Established holiday practice dictated that I was responsible for packing the van, checking the tyres, fuel, directions – all the standard blokey stuff. So I felt rather smug when we pulled into Elizabeth Harbour on schedule for the 9.30 am Condor sailing to St Malo.
As we waited to board, I checked a map on the iPad and keyed Loudun into the sat-nav ready for what was supposed to be a four-hour drive to Center Parcs’ newest site, Bois aux Daims.
After a smooth crossing with no delays, we were soon doing 120k on an empty autoroute heading south.
I like driving in France – the kids and wife tend to sleep which lets me turn off and think about nothing more than the road ahead and why a country which coined the term reservoir needs so many water towers.
I had studied Center Parcs’ website for some time before leaving and knew the holiday village was in woods. My schoolboy French is pas mal, so I also knew that Bois aux Daims means Wood of the Deer, or something similar.
At about 2 pm, and surrounded by dense forest, I woke the troops to announce we were almost there.
‘You have arrived at your destination,’ the satnav announced moments later, but all I could see was trees. I asked some road workers for directions to Center Parcs, but they looked at me blankly. About four miles down the road, we stopped at a rather sad-looking truckers’ café. Again I asked, ‘Où est Centerparcs?’
‘Normandy ou Poitiers?’ the lady replied, pointing to each on a large wall map.
‘Et maintenant, nous sommes où?’ I asked.
To cut a long story short, we were east of Le Mans near Loudun. We should have been quite a long way further south in Loudon.
By the time we got to Center Parcs near Poitiers, it was about 10 pm, and, to make matters worse, all of the on-site restaurants had closed. As we tucked into a dinner of four digestives and a banana (my wife is allergic to bananas), the mood was somewhere between divorce and murder.
Hey ho – things could only get better. Luckily (…for me), over the next seven days we had one of those near-perfect family holidays which I had begun to think were the stuff of Swiss Family Robinson fantasy.
Once you have unpacked your vehicle, you have to leave it in a car park off a perimeter road which runs around the site. For the rest of the time, you get about on foot, bike or in a rented golf buggy.
We took our bikes and cycled everywhere. My son (4) loved it as he could tear about on his bike and we didn’t have to worry about cars. My daughter (3) went in a bike seat and the baby was securely fixed in a car seat in a chariot behind.
The site is huge (and could probably accommodate around 5,000 visitors), but the holiday chalets are so well laid out in the woods that you feel like you are immersed in nature. Even at half-term when we were there, it didn’t feel busy despite being fully booked.
Our three-bedroom home for the week slept six and had a bathroom, second toilet and an open-plan kitchen, dining area and lounge. There was also a deck through sliding doors which looked out to the forest and offered the occasional glimpse of deer. It was clean, well designed and fitted out with everything we needed – plus a few nice extras like a coffee machine, a woodburner and satellite TV. Wi-fi was a paid-for extra which we resisted and it was bliss.
We hadn’t booked any activities online before we arrived, which was a mistake. The children got to do everything they wanted, but only once for some things (like pony riding) which they would like to have done again and again.
During the week, we paid for them to go on the junior aerial assault course in the trees (a massive hit) and we hired pedalos and an electric boat on the lake. Everything else we did was free, including regular visits to the many wildlife-themed playgrounds dotted around the site, visiting the farm, spotting deer and wild boar from a tree-top walkway and playing in the huge indoor play area. Every bike ride was an adventure for the children because there are so many different paths to explore. Riding with my four-year-old son to get hot croissants in the morning from the reasonably priced site minimart was a simple treat I’ll never forget.
Other activities for youngsters or adults included a tree-top climbing/zipwire course, archery, cookery and bug-spotting for kids, falling off a three-storey building onto a massive inflatable cushion stuntman style, and much more.
- Center Parcs have sites in the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Germany. For more information, early-booking discounts and last-minute deals visit their website.
- Details of Condor sailings can be found here.
- Maps are available from all good bookshops…[/breakout]
The highlight, though, was Aqua Mundo, a waterpark in a huge bio-dome (a bit like the ones at the Eden Project but much more fun) which might have been designed by Willy Wonka.
There were zones for kids of all ages, white-knuckle water slides for adults, loads of smaller slides, water cannons, a white-water river ride, wave pool, toddler pools, sand pit, a pool lined with glass behind which tropical fish were swimming and more. There are little lifejackets for the children and, unlike at some French pools, dads don’t have to wear budgie-smugglers.
The white-water river (Rivière Sauvage) and some of the activities require children to be a certain age or height – and before we arrived I feared mine might be too short and too young to do anything.
I am glad to say that the French seem to have a fairly laissez-faire attitude to rules and let parents decide what their children can and cannot do.
We were able to do everything we wanted the children to do – and they loved every minute.
There is loads to do in the surrounding area – according to the brochures we picked up on day one. I can’t tell you if they are any good because we didn’t leave the site for seven days. With happy children who were tired at night, why would we?
The one small fly in the ointment was that the restaurants didn’t open until 7.30 pm, which is too late for under-fives even though they do eat for free.
I used to be a bit of a snob about Center Parcs, thinking it would be all Hi de Hi and naff entertainment. It isn’t and we’ll definitely be going back.
I WON’T bore you with the details of our journey; suffice to say it’s worth remembering (…or at least reminding your husband) that France is a big country and winging it with directions, as well you might in Jersey, is not the best way to start a holiday.
We arrived in darkness and were therefore surprised and delighted to meet Nature, in the form of a small gathering of deer, before we even reached our cottage.
Nature is very much the theme here and the cottage had a tranquil atmosphere. I loved the wood-inspired interior design and the coffee machine. The cottages seem to combine a trendy Scandi, 70s, natural vibe with Dandara-style space efficiency. For Him it was the wood-burning stove, which we didn’t actually use but was comforting to have, just in case.
The jacuzzi-style bath was the most controversial feature – noisy, splashy and not at all relaxing, it was an instant hit with the kids and utterly despised by us for exactly the same reasons. And no-one even noticed that there was no wi-fi.
Other than the daily trip to the incredible Aqua Mundo, our time at Bois aux Daims was as much of a natural adventure as you could hope for while keeping the kids safe, and within easy reach of a change of clothes and a meal they would eat. Having had some pretty disastrous holidays with kids, all this, combined with no cars, makes for a relaxing time for adults too.
It can feel eerily like you’re on The Truman Show, but there is plenty to see off-site if you also want to take in a bit of local culture. Onsite, the local culture is restricted to a twice-weekly market which sells regional products such as honey, wine, meats and mushrooms. I managed to relieve myself of the best part of a tenner on various mushroom products which had been lovingly foraged by an enthusiastic local. After subjecting my husband to the shitake soup I purchased I was not left alone to wander the market again, but at least I got a small shopping fix.
Wilderness this is not. So, if you’re an adventurer who’s pining for the fjords go to Norway. If, however, you are a tired parent who wants to get outside and spend some quality family time in a safe and natural environment without the hassle and dangers of real wilderness then go to Center Parcs. It was the easiest of holidays. I can’t recommend it highly enough. Just take a road map for the journey.
Kate Sibcy
