Pleasant valley sun days
A LAND of wine and fairy tale castles, the Loire Valley is truly blessed when it comes to the finer things in life.
Steeped in history, the area draws millions of visitors every year. But heritage is not always the best pull for children, and we went hoping it would provide enough entertainment for the whole family.
To reach the fertile valley our clan of five took a Brittany Ferries ship from Portsmouth to Caen, and the journey passed swiftly with plenty to do onboard to help while away the time. A mention has to be made of the food as well, which is first class.
Once in France it’s a three and a half hour drive to the Loire Valley on the wonderfully quiet road system.
The only drawback is the tolls, lots of them!
Our destination was a campsite near the village of Onzain, which lies between the historic towns of Blois and Tours. Owned by holiday firm Siblu, Le Domaine de Dugny campsite is minutes from the Loire River, and its facilities – including indoor and outdoor pools, pedalo trips, and an array of sports – meant we were well armed when it came to keeping the kids happy for a week.
It is an ideal base for the area, from its central location to the actual site itself which is beautifully spread out so there is enough to do but you never feel crowded.
After settling in and getting into holiday mode we left the site to see what the area had to offer, taking a day trip to nearby Blois, a hillside city on the Loire River.
The late Gothic Blois Cathedral towers over its cobbled city centre and the Château Royal de Blois is a short walk away.
Combined with the history was shopping – Sephora apparently a particular hit – and food, which lived up to the usual high Gallic standards.
Following a recommendation, another place on our to-do list was the Zooparc de Beauval, which is listed as one of the 15 most beautiful zoos in the world and contains such rare beasts as the giant panda.
The zoo appeared to be a 45-minute drive but as we felt we were closing in on the park we were sent on a detour that directed us on an incredible loop that seemed like it would never end.
Following the face of a happy panda plastered on sign after sign after sign, we gradually grew to resent the black and white bamboo-chewing bear.
Our foul moods continued for the first 30 minutes as we had to jostle with visitors at the start of the experience but once the crowds started to disperse across the 35 hectare site we began to relax and take in the incredible array of animals at the zoo.
The detour sign fiasco was put behind us once we reached the enclosure of Yuan Zi, a male giant panda and Huan Huan, a female giant panda, and we saw the incredible animals up close. Throw in some sparring hippos and an amazing open savannah space, and the zoo lives up to its billing as one of the world’s best.
With the Loire being the home of the aforementioned magical castles they had to be on the itinerary – but with 100 chateaux it was a hard decision to decide which to choose.
To make life easier, we decided to check out the chateaux in miniature at the descriptively named Mini Chateaux.
This gave us a giant’s view of the top Loire castles and proved a nice morning out followed by a visit to nearby Tours.
The town’s attractions include a magnificent cathedral and the wonderful Place Plumereau, a picturesque square known for its half-timbered medieval houses and lively open- air bars and restaurants.
Also just on the doorstep, we had the fabulous Chaumont-sur-Loire village with its Chateau de Chaumont, not the largest of the region’s castles but well worth a visit nevertheless.
On the days when we were not touring we relaxed by the pools – blessed by a week of continuous sunshine – or rode on bikes around the site and paddled on the small lake on the campsite.
Once the sun went down the central square came to life with music and entertainment on every evening and food served.
These sites are wonderful places for the whole family to spend time together and also to let the kids explore in a safe environment.
Many of those on the Siblu site own their mobile homes and it is easy to see why you would keep on coming back to this wonderful part of the world.
We felt truly relaxed and as we departed we were already talking about coming back one day.