Camping Les Tilleuls, Hautes-Pyrénées
As you might expect there isn’t much flat land in this part of France and so the roads to some campsites can often entail a tortuous and steep drive. Les Tilleuls campsite clings to the side of the mountain on a series of terraces, providing stunning views, but the downside is that this is definitely not a site for larger motorhomes.
The facilities are simple, but perfectly adequate, and you can buy fresh local produce such as tartes, fromages and viande on site, with crêpes available every afternoon. For all other supplies it is best to come ready-equipped. Local entertainment is provided by a trio of chickens who make it their business to check out all new arrivals.
This site is ideal as a base from which to visit the Cirque de Gavarnie, one of the major tourist draws of this region. It consists of a natural amphitheatre, 1,700 metres high, scoured out by a glacier, with waterfalls cascading down the sheer rock face.
It’s an easy one-hour walk from town, but be aware that the weather is incredibly changeable in these mountains and that there is no guarantee of a clear day. We arrived to find the cirque completely obscured by a wall of thick cloud but, by the time we had finished our drink at the snack bar, the clouds had lifted to reveal the cirque in all its majesty.
A shorter trip following the little mountain road on past the campsite will take you to the Randonnée de Pays Toy. This dead-end road is only suitable for campervans or small motorhomes, winding its way tortuously to an altitude of 1,636 metres, but the view at the end is simply stunning. There are also various waymarked walks from the small car park and far fewer tourists – we had only the cows in the fields for company.
“Les Tilleuls campsite clings to the side of the mountain on a series of terraces”