Despatches from a mother who started late (and is running to catch up)

Keycamp holiday

We had a happy time at the La Yole site in France's Vendée region. Many happy memories to treasure from our time there. Here are some of the highlights:

1. Time to bond as a family of four. The holiday helped us mesh together.

2. Getting a sun tan.



3. Eating our evening meals out on the decking outside our mobile home after younger daughter Button went to bed.

4. Taking Beanie to the pool, wearing her Scottish Swimmer badges, and watching her make friends with other little girls at the site.

5. Splashing about in the sea, on a near-deserted beach.



6. The smell of pine resin from the many conifers dotted about the site and countryside.

7. Cycling along the region's network of dedicated cycle paths, one of us towing the Hoppelopnikon (pictured).

8. Taking Button to the swimming pool for her first swim.

9. Feeling the habitual tension in my shoulders recede.



10. Being outdoors so much.

11. The opportunity to show my daughters France - scene of all my best holidays, where I met my husband and where he later proposed to me.

12. Eating take-away chips from the on-site cafe.

13. Being away from the internet.

14. Realising family holidays can be good fun, even if we don't get to walk up mountains anymore.

15. Playing table tennis again - for the first time in many years.



16. Having a good play park on site with lots of space. Beanie loved it there. There were free Tumbletots activities too but we didn't manage to sample them. 

17. A Tumbletots party one evening in the bar that got all the younger kids - and me - dancing. I felt like a kid myself again. Button loved it too. It was a happy, happy evening. Superb!



18. Getting fit from the cycling, swimming and walking. Effect somewhat mitigated by the many ice creams consumed.

19. Little-known advantage of living in a mobile home: less space to clean and tidy than at home.

20. Meeting other families with kids the same age as ours.

21. Seeing the Atlantic coast of France - a first for me.

22. Remembering what it's like to have fun again!

23. Messing about in our mobile home with Beanie, singing and dancing.

The downsides of going abroad at the moment are well-known. I was horrified at the cost of food after the pound's collapse against the euro - France is no longer cheap if you earn in pounds - and we couldn't afford to eat out much because of that.

If you decide on a holiday of this kind, it is also certainly worth choosing your site carefully. It might be worth going for one of the smaller sites, like La Yole, which has slightly fewer facilities than some other places, but more than made up for that by the relaxed and friendly atmosphere and the professionalism of the owners. It felt well-run and thoughtfully put together.

I loved our Keycamp holiday. I will be dreaming of the next one over the long winter months in Edinburgh.

Posted 15 July 2009 23:18

Fun Holidays

• StumbleUpon
• Delicious
• Reddit
• Facebook
• Digg