Capbreton aire
Comments
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agreed WTC, it depends on many things...like sites, each serves a (possibly) different purpose....
last night was a 'car park' just to sleep breaking up the trip...we had planned to stay a further 20km up the road in our usual spot, but as we entered the village we both thought 'this looks nice' so immediately pulled off the main road to check out if there was an aire....as it happened, it was right in front of us, a couple of hundred metres or so.
another van already there, French family, quick hello and check it was ok to park 'pour dormir' and sorted.....they had used this place a couple of times before.
we went to investigate the nearby river Maine while they did what all French families do on Saturday night....find a good restaurant....we called into the nearby Intermarché, bought the dinner ingredients and cooked back in the van..
lovely quiet night, this morning a large group of walkers turned up to seriously 'do the river'....all poles and rucksacks....and as I was outside disposing of the rubbish asked me to take their photo.
all very friendly and they were interested in where we'd been and what part of England we lived in etc...
...and then we were off...
a typical stop over Aire experience, convenient with the bonus of being in a lovely village and it gets a small trade off via the spend.
other than a week at Kiko Park we haven't spent more than two nights in a place since leaving Turiscampo but that's the way we wanted it to be on the return trip, visiting lots of different places as we go.
for us, Aires (and the MH) are key enablers of this 'style'.
it doesn't work in the same with a caravan and we don't want/need a site for one/two nights.....we've used sites three times for longer stays this break.....15/15/6 nights and we've enjoyed them all, but it's a different part of the whole tour.
so don't knock Aires for looking like car parks, many are just this but some are much more.....but aren't campsites.
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I hate the Aires – no Wardens to indicate where you can park or not, no pegs to help align your vehicle, no twitching curtains from your neighbours, no signs to help you figure out how to empty your waste water and cassette, no-one in onesies or jim-jams plodding across to the toilet block early in the morning, no yapping dogs defecating willy nilly around the site and usually no paying out of my cash for the privilege of staying there.
Oh, the Aire in the pictures ?
Two miles from the nearest village, short walk to the picturesque river Loire, toilets and shower and waste facilities available on site, canal boats waving as they pass or stopping to have a picnic at the Halte Nautique, horse riders wishing us bon jour, quiet as the grave at night, seemed as safe as houses and free to stay overnight – but the down-side was that bread wasn't delivered in the morning.
Not everyone's cup of tea - but hey-ho .........
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BB post was not a 'discussion' it was a piece of information relevant to those folk who use Aires. It did not require anything other than a ' thank you for the info' response.
Aires have been discussed many times on CT and the comments are always the same from the same folk.
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Thank you for the info👍🏻😊
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+1 yes thanks
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It did not require anything other than a ' thank you for the info' response
Yet no one, or anyone or very few? (can't be bothered to check) right from the start, did that.
(apart from Rocky and myself just now)
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TG all threads are discussions. That is what they are called. Why do you want to continue discussing issues other than the topic?
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and some want the same system introduced here? and by the club at club caravaners' expense?
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re security etc...the local Gendarmes called in a couple of times, to check all was quiet and orderly....as WTG says, that's probably when you (or other travelling caravanners) would be asked (nicely - at gun point) to move on....to a campsite, perhaps?
also a lovely young lady came round at early evening to collect the fee, write down your reg details and issue a formal ticket, so all regulated and safe.
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no idea PD, ask TG, she is the one who wants a simple thank you and nothing more.
Why are you taking this off topic?
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Back on topic......just making use of the very convenient aire at Avranches to stroll into town for the 'lunch stop'....
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dont take offence, was genuinely interested just in case i found myself in no mans land at some ungodly hour, never tugged in France before, just had bacon and egg buttie at the Penquin in Lee on The Solent, weather just gorgeous, RV's circling as they cant find anywhere to park.
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you'll be renting your drive out, then?
france has plenty of 'Parkings' all over the place, just get one street back from the main road of most towns as you'll be fine....most will accommodate larger vehicles...
as we came out of our night stop this morning we even saw one MH parked right outside the Mairie having coffee....
so anywhere might do....
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what are you on about TG? You are the one saying a thank you is all that is required not me, as you first originated the idea and PD asked me if a like would do instead of a thank you I directed him to you as the originator of the thank you idea, how is that unfriendly? It would have been unfriendly to answer for you, wouldn't it?
I think you keep taking this off topic for some reason again and again, why??? I am not being drawn in any more to your games.
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