Camping de Santenay, Côte-d’Or
From my glorious pitch, the sunlit Burgundian vineyards stretched away to the wooded hilltops beyond.
Reception at this well-signposted site from the Routes des Grands Crus is professional and friendly, with a little English spoken where necessary. Whilst waiting 10 minutes for the 2pm opening, a nightingale was singing in a bush not 10 feet from my motorhome.
On this spacious site you select your own pitch, many of which are very generously sized. The site’s lower half offers sheltered tree-divided pitches, while the upper parts are more open with wide views over the famous vineyards.
Sanitation facilities are clean and entirely adequate, though they are not gender separated. There is a small laundry. Washing-up facilities are outdoors. WiFi is available across most of the site. The grey water emptying facility is awkward to access and not to modern standards. There is no traffic noise, though sometimes small tractors work in the vineyards during the day.
Next to the site is a large, modern and very well appointed indoor swimming pool and thermal spa. There’s also an outdoor swimming pool adjacent, open in the summer.
The reason many come here is to experience the famed vineyards of Burgundy, indeed the whole area is designated as a World Heritage Site.
A quarter of a mile away is the Voie des Vignes – the well-signed trail that winds its way from Santenay village through Montrachet, Meursault, Pommard and on to Beaune along quiet roads. These villages provide attractive cafés, centred on squares often with fountains. In some vineyards, traditional horse-drawn ploughs were in use.
Another local cycling route of the same quality stretches south to Chalon-sur-Saône along the Canal du Centre towpath.
In spring the vines were coming into bud and the nightingales sang and cuckoos called. Camping de Santenay seemed an ideal place to explore this famous area.
Nijvelsebaan 80, 3090 Overijse, Belgium
0032 26 879368 campingdruivenland.be
1 April – 30 September
£ Two adults, pitch, electric: From €27 (£23.99)
Nearest public transport: 600m
Nearest pub/restaurant: 1.7km
Directions: From N4/E411, take exit 3 direction Overijse, then first right on N218 (Nijvelsebaan) as far as campsite
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