Post It from Camping Quinta Chave Grande, Casfreires, Viseu, Portugal. Friday 16th May, 2014

There is a lot to say about this place so those who do not like to see such long stories on the forum please forgive me. I had seen this campsite in the ACSI book as a stop mid-way between Salamanca and Porto and considered it to be a likely place we would stop at and perhaps take a week’s break from the sightseeing, very much dependent upon the weather. However we met an nice English couple in Burgos who had been camping for 50 years and when they gave us a list of recommended 3 places in Portugal this was one of them with a ‘Very Good’ beside the name. Later whilst at Salamanca we got chatting to a Dutch couple, who carried a small dog in the front basket of their cycle, who said they had been highly recommended this site.

Having checked the long range weather forecast and decided to travel into Portugal we could not really turn down two strong recommendations. We found the site with ease using the TomTom but later learned the better way would have been to just followed the signs from Sátáo which followed not such narrow roads through the villages up into the valley of Ferreira de Aves that we did. My fault, I knew we were still 7 miles from the site and thought the Camping Campismo sign on the main highway was another campsite by that name rather than just Portuguese for camping. Still we got there intact but two sections of the roads through the series of tiny villages were a little daunting to say the least, the correct way is fine!

First impressions are often the best and once we saw the surroundings this site looked idyllic. The site is hidden from view within the valley at 750m altitude and is quite large with very spacious grass pitching areas; terraced, ample trees for shade and very old vines are strung along wires right through the centre of the whole site, as we also saw throughout the area. We pulled into the site where the reception and bar is located and were greeted by Lidia & Victor Pouwels, the Portuguese managers of the Dutch owned site, and Daniella their assistant. Victor’s brother Jorge makes up the team and we understood that the owners were back in Holland. They greeted us with a very warm welcome and invited us into the bar for a welcome drink on the house whilst Lidia and Daniella explained the site to us. We were invited to pitch wherever we liked and given some explanatory leaflets. English was spoken by both and Jorge was said to be the more fluent, who we would meet later. I know we are not very experienced campers, but we have travelled extensively over the years, and this was the best and most welcoming greeting we have ever experienced anywhere. It set the standard for the whole of our stay which I can only describe as being almost perfect. My only wish would have been to have had a little better electric amperage than the site’s 6 amps to help juggle the cooking which we like to do, however by turning all the electric off in the van Sharon managed to do the ironing without tripping the fuse at the connection box which only had us connected.

You could see the site was well cared for and in very good order despite its expanse of grassland. You could also see it was Dutch owned with all information being in Dutch only. On average there were 20 or so caravans, motorhomes or tents present at any one time during our stay and we were one of only five British vans that were on the site throughout our stay. We met Jim and Ruth from Glasgow and Brian and Margaret from Cornwall, who said that out of their 8 years of travelling 8 months out of the year in their Hymer motorhome, this site was as good as they had ever seen. Another British couple who were working on a camping guide for Alan Rogers, now part of the Caravan Club, left the day after we arrived whilst the last couple to arrive did so in a French registered Land Rover 90 and we learned they actually lived in the south of France and were on a tour of Spain and Portugal camping in a tent with their rescue dog.

The first night, because we were in the bar having a very good value glass or two of wine, Lidia invited us to join her at the old village school, now a community building, where she was going to folk dancing practice. It was around 10:00 p.m. still very warm and humid so we glad accepted along with another Swiss couple who just happened to be in the right place at the right time. We walked down into the village in the dark and joined around 30 of the village’s residents in the school house, now closed as a school, and watched them as they practiced their dancing and singing under the direction of one man. It was clear that they took it very seriously and had won a number of trophies but the thing that hit you in the face was the sheer enthusiasm and enjoyment of those taking part. The youngest was Lidia’s 7 year old daughter and the oldest a man aged 68 who played a homemade wooden instrument similar to a saw blade strummed by a stick. He accompanied a guitarist, three playing the accordion, one drummer and two on the ukulele, others sang and about 18 danced at any one time. The evening was very enjoyable and it was a shame to decline the invitation to join them all for a drink at the rooms bar afterwards, it was almost midnight and we knew Smokee would be missing us.

On the Sunday we joined many of the camp’s guests at a barbeque on the terrace outside the bar. This was also a first for us and what an excellent thing it was too in bringing the many different campers together. The Dutch were in the majority as they were celebrating a 48^th wedding anniversary but we never felt that we were isolated in any way.

Whilst here we enjoyed the walking in the forested valley sides and through the nearby villages, relaxing on this very beautiful site and getting some sun to our skins. We had two quite large & beautifully coloured green lizards, that Sharon named George and Mildred, visit us often as their home was in amongst the stones at the bottom of our terraced pitch where the grape vines were growing. We could hear the Woodpecker and Cuckoo each day, saw a long snake which departed into one of the pine trees when it was disturbed, saw two types of Orchid in the long grasses on the site down by the brook and the only break in a day’s peace and tranquillity was the daily bread van, twice weekly vegetable van and weekly cooked chicken van. We also found in the village itself a rather old and beautiful house signed as being ‘Casa Grande’

Although there were no shops in the village we were fortunate to have a very nice Belgian couple, Carlos and Jan, as immediate neighbours and when they went to the supermarket in Sátáo mid-week they asked if we would like to join them, and we gladly accepted. The hills were too big for our five geared City bikes but I guess those with mountain bikes and more energy would have had a really good time exploring the area. There were many villages and the valley sides were studded with French and Dutch holiday homes, and we had a slim view of the Serra da Estrela Mountains in the distance, Portugal’s highest at 2000m and still with pockets of snow visible.

We also erected our brand new kitchen tent and christened it with some rather nice meals which we were able to enjoy eating outside. The day time temperatures varied between a peak of 25º-32ºC but at this altitude the nights were very much cooler getting as low as 5ºC on some nights.

If you are looking for a beautiful spacious green setting with a very warm welcome and free internet access, swimming pool and tennis court then I guess you would have to go a long way to beat this place. The vans that brought produce would have almost kept you fully stocked but a visit to the large supermarket at Sátáo, before arrival for those without a car, would have guaranteed you would not be wanting for groceries whilst here. There is a bus service to Sátáo and there must be plenty of good places to visit if you had a car and the site also arranged excursions. The walking is very good but the marked routes were not available in English so bring a map. They even said they would ensure I could watch the FA Cup Final on the satellite TV in the bar so I would not miss Hull City’s fantastic achievement.

Would we come again, you bet we shall, we thought we may stay a week, now plan to stay for 10 nights before moving off for some more sightseeing and before the forecast rain arrives. Let’s hope the Family Pouwels are still here when we return one day.

Regards, Roy