc). On our main trip, which is usually about 23-24 nights in summer, we don't mind paying more for the best pitches. At other times of the year it is less important.

I have one five star site ten yards from the Adriatic (rated by ASCSI at 8.5) booked this year that is costing ... get this ... € 101.00 PER DAY!! There are four of us, but having been kept out of Italy since 2019, I don't care. This year, the bus is getting a proper run and we have two years of unspent holiday money to spend.

 

[Jenben]

It i

You must have been. Non-stop traffic again this morning and also noticed that some of the lights on site are broken

s definitely worth leaving a review directly in the CCP app for the site.

I am just reading a review of one of their sites where someone has complained about motorhomes taking up multiple pitches and they have responded to the comment really quickly.

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[HKF]

We tried ASCI. I paid for what I thought were English books but they sent us German ones. When i tried to resolve it, they only wrote to me in German. The text, for me, is unreadable as it's SO small and I don't have a smartphone and don't use apps. I'm getting the feeling a MoHo isn't for us. It's just one disappointment or problem after the other. I don't know how you guys do this

 

[emjaiuk]

I've always thought camping caravanning motor homing is an attitude of mind. Suits some, not others. I've known somebody with a MH that only stays on full fat 4* campsites and is more than happy to pay for the privilege.

 

[scousebird]

It's a shame that the site was bad, we've only had good experiences with CCP.

I have emailed CCP in the past though and they have responded quite quickly.

 

[Riverbankannie]

We tried ASCI. I paid for what I thought were English books but they sent us German ones. When i tried to resolve it, they only wrote to me in German. The text, for me, is unreadable as it's SO small and I don't have a smartphone and don't use apps. I'm getting the feeling a MoHo isn't for us. It's just one disappointment or problem after the other. I don't know how you guys do this

Is your ACSI card still valid? I am sure someone would have the books in English to pass on. Before we had smart phones and tablets and apps we always just used the ACSI books as our friends preferred campsites with full facilities and the ACSI sites always to a good standard.
I think we have all had a not so nice stopover on our travels but the more you travel, the more the balance will tip over onto good places.
Let us know where you might go next time and see if the collective brains of Funsters can suggest a good place.

 

[bobandjanie]

The most we have ever spent was €36 a night I think that was in Italy, but it included washing machines and wifi Janie washed everything including the clothes I was wearing, we had 3 nights.

I remember years ago in Spain, I forget how much it was, but we declined at the man said go and park on the beach with the others, I was going to ask for directions but we decided to find our own spot. Bob.

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[Reallyretired]

We usually aim to arrive somewhere mid afternoon so we have time to move elsewhere if we dont like it.
Only done so twice as far as I remember. One was because we were the only ones there and swmbo didnt feel safe near a housing estate, the other was baking hot with no shade.

 

[DDJC]

We tried ASCI. I paid for what I thought were English books but they sent us German ones. When i tried to resolve it, they only wrote to me in German. The text, for me, is unreadable as it's SO small and I don't have a smartphone and don't use apps. I'm getting the feeling a MoHo isn't for us. It's just one disappointment or problem after the other. I don't know how you guys do this

The first thing I would say to you is that there is no right or wrong way to use your MH. Some use it as home, some for long tours, some go away every other weekend. Some keep it abroad and go to it and then travel. Some stay in UK, some head for the Tunnel or ferry every time. Some go away every second month, or more frequently, and some may use it once or twice a year. Your bus, you use it the way you want to use it. Don't be put off or intimidated by anyone who says that wilding is the only way to do proper motorhoming or those that say they never use sites, or never stay anywhere more than two nights. Their bus, their way. Your bus, your way.

Ours goes out maybe eight times a year. Before Covid, we mixed up Europe and UK. Now that Covid is looking less dangerous, we will do more Europe and less UK.

One of my very simple rules is that if travelling in school holiday time (many EU school holidays are longer than ours) then book in advance. Many disagree and prefer being impulsive. However, I'd rather be in a nice safe pitch with a pool, showers, water, a half decent shop, morning bread, etc, than be scrambling around at eight o'clock in the evening and parking in an Aire de Service lorry park.

I have only ever once used the ACSI card. For me, ACSI is an information site and I don't use the ACSI app either. I do all my planning before we go.

I'm surmising that, as you are here, that you have t'internet! Well ACSI works better IMO on the computer. If you decide to plan, you want to get on to the right bit of ACSI. This is the Eurocampings site: https://www.eurocampings.co.uk/

There is another part of ACSI, the Camping card site : https://www.campingcard.co.uk/ . This site shows off season sites that accept the ACSI Camping Card as a way to get a (variable) discount on the pitch fees. I don't use it as we don't go out of season as we have two at school.

Anyway, what we do is decide where we want to end up, then work out a route to get there. Then using 300 miles (+/- 50) as a guide to a days drive, we use the ACSI map to find a site in the rough area that we want to stop. First stop for us if heading south is either Lac du Orient (260 miles from Calais), or Le Croix d'Arles (308 miles from Calais).

From there, using ACSI, we find a site that scores above 8.0 and is not too far off the main drag.

Hopefully this isn't teaching you to suck eggs, but even if so, it might be helpful to someone.

So, to find the Lac du Orient site above. Click on 'France' on the map on https://www.eurocampings.co.uk/

Then click the 'Champagne-Ardenne' region.

A new map shows the number of sites in that area

Click on the tent symbol and a far more useful pages comes up. This page allows you to set filters. For me, the usual filter is only sites that are rated 8 or higher. See below:

Zoom in on the site closest to Troyes, and..

Clicking on the site allows you to read the reviews. I have found that UK & French reviews are generally more generous. The Dutch and Germans tell it how it is! The dates on the reviews are important too. A six year old review slating the site may be at odds with a recent positive review.

Last thing I do is Google streetmap the area. I check access, but mainly how does the local area look. The website pictures are always leafy glades and streams, and they certainly won't show you pictures of the industrial estate next door.

Anyway, that is the way I research sites. I will sometimes cross reference against Alan Rogers, but so far, ACSI sites rated at more then 8.0 have always proved to be good, and the couple of times that I have gone to a 7.x rated site, it hasn't been great.

Hope you don't give up the faith. I too had my doubts moving from tugger to chugger, but now, I would never go back.

 

[HKF]

The first thing I would say to you is that there is no right or wrong way to use your MH. Some use it as home, some for long tours, some go away every other weekend. Some keep it abroad and go to it and then travel. Some stay in UK, some head for the Tunnel or ferry every time. Some go away every second month, or more frequently, and some may use it once or twice a year. Your bus, you use it the way you want to use it. Don't be put off or intimidated by anyone who says that wilding is the only way to do proper motorhoming or those that say they never use sites, or never stay anywhere more than two nights. Their bus, their way. Your bus, your way.

Ours goes out maybe eight times a year. Before Covid, we mixed up Europe and UK. Now that Covid is looking less dangerous, we will do more Europe and less UK.

One of my very simple rules is that if travelling in school holiday time (many EU school holidays are longer than ours) then book in advance. Many disagree and prefer being impulsive. However, I'd rather be in a nice safe pitch with a pool, showers, water, a half decent shop, morning bread, etc, than be scrambling around at eight o'clock in the evening and parking in an Aire de Service lorry park.

I have only ever once used the ACSI card. For me, ACSI is an information site and I don't use the ACSI app either. I do all my planning before we go.

I'm surmising that, as you are here, that you have t'internet! Well ACSI works better IMO on the computer. If you decide to plan, you want to get on to the right bit of ACSI. This is the Eurocampings site: https://www.eurocampings.co.uk/

There is another part of ACSI, the Camping card site : https://www.campingcard.co.uk/ . This site shows off season sites that accept the ACSI Camping Card as a way to get a (variable) discount on the pitch fees. I don't use it as we don't go out of season as we have two at school.

Anyway, what we do is decide where we want to end up, then work out a route to get there. Then using 300 miles (+/- 50) as a guide to a days drive, we use the ACSI map to find a site in the rough area that we want to stop. First stop for us if heading south is either Lac du Orient (260 miles from Calais), or Le Croix d'Arles (308 miles from Calais).

From there, using ACSI, we find a site that scores above 8.0 and is not too far off the main drag.

Hopefully this isn't teaching you to suck eggs, but even if so, it might be helpful to someone.

So, to find the Lac du Orient site above. Click on 'France' on the map on https://www.eurocampings.co.uk/
View attachment 607705

Then click the 'Champagne-Ardenne' region.
View attachment 607706

A new map shows the number of sites in that area
View attachment 607708

Click on the tent symbol and a far more useful pages comes up. This page allows you to set filters. For me, the usual filter is only sites that are rated 8 or higher. See below:
View attachment 607713

Zoom in on the site closest to Troyes, and..
View attachment 607718

Clicking on the site allows you to read the reviews. I have found that UK & French reviews are generally more generous. The Dutch and Germans tell it how it is! The dates on the reviews are important too. A six year old review slating the site may be at odds with a recent positive review.

Last thing I do is Google streetmap the area. I check access, but mainly how does the local area look. The website pictures are always leafy glades and streams, and they certainly won't show you pictures of the industrial estate next door.

Anyway, that is the way I research sites. I will sometimes cross reference against Alan Rogers, but so far, ACSI sites rated at more then 8.0 have always proved to be good, and the couple of times that I have gone to a 7.x rated site, it hasn't been great.

Hope you don't give up the faith. I too had my doubts moving from tugger to chugger, but now, I would never go back.

Thank you ENORMOUSLY for all the above. It's incredibly helpful and nothing at all like sucking eggs LOL I'm going to save all this info and also have a look at the links you gave me, using your advice. Thank you again. This is truly a roller coaster ride for me at the moment but you've definitely sent me on an upward stretch!!

 

[mitzimad]

Were the total opposite of ddjc no wonder your van only moves 8 times a year the rest of the time you must be planning we just go .in more normal times we would probably go out 30 times a year. what with covid and were in the process of moving its been less but weve done 22nights this year so far,all uk Weve only ever booked sites if were traveling with family or arrange to meet people.A mentioned by others the apps are invaluable .France is fabulous for motor homes i dont think your ever more than 20 mins to the next aire or campsite
As ddjc said theres no right or wrong were all different
As mousey said earlier once youve got it all sorted disasters are good stories to share

 

[rb62]

Shame it's gone downhill,it looked so well kept maybe it gets spruced up later in the season.

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