Eurocamps: Your Essential Brexit-Defying Vacation

While the powers that be may attempt to tear us away from our European counterparts, most parents still want their children to travel, expand their minds, and indulge in the enjoyment of experiencing foreign lands.

For these reasons, and many more, the success of the Eurocamp holiday is destined to rise and rise whatever the outcome of the Brexit debacle.

Fuelled by a desire to travel with our two young children and immerse ourselves in local culture (and yes, a bit of Disney), my husband and I decided that rather than book an all inclusive in Tenerife for our half term holiday, we’d look a bit closer to home for something a little more adventurous.

France was our choice and, after much deliberation, a week at the Eurocamp resort of La Croix du Vieux Pont was booked.

Keen on camping but also home comforts, the Avant lodge was a great compromise. With three small but comfortable bedrooms and an amply-sized living space, the chalet also had its own large veranda, perfect for al fresco brunches and a cheeky afternoon Aperol Spritz. Huge lodges or lakeside tent pitches are available, and everything in between, meaning tourists can tailor their stay to their own requirements, and budget.

Booking our holiday could not have been easier and was all completed in one phone call, ferries and all.

We arrived at the site on a busy Saturday afternoon but despite the hoards of incoming holidaymakers, the resort never felt busy or overcrowded. There are three lakes that form the focus of the site, one for watersports, one that has been turned into a beach (complete with Spritz-selling pool bar), and a larger lake for fishing and relaxing walks.

Flush away your fears of the dinginess and chaos of a UK holiday park, Eurocamps are more like Centre Parcs – but with personality. You’re not bombarded with extras to pay for – no blinging lights and arcades to negotiate tired toddlers past, it’s open space, great views, and facilities for families.

And forget the fast-food feel of all-of-the-above, you won’t find any chain restaurants or greasy cafes here. Food can be bought from the onsite supermarket and boulangerie, or enjoyed at the fantastic traditional restaurant specialising, of course, in frogs legs and escargots. A great way to ease little ones into an adventurous cuisine!

La Croix du Vieux Pont is a two hour drive from Calais. Located an hour to the north east of Paris, Disneyland is an hour and a quarter’s drive and the French capital around an hour and a half. The nearest village, Vic-Sur-Aisne, is a ten minute walk and offers all you need if you want to feel as far away from Britain, and Brexit, as possible.

With its war memorial, traditional brasseries, and regular street market, Vi-Sur-Aisne offers a glimpse into the epitome of northern French life.

There’s an English-speaking Kids’ Club on site which runs regular sessions for kids of all ages, and the cost is included in your stay. We took advantage of our kids’ yearning to spray each other with hosepipes and booked them in for an afternoon ‘aqua-attack’ session while we wandered round the lakes before relaxing with a G&T at the pool bar. A holiday where we get a chance to relax too has been the goal for more than five years, and we finally achieved it!

But family holidays are, for us, primarily about family time. A chance to all have fun together.

The resort has a bar which hosts entertainment every night as well as a soft play, bowling alley, and laser quest experience. But the pièce de résistance is the pool complex. Boasting a toddlers pool with baby slides as well as a full size splash slide, there’s also an indoor hot tub, an outdoor pool warren with gentle jets to navigate you round, and a large indoor family pool with a retractable roof. The water temperature is warm and it’s easy to spend a whole day without leaving the splash zone when the sun shines.

Having spent a week at La Croix du Vieux Pont we could easily have spent another. We visited local towns and villages, popped to see Mickey and Co, and had a few lazy days in the sun, but so much more was on our doorstep from an Astrix theme park to the museums and memorials of The Somme. By cutting costs on accommodation we could invest in making fantastic memories exploring all the region had to offer. And having researched other sites it seems this is the key draw of a Eurocamp holiday – stay in comfortable, clean, but not costly accommodation, and use your pennies to enjoy your surroundings. So much is included that families on a budget can stay on site if needed and never run out of things to do. You can tailor your stay to your requirements.

Much like turning left when you get on a plane, once you’ve done it, it’s hard to imagine holidaying any other way. Well, a Eurocamp may sound the polar opposite of turning left but, for a fun-fuelled, energetic, family holiday full of great food, culture and adventure, you really couldn’t ask for more.

• For more information on Eurocamp holidays and resorts, see www.eurocamp.co.uk. You can currently still pick up a 7 night break this August for £996 per holiday home, which sleeps up to six.
• Belle was invited to stay at La Croix du Vieux Pont for the purposes of an honest review.