Scotland to France
Hello,
we have recently bought a caravan with the intention of travelling to France for 2 weeks in the summer holidays (2nd and 3rd weeks in July) with our two girls who will be 8 & 11 and are very good travellers.
We had been very ambitious and originally hoped to visit a campsite in the South west but we are concerned re distance and also how hot this region could be at this time of year.
We are now therefore considering the Dordogne region.
I was hoping for some advice from you experienced caravaners on either of these locations and if anyone has experience travelling from the central belt of Scotland.
I am unsure whether to go via the tunnel or to get the ferry (from where and to where?!) and what the best route is from either.
I have looked at the route planner online but I think I need advice from people who have been there done that!
Thanks in advance!
Suzie
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Hi, we live near the Central belt and travel to France twice a year so hopefully I can help.
There are ferries from Dover to Calais, Newhaven to Dieppe, Portsmouth to Caen, Cherbourg and St Malo. I think we have used most of them depending on where we are going.
France at that time of year will be busy and more than likely hot wherever you go. The coast does usually have a breeze and the south West is a good choice (or the Atlantic coast) Brittany is also very nice and has some lovely places with great beaches. The dordogne is very nice but it can get very hot and sticky there, not sure it would be the best for 2 young children.
If you are planning on spending the majority of your time on 1 site I would advise booking in advance, if you are happy touring and taking pot luck then Municipal sites would be your best bet. The main holiday type sites on the coast will be busy.
If you need any more info just ask away.
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When we had kids that age we simply took them to a beach - that meant anywhere from the tip of Brittany down the west coast of France to the mouth of the Gironde estuary. If you are heading in that direction the Ferries from Portsmouth and Poole are more direct than going via Calais . Campsites range from simple sites in an orchard to ones with kids clubs, multiple swimming pools, water slides, evening cabarets and on site restaurants. You choose.
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From central Scotland it will need at least one, possibly two overnight stops to get to a Channel ferry, and the same on the way back, so your time in France will be reduced by 4 days. We have done as far as the Loire in school summer holidays, with a 14 year old, but had 3 weeks to use, which for us was just enough.
Yes, it will be hot, and busy, wherever you go in France, but the motorways are good.
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We have been to France several times although not as far South as you were looking at. We have mostly used Brittany Ferries from Southampton which we found the easiest to reach. Dover in particular was a nightmare getting past London so we tried this only once. Brittany Ferries always proved far superior to the others although they cost more. For our first trio we just stayed in Brittany to get used to driving in France although that may just be our cautious approach, We used the Plymouth route for that though. We have also use the Santander Ferry to visit Biaritz. That costs quite a bit more but you save on fuel and a days driving.
Driving in France is generally straightforward when you get there as you are very aware of the different driving on the right and it is only when you have been there a few days that possible to forget which you need to be aware of.
Our neighbour has towed a caravan to Southampton in one go, but personally I would have at least one stopover, possibly around Birmingham if you want a night ferry. We have family on the way down so have often had a break there but it is up to you but often had two breaks.
If you use a night sailing take a cabin to get the sleep you need before you have a possibly long drive next day. We have had a seat once due to a mix up and it is not good. Do remember to allow for the tolls which certainly add up.
The idea is reasonably easy to achieve, but do allow for the distances in France. Good luck.
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we just got back from the west coast of France, the weather was lovely, not too hot at all (last two weeks of August)
We went from Dover on the ferry, stayed at the black horse club site the night before to make the early morning ferry easy. It’s 30 mins away, ferry pitches were great.
stopped near Le Mans on the way down to our site near La Rochelle.Feel free to ask any questions here or DM me over on insta @TheCaravanningMummy
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Hi Suzie, A two day drive from Scotland to the tunnel followed by a two day drive from Calais to the west coast of France, and then repeat all that to get home …..sounds to me like eight days of your fortnights holiday will be spent just looking at tarmac.
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Are you dead set on southern France?
From central Scotland, you could be well into Germany ( or Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg and northern France) on your second day by using the overnight Hull to Rotterdam crossing. Hull is easily reached with a 9am departure from Glasgow, and the ferry arrives early the next morning. Possibly also not so hot staying further north.
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The trip to the Dordogne that you are proposing is the best part of 1,000 miles each way + a ferry/tunnel crossing. That sounds like a lot of travelling in 14 days and you will be lucky if you get more than 7 days at your destination.
Have you considered Brittany ? There are lots of coastal sites within a few miles of the ferry ports and it will almost halve the time you will spend on the road if you cross to St Malo or Cherbourg. Those routes will also avoid having to negotiate the traffic around London.
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We regularly travel from the Scottish Highlands (north of Inverness) to Europe. We do the trip to Folkestone (Le Shuttle) in three stops, Moffat (C&CC), Chapel Lane (CMC) and Black Horse Farm (CMC), a journey of about 640 miles. I think from central Scotland you'd still need two stops. Although when we were had to evacuate from Europe in 2020 (Covid) we did the home trip with just one overnight stop, Folkestone to Meriden (140 miles), then Meriden to home (500 miles). I can tell you that last lleg was a hard slog!
KH
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Making best use of your available time will be crucial. You could drive overnight from the Central Belt to Portsmouth and catch the Bilbao or Santander ferry (we used to drive from Southampton to St Andrews over night with two young children). This is 2 nights out and 1 night on the return leg (nice break for the parents and plenty for the kids to do on board) . You will disembark in northern Spain close to some great holiday areas around San Sebastian or slightly further north into France, St Jean de Luz and Biarritz. Although the ferry is much more expensive it lands you where you want to be and saves a great deal of driving through France. an overnight stop on the return leg would be a good idea. Whether this will work for you depends on the Brittany Ferries timetable.
Good luck planning!
PS: if you do decide to drive through France my advice is to buy a copy of the Michelin France national road map #792 to help you plan. This map highlights scenic routes in green and shows the all key attractions. You may decide not to go so far down in the end….
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I know my neighbour has done the overnight trip as well but as someone who investigated motor accidents as part of his job I would caution against it. You are looking at around 500 miles and this is really too much and the risk of accidents due to tiredness is not good.
I would say at least one stop, preferably two although it does depend on the ferry time. We did tend to use overnight ferries from Southampton with a cabin booked. This means you can get an early breakfast and be fit for the journey once in France. If using Dover I can see the advantage of getting round the M23 at night though.
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