magicsurfbus
Free Member
Before heading to Bodensee in Germany we made an overnight stop at the Amneville aire north of Metz. It now has a barrier controlled by the neighbouring tourist office during opening hours. You can arrive late but won't get an exit code until they open at 9:15 the following morning and you pay your 12 Euro fee.
On returning from Germany we made an overnight stop at the marina (Rue du Canal) aire in Colmar. As French Rhineland towns that were historically German go, Colmar is lovely. I'd say it's got the edge on Strasbourg in terms of general quaintness, and the range of shops will keep most shoppers happy. The aire is 15 Euros a night with electricity thrown in, services are included, and they have security gates which shut overnight. Some of the pitches are grassy, others on a gravel parking area. It's about 15-20 minutes' walk from the old town centre, and there are marked bike lanes between them.
After that, a short notice rendezvous with our eldest and her pals at Disneyland Paris, where we stopped two nights, but remember Disney charge you for parking by the day from 10am (flat rate 35 Euros). When compared to what was on offer at Europa Park for the same price, and when you consider how much they lavish on everything else, Disney clearly don't give a sh*t about MH owners. The dump point was designed for coaches, no fresh water available, bare tarmac car park with site maintenance going on at night, and you have to renew your ticket before 10am at the pet's holding centre at the far end of the five travelators then walk back again to put it in your windscreen. On the plus side there's a petrol station on site that does LPG if you need it, and if you park judiciously over the surface drains you don't need levelling chocks and you have your own personal grey water disposal point. We've been a few times and used it because it's there, but in future I'd give serious thought to using a nearby campsite with a good shuttle bus service or train link instead. Another thing - the traffic queues to get into the park around 10 am on Saturday morning when we left were horrendous.
After that, to Amiens for the October flea market. We stopped at Camping le Park des Cygnes because the town centre was traffic restricted for the event and there were traders' vans everywhere. Any available aire would be rammed. The site is a no frills one about 3 miles by bike along the Somme canal from the historic centre. There are regular buses from a nearby stop, and an Intermarche just up the road. Amiens cathedral is one of the most impressive I've seen in Europe, especially the frontage. I'm not in any way godly but I do like taking photos, and this one makes a superb subject. The campsite's wash block was a bit basic and the showers weren't warm. A bit disconcerting to see advice to park your front wheels on the gravel if it got rainy, but when you look at the map you can see the site is at the edge of a marshy area in the Somme valley so it's possibly prone to flooding in extreme weather. It did the job but I wouldn't want to spend ages there.
After that, some essential shopping at a couple of supermarkets on the way back to Gravelines aire, then home via Dunkirk.
On returning from Germany we made an overnight stop at the marina (Rue du Canal) aire in Colmar. As French Rhineland towns that were historically German go, Colmar is lovely. I'd say it's got the edge on Strasbourg in terms of general quaintness, and the range of shops will keep most shoppers happy. The aire is 15 Euros a night with electricity thrown in, services are included, and they have security gates which shut overnight. Some of the pitches are grassy, others on a gravel parking area. It's about 15-20 minutes' walk from the old town centre, and there are marked bike lanes between them.
After that, a short notice rendezvous with our eldest and her pals at Disneyland Paris, where we stopped two nights, but remember Disney charge you for parking by the day from 10am (flat rate 35 Euros). When compared to what was on offer at Europa Park for the same price, and when you consider how much they lavish on everything else, Disney clearly don't give a sh*t about MH owners. The dump point was designed for coaches, no fresh water available, bare tarmac car park with site maintenance going on at night, and you have to renew your ticket before 10am at the pet's holding centre at the far end of the five travelators then walk back again to put it in your windscreen. On the plus side there's a petrol station on site that does LPG if you need it, and if you park judiciously over the surface drains you don't need levelling chocks and you have your own personal grey water disposal point. We've been a few times and used it because it's there, but in future I'd give serious thought to using a nearby campsite with a good shuttle bus service or train link instead. Another thing - the traffic queues to get into the park around 10 am on Saturday morning when we left were horrendous.
After that, to Amiens for the October flea market. We stopped at Camping le Park des Cygnes because the town centre was traffic restricted for the event and there were traders' vans everywhere. Any available aire would be rammed. The site is a no frills one about 3 miles by bike along the Somme canal from the historic centre. There are regular buses from a nearby stop, and an Intermarche just up the road. Amiens cathedral is one of the most impressive I've seen in Europe, especially the frontage. I'm not in any way godly but I do like taking photos, and this one makes a superb subject. The campsite's wash block was a bit basic and the showers weren't warm. A bit disconcerting to see advice to park your front wheels on the gravel if it got rainy, but when you look at the map you can see the site is at the edge of a marshy area in the Somme valley so it's possibly prone to flooding in extreme weather. It did the job but I wouldn't want to spend ages there.
After that, some essential shopping at a couple of supermarkets on the way back to Gravelines aire, then home via Dunkirk.
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