kevandali Posted July 8, 2020 Share Posted July 8, 2020 Hi All We are heading for the wide open spaces of Brittany, if there are any wide open spaces left in august!! :-) We have booked a site for a week not far from St Malo but we leave Calais at 7 am ish so looking for any suggestion so we can get a good 4 or 5 hours driving under our belts before we stop. Not bothered about heading to the coast for our first stop but would like a little campsite enroute just to chill. Thinking of going toll roads purely for the speed, tried coastal route some years back and even though lovely we didn't seem to get anywhere any time soon. Not going to research anything so will just go by your super recommendations as it will be purely be a 'charge the batteries' and have a tipple sort of stop. Over to you lovely lot :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witzend Posted July 8, 2020 Share Posted July 8, 2020 kevandali - 2020-07-08 7:15 PM Not going to research anything so will just go by your super recommendations as it will be purely be a 'charge the batteries' and have a tipple sort of stop. Over to you lovely lot :-) Just to overnite theres 48.907525 -1.106367 https://tinyurl.com/y8cgzy27 used it many times never seen it so busy as in googles pic or Buchy - Just off the A28 north of Rouen. On the edge of a village. 49.586200, 1.364590 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevandali Posted July 9, 2020 Author Share Posted July 9, 2020 Just to overnite theres 48.907525 -1.106367 https://tinyurl.com/y8cgzy27 used it many times never seen it so busy as in googles picorBuchy - Just off the A28 north of Rouen. On the edge of a village. 49.586200, 1.364590 Thanks for the quick reply, think other/better half is being too picky, first one rejected because of the roads either side, second one would be brill if a little nearer St Milo. Both would have done me. (obviously, my better half doesn't read this :-)) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 If you plan to use toll-roads from Calais, you should be able to reach St Malo within 6 hours via the A16 and A84 and then the N175/N176 dual-carriageways (507km with 465km on autoroutes according to Via Michelin) There are campsites at Pontaubault, Courtils and Pontorson (all failrly close to the N176) and another at Dol-de-Bretagne - but I’ve no idea how busy they will be in August 2020 and whether they would be able to accommodate a ‘casual’ motorcaravan for a single unbooked overnight stop. In August, with a campsite booked at St Malo, I’d almost certainly overnight off-site en route as witzend is suggesting. You’d be well advised to do some research on this (or be prepared to accept your wife’s ire when you end up in a lay-by). The Campercontact website should help https://www.campercontact.com/en Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancepar Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 Buchy - Just off the A28 north of Rouen. On the edge of a village. 49.586200, 1.364590 Been here a few times, last visit we were shown how to turn the drinking water on that feeds a standpipe and the service point at the Aire, if it is found to be off. Convenient for the Village market, shops, nearby superstore and fuel. B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witzend Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 kevandali - 2020-07-09 4:41 AM Thanks for the quick reply, think other/better half is being too picky,:-)) Well try this one nr Honfleur just off A29 https://tinyurl.com/ya3fq73x we've used this as well just after the Normandy bridge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 Reasonably close to St Malo is the quite large public car-park + service-point at Villers Bocage https://www.campercontact.com/en/france/normandie-14-27-50-61-76/villers-bocage/1300/aire-municipale or the even larger one at Ducey https://www.campercontact.com/en/france/normandie-14-27-50-61-76/ducey/3465/aire-municipale Then there’s the little aire at Sains https://www.campercontact.com/en/france/bretagne-22-29-35-56/sains/1181/aire-de-camping-car-sains Plenty of options for the wife to ponder over... (It’s perhaps stating the obvious, but how congested an ‘aire’ (or campsite) might expected to be in August will depend to some degree on the day of the week.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevandali Posted July 9, 2020 Author Share Posted July 9, 2020 "Well try this one nr Honfleur just off A29 https://tinyurl.com/ya3fq73x we've used this as well just after the Normandy bridge"This one will def do the job, thanks Witzend. Final question.... honest, can I actually book this, unsure if it was a pull up try your luck Aire or a bookable site.... Thanks All :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 https://www.campercontact.com/en/france/normandie-14-27-50-61-76/la-riviere-st-sauveur/1152/aire-de-camping-car I mentioned your enquiry to my wife who asked “What day of the week will they be travelling from Calais, which route will they take, roughly where do they want to stop, and must they overnight on a campsite as, in August, just turning up and getting a pitch may well be tricky?” I said that none of that information had been provided... If it were me, and I wanted to use mostly fast roads all the way from Calais to St Malo and overnighting on a potentially bookable campsite was a must, I’d probably plan to stop somewhere to the west of Caen and not far from the A84. https://www.campercontact.com/en/france/normandie-14-27-50-61-76/st-martin-des-besaces/67769/camping-sous-les-etoiles https://www.campercontact.com/en/france/normandie-14-27-50-61-76/torigni-sur-vire/51470/camping-le-lac-des-charmilles https://www.campercontact.com/en/france/normandie-14-27-50-61-76/pont-farcy/58215/camping-municipal-de-pont-farcy https://www.campercontact.com/en/france/normandie-14-27-50-61-76/villedieu-les-poeles/57798/les-chevaliers-de-malte If I had to pick one of those four campsites where turning up with no booking should be OK, I’d go for the campsite at Pont Farcy, as this is quite large but (in my experience) is much less popular than it used to be. More details here https://alanrogers.com/campsite/camping-municipal-pont-farcy-fr14140 and, as it is, literally, just 5 minutes from the A84, if it were closed, getting back on to the motorway would be very easy and quick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevandali Posted July 9, 2020 Author Share Posted July 9, 2020 You're a star Derek, was definitely short on info for you lot to help out :-) Tell your wife.. or you pretending to be your wife, she was right again, thanks very much. Derek Uzzell - 2020-07-09 6:11 PMhttps://www.campercontact.com/en/france/normandie-14-27-50-61-76/la-riviere-st-sauveur/1152/aire-de-camping-carI mentioned your enquiry to my wife who asked “What day of the week will they be travelling from Calais, which route will they take, roughly where do they want to stop, and must they overnight on a campsite as, in August, just turning up and getting a pitch may well be tricky?” I said that none of that information had been provided...If it were me, and I wanted to use mostly fast roads all the way from Calais to St Malo and overnighting on a potentially bookable campsite was a must, I’d probably plan to stop somewhere to the west of Caen and not far from the A84. https://www.campercontact.com/en/france/normandie-14-27-50-61-76/st-martin-des-besaces/67769/camping-sous-les-etoileshttps://www.campercontact.com/en/france/normandie-14-27-50-61-76/torigni-sur-vire/51470/camping-le-lac-des-charmilleshttps://www.campercontact.com/en/france/normandie-14-27-50-61-76/pont-farcy/58215/camping-municipal-de-pont-farcyhttps://www.campercontact.com/en/france/normandie-14-27-50-61-76/villedieu-les-poeles/57798/les-chevaliers-de-malteIf I had to pick one of those four campsites where turning up with no booking should be OK, I’d go for the campsite at Pont Farcy, as this is quite large but (in my experience) is much less popular than it used to be.More details herehttps://alanrogers.com/campsite/camping-municipal-pont-farcy-fr14140and, as it is, literally, just 5 minutes from the A84, if it were closed, getting back on to the motorway would be very easy and quick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witzend Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 kevandali - 2020-07-09 5:37 PM This one will def do the job, thanks Witzend. Final question.... honest, can I actually book this, unsure if it was a pull up try your luck Aire or a bookable site.... Just an aire no booking if you look on google unlikely to be full several vans chose to drive into the field at the top when we where there even though the aire spaces where only half full Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 https://ibb.co/YRDSdtX St Malo is a must see city, there is a good Aire at STE PAUL FEVAL in the town and a free bus into the old walled town, with your AIRE ticket, it is the Park and ride with an area [ large ] for motorhome stopovers and has a good Bourne [free ] for servicing the van, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 https://ibb.co/txppdpC Another vote for HONFLEUR scruffy Aire but great town harbour and parklands, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 The stopover that witzend suggested earlier is the free ‘aire’ at La Riviere St. Sauveur within spitting distance of the A29 autoroute. The stopever you’ve referred to is the huge parking area at Honfleur itself (about 4km from the autoroute) and has an overnighting charge of €11. https://www.campercontact.com/en/france/normandie-14-27-50-61-76/honfleur/1151/aire-de-camping-car Calais to Honfleur/La Riviere St Sauveur is about 270km, and from Honfleur/La Riviere St Sauveur to St Malo about 230km. As Kev plans to leave Calais at around 7am and then travel for a good 4 to 5 hours before stopping, and is considering using toll roads, he should be well past the Honfleur area by 11am never mind by midday. And Kev evidently prefers to overnight on a campsite rather than on an ‘aire’. I’m not suggesting that the Honfleur or La Riviere St Sauveur ‘aires’ aren’t worthwhile places to overnight at (and Honfleur is attractive to visit if the weather is kind), but neither matches Kev’s preferences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryd999 Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 This is a cracking little free Aire just a few miles above St Malo. Very peaceful and a short walk to the beach. https://www.campercontact.com/en/france/bretagne-22-29-35-56/st-coulomb/23283/aire-de-camping-car If your wife doesnt like it then there is a nice campsite just over the road. We have stayed on both several times. The site when we had a dead Leisure battery and the aire when the scooter broke down but its a good spot. Probably a tad to far for your overnight stop over unless you go toll roads and get a wiggle on but might be a good spot once you get there. If I were you I would just use the Camper contact site and find a rural Aire in central Normandy. There are plenty in lovely peaceful quiet locations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 Kev’s original posting says "We have booked a site for a week not far from St Malo...” All he was looking for was advice on a (campsite) stopover between Calais and St Malo. :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 Derek Uzzell - 2020-07-15 1:12 PM Kev’s original posting says "We have booked a site for a week not far from St Malo...” All he was looking for was advice on a (campsite) stopover between Calais and St Malo. :-( True but I have found all the suggestions from others interesting and I am sure others contemplating a trip that way will too ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevandali Posted July 25, 2020 Author Share Posted July 25, 2020 Thanks to everyone for your replies, we are all sorted, van packed up, filled up, just got to get a week's work out of the way. Might have to post elsewhere but going on a 5.00am ferry, was just wondering if you could still park on the ????? something Parade? Its been a while since we last left our beloved shores but seem to think/remember that they had put the cabosch on parking?? Will give it a while reference parking before getting the ferry, just in case one of you knowledgeable lot happen along. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 I assume you are referring to “Marine Parade”... Within this 2019 MHFun forum discussion it was stated that motorhome overnight parking was forbidden there https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/marine-parade-overnight-parking.201900/ with the De Bradlei Wharf shopping area being suggested as an alternative https://www.debradeleiwharf.co.uk/ However - forbidden or not (and the photo of the parking sign seems to make it clear that only cars and motorbikes may park there) - this CamperContact entry indicates that a motorcaravanner was staying at Marine Parade three days ago https://www.campercontact.com/en/united-kingdom/south-east-england/dover/67415/parking-marine-parade (I suggest you read through the earlier pages of the CamperContact entry.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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