Site Complete
We have been coming to Europe with our caravan for a few years now. Admittedly, we usually come earlier in the year than this but we delayed our plans because we didn't know what the brexit ****shower was going to bring.
We are members of ACSI and always use their sites, whether Municipal or not. We have never booked and never had a problem getting in. We arrived in the famous Val de Vesle site yesterday about 2:30. The lovely lady who runs the place said that she had only one pitch left. Today she had a "Complete" sign up outside the office when we left late morning for our trip into Reims.
I have read on this forum many times that there is no need to book outside of July and August but maybe times are changing.
On a similar note, we met an English couple here yesterday who asked if we had met many British people on our three and a half weeks of travel. I told them that we had only seen three couples which was one more than they had seen over the same period, including us. The Club's sites must be pretty full or people are staying at home.
Comments
-
Only encountered a handful of Brits in my month meandering around the Black Forest until I stopped off for a few nights at La Bien Assise near Calais. Reception had a CAMC 'affiliated site' sticker and the place was swarming with Brits. Somewhat surprisingly the site doesn't feature in the CAMC 'Touring France' book.
0 -
It's probably that the site in Val de Vesle is near to a major route for people from Holland, Germany, and Scandinavia heading south, and is also an ACSI Card site (which are more popular in those countries than in the UK). Chances are that a mile or two down the road would have been a non-ACSI site where you might have found the majority of pitches empty.
0 -
Hi Dunclair, you said it yourself, "the famous Val de Vesle site". If you ever want to visit Reims again try the infamous Camping Municipal at Fismes, over the other site of the city.
Although Reims must be the only city in France without a campsite of its own.
0 -
Thank you all for your contributions. We are now here for our third evening and the place is still full. I spoke to the lovely lady running the place and she said that their site has become more popular over the last few years. I can understand why. We have a very generous pitch, a fast and free wifi connection and getting to the Reims Park and Ride is easy.
From my observations, there are some, but not many one-nighters although I can understand why that would be attractive, but for motorhomers, there is an aire on the A26 not too far away.
I think that the manager, her reputation and the quality of the site have just made it very popular. If Brexit allows, we would certainly come back here again and if we were this close to July, book ahead.
We now have one more day's holiday left before making the trek back to Calais and home. I always find this the most difficult part of the holiday. I simply do not want to go back to money grubbing, gross, rude and dirty England. I know I have to, but I really don't want to. Do you feel the same way or are you anxious to go home?
1 -
Dunclair, you said "If Brexit allows..." I think you'll find that the French won't bar Euro paying customers from the UK entry and our lot won't stop you going either.
I can see all of the regular visitors that travel abroad and contribute to CT will still be going despite Brexit and whatever it throws at us.
1 -
"I simply do not want to go back to money grubbing, gross, rude and dirty England. I know I have to, but I really don't want to"
I rarely comment in this section since we don't tour overseas with the van. But I do read many posts and if what you've said above is your true feeling (and shared by others) then you are welcome to continue taking your holidays in a place which obviously suits you better.
3 -
Dunclair, why do you continue to live in England?
You praised the previous area you lived in so you could move back there if living across The Channel is a step too far for you.
A country is surely only as good as the people who inhabit it.
2 -
I agree with WN. dont see anything other than a Trump type wall stopping us maintaining the giving of most of our vanning business to the mainland...
is England money grabbing?...possibly....dirty?...can be....rude?....certainly there isn't the service culture you get overseas and brusque-ness is not unusual....
however, we do tour a bit in the UK...every other week when 'over here' and am still happy to be in the van but, for us, it isn't the same as being away....for loads of reasons.
0 -
We will also continue visiting Europe at least once a year, though not in the van obviously. But we'll do it with our eyes open and spot every bit as much money grabbing, dirt and certainly rudeness in Europe as we do in this country - i.e. very little - but then we don't go looking for it.
(And with that I'll return to "read only" mode in this section!
)0 -
I think we probably do go to very different places than you David and without any "rose tinted spectacles" (long time since that expression has been used on here). And anyway, aren't a lot of your 18 weeks spent in exactly the same place each year - places you've found and like because of what you've found in those places. Whereas you spend very little time touring in the UK.
Seriously I can't say that I've noticed any significant difference between here and there. We stay in hotels but we tour around, eating out and visiting sights just as we do over here. Mind you, we do tend to avoid Cheshire!
Still, as I say, we're not easily offended and we don't go out looking for things to complain about.
(Er.....back to read only mode!)
3 -
Ooh Moulesy you'll miss this Cheshire CL
0 -
Giving a bit of balance to matters.
We were disgusted with the litter that we found in Isla Cristina and the tons of plastic waste deposited in and around Almeria and generally find parts of Spain as litter strewn as parts of the UK. Germany is generally a lot tidier, France a bit in the middle but both of them tend to have more graffiti.
Money grabbing? I've come across it in Spain, but is that just making a living out of the tourist the only way they can? And parts of France is very expensive. If I feel I'm being overcharged I won't buy whatever it is or stay wherever is too expensive.
Rude? Come across it everywhere. Here, Spain, France, bits of Eastern Germany. But not that often.
If you don't like where you live Dunclair then stop being unhappy and move. Don't tar the whole UK with the same brush. We are 5 weeks into a tour of the north of England and yet to meet a rude person or be disgusted with the litter problem. Not been ripped off yet, apart from an overpriced Independent site.
3
