Johnny_boy
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2010
- Messages
- 414
We set off on what had gone from a holiday to an adventure, a bit of something for everyone. It was mostly successful. 
The cast: Johnny_boy, 47, Driver, photographer, internet nerd and father to two exited children, Clare AKA DW, chief packer, re-packer, unpacker, repacking, humming and hahing and organiser. Amélie (my names the same in French), age 6, thrill seeker extraordinaire. Johannes, age 4, over excitable wee boy with that legendary red-hair temper.
Our plan was to get up early on Monday 25 July and drive to France and camp for 3 nights, 2 nights 3 days at Disney then a week in the timeshare in Vincennes. This is part 1 the journey and camping. Its a bit OT but some people may find it of some use.
We got up around 3.30, car 99% packed, just toothbrushes and things to put it. Quickly dressed, Clare cooked some microwave bacon rolls to keep us going and wrapped them in tinfoil, we lifted and toileted the kids, put them in the car, sun blinds up, blankets over them, Sat Nav on silent (we knew the route but handy for traffic info) and set-off. The plan was they would waken up around 7-8 with the car movement. Amélie slept, Johannes basically asked questions the whole way to the first stop!
After a quick coffee and muffins/toilet/dress the kids break, we headed down and got as far as South Mimms pretty quickly via the M6 Toll. We live just off the A702 which joins the A74(M)/M74/M6/M6 Toll/M6/M1 etc.so the journey was straightforward. Lunch there was pretty good, we look for Welcome Break as they tend to be a bit better, the chicken and chips is very good and was on the rotisserie when we were there as we were 10 mins early for lunch. We had to wait until they finished the breakfast service.
The next bit to the Eurotunnel over the Dartford Bridge was a bit of a nightmare but we arrived a bit early for our shuttle slot and got on an earlier train and the kids got a bit of a play at the play park before our latter was called. Disapointing shops but I bought spare bulbs. The crossing was quick but I couldnt figure out how to switch my digital speedo on the car from mph to kmh, the instructions looked straightforward but were wrong, you had to hold the buttons in until the kph appeared, flashed 6 times then it was permanent, not the 3 like the instructions said .
I got it working at the campsite which was a straightforward 30 minutes from the shuttle.
The campsite In Condette was lovely, a nice wee family oriented place, no drunks, rowdy behaviour and most people in bed by 10.30 pm, no pool or bar. What it did have was loads of kids and a lovely wee play park which my kids disappeared to at the first opportunity and we only saw them when they were hungry or wanted more toys to take along. They had a ball and the campsite included free kids entertainment every night such as donkey rides, horse and trap (the night we left unfortunately), pedal cars to pedal round the campsite and a small games room with pinball, table football, pool and an exercise machine. The toilets were cleaned 3 or 4 times a day and were spotless. The local beach was lovely (I drove along there with an overtired wee boy to let him have a sleep one afternoon) but it was rainy on and off so we didnt really make it there at any point.
A lot of the people knew each other as theyd been there the last few years and everyone was very friendly, we were gutted when we had to leave as were the kids Amélie promised her pals shed be back the next year!
The village was lovely, a nice feel to it with a small Carrefour, small bakery and butcher who both prided themselves on their food, there was a bank, pizza shop and a few other bits and pieces like beautician and hairdresser, all 5-10 mins walk from the campsite.
The only bad thing was it rained overnight before we left so we had to dry the tent off as best we could which delayed us getting to Disney . More in part 2
The cast: Johnny_boy, 47, Driver, photographer, internet nerd and father to two exited children, Clare AKA DW, chief packer, re-packer, unpacker, repacking, humming and hahing and organiser. Amélie (my names the same in French), age 6, thrill seeker extraordinaire. Johannes, age 4, over excitable wee boy with that legendary red-hair temper.
Our plan was to get up early on Monday 25 July and drive to France and camp for 3 nights, 2 nights 3 days at Disney then a week in the timeshare in Vincennes. This is part 1 the journey and camping. Its a bit OT but some people may find it of some use.
We got up around 3.30, car 99% packed, just toothbrushes and things to put it. Quickly dressed, Clare cooked some microwave bacon rolls to keep us going and wrapped them in tinfoil, we lifted and toileted the kids, put them in the car, sun blinds up, blankets over them, Sat Nav on silent (we knew the route but handy for traffic info) and set-off. The plan was they would waken up around 7-8 with the car movement. Amélie slept, Johannes basically asked questions the whole way to the first stop!
After a quick coffee and muffins/toilet/dress the kids break, we headed down and got as far as South Mimms pretty quickly via the M6 Toll. We live just off the A702 which joins the A74(M)/M74/M6/M6 Toll/M6/M1 etc.so the journey was straightforward. Lunch there was pretty good, we look for Welcome Break as they tend to be a bit better, the chicken and chips is very good and was on the rotisserie when we were there as we were 10 mins early for lunch. We had to wait until they finished the breakfast service.
The next bit to the Eurotunnel over the Dartford Bridge was a bit of a nightmare but we arrived a bit early for our shuttle slot and got on an earlier train and the kids got a bit of a play at the play park before our latter was called. Disapointing shops but I bought spare bulbs. The crossing was quick but I couldnt figure out how to switch my digital speedo on the car from mph to kmh, the instructions looked straightforward but were wrong, you had to hold the buttons in until the kph appeared, flashed 6 times then it was permanent, not the 3 like the instructions said .
I got it working at the campsite which was a straightforward 30 minutes from the shuttle.The campsite In Condette was lovely, a nice wee family oriented place, no drunks, rowdy behaviour and most people in bed by 10.30 pm, no pool or bar. What it did have was loads of kids and a lovely wee play park which my kids disappeared to at the first opportunity and we only saw them when they were hungry or wanted more toys to take along. They had a ball and the campsite included free kids entertainment every night such as donkey rides, horse and trap (the night we left unfortunately), pedal cars to pedal round the campsite and a small games room with pinball, table football, pool and an exercise machine. The toilets were cleaned 3 or 4 times a day and were spotless. The local beach was lovely (I drove along there with an overtired wee boy to let him have a sleep one afternoon) but it was rainy on and off so we didnt really make it there at any point.
A lot of the people knew each other as theyd been there the last few years and everyone was very friendly, we were gutted when we had to leave as were the kids Amélie promised her pals shed be back the next year!
The village was lovely, a nice feel to it with a small Carrefour, small bakery and butcher who both prided themselves on their food, there was a bank, pizza shop and a few other bits and pieces like beautician and hairdresser, all 5-10 mins walk from the campsite.
The only bad thing was it rained overnight before we left so we had to dry the tent off as best we could which delayed us getting to Disney . More in part 2
