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You are here: Home / ADVENTURE / Camping in France with Yelloh!

Camping in France with Yelloh!

August 21, 2017 by Molly Leave a Comment

This time last week we were still camping in France with Yelloh! I say “camping”, but I actually mean staying in a “cottage” (chalet to you and me) complete with modcons like a toilet, running water and kitchen. Yeah, we cheated – although we are looking at doing proper camping next year so don’t berate us yet. Anyway, we had such a fantastic time I wanted to tell you a bit more about this particular part of our holiday. Before I go on, I feel like I should say it wasn’t a review trip – we booked it, paid for it and organised it all ourselves. Not that it would make any difference to what I share here, but there you go.

Scroll down to watch a DITL video we filmed during a typical day here

Choosing the site

When we were planning our holiday back in February we knew we wanted to have a trip of two halves. The first half our trip was in a beautiful gite in the Dordogne region (we stayed here – watch a DITL video about our stay there if you want to know more) which was a chance to properly wind down, spend some quality time together as a family and switch off completely.

With this in mind the second part of our trip needed to be a bit more lively. We were after a site offering a fun pool complex, activities for the kids should they wish to do them, a decent play area and a bar and restaurant for us, if we fancied a change of scene during the evening. And so, we settled on Parc du Val de Loire, a Yelloh! village in the Loire region, in between the picturesque towns of Blois and Amboise. 

Having been to this area the year before (read about our stay at the neighbouring Yelloh! village just up the road near Angers here) we already knew how beautiful the Loire area was, and that it was a manageable drive (around five hours) to Roscoff, where we were getting the ferry back to Plymouth at the end of our holiday. From our first place in the Dordogne it worked out at a drive of around four hours, so the distances added up and we were able to avoid any really awful ten hour type journeys.

What’s at the site

As hoped, the pool complex at this site was fantastic – even if it did get quite busy on the really hot days. It rivalled any five star hotel (it’s a five star campsite) and included an outdoor toddler pool with slides and fountains, two large water slides, a waterfall area in the outdoor pool, jacuzzi bubble area and fountains, plus a heated covered indoor pool with another toddler area and a separate garden sunbathing area with a bouncy castle. Even on really busy days we always managed to get a sun-lounger, and the girls really enjoyed swimming at the late night pool party one evening which included disco music and fun games.

As well as the impressive swimming area there are also two little parks – one with a couple of zip wires and climbing area, plus two sets of trampolines, two bouncy castles in the play area, along with mini golf, trike hire, bike hire and two kids’ clubs, as well as a baby club (for under 4’s parents need to be present – this is basically a mobile home kitted out as a mini soft play, useful it the weather isn’t so great).

For my girls – aged nearly three (SOB – HOW IS SHE THREE THIS OCTOBER?!!) and just seven, this was more than enough to keep them entertained for ten days. Frog enjoyed going to the kids’ club a couple of times, although after making a friend during her second session she basically just hung out with campsite friends doing her own thing.

The size of the site is ideal for families with young children because not only is there lots for them to do, but it’s also small enough for them to be fairly independent. This is one of the reasons I love campsites as opposed to hotels – kids have lots of independence to roam free in a safe setting, hang out with their friends outdoors and generally enjoy a bit of freedom that they might not get at home.

For the adults, there’s a wellness centre with spa and massage (I didn’t try this out), plus a decent bar offering entertainment in the evenings, restaurant, takeaway and games room. This set-up is typical of most Yelloh! sites as I understand, and it’s great because it means there’s something for kids and adults to do. And you can opt in or opt out – which is also great. Most evenings we tended to wander up to the bar after supper at the chalet, where the kids would go off and play on the trampolines or play area and we’d kick back with a glass of something cold. Ideal. We ate at the restaurant once for Moules Frites (mussels and chips) night, which was delicious, plus we had a couple of takeaway pizzas which were also very nice.

Also at the bar area there was a crepe and candy floss stand, which the girls rinsed most evenings (holiday rules, obviously).

Out and about

We had mixed weather while we were in the Loire, so on the cooler days we tended to head off site and do some sightseeing or have a bike ride. We took our own bikes and, if you’re following on Instagram, you’ll have seen my incessant banging on about this being the summer Frog learned to ride a bike. She’s hypermobile – not something I write about here much anymore but a subject definitely due an update post soon – and has been a bit delayed with lots of her physical milestones so the bike riding was a BIG DEAL. I’ll never forget the afternoon she learned to ride on her own at the site. She spent HOURS practising, falling off and getting back on again until it clicked.

We rode our bikes around vineyards right next to the site, along the river Loire (stopping for a picnic on a little beach near the picture-postcard village of Chaumont-sur-Loire) and everywhere around the site too. We also had a few day trips without the bikes to the nearby towns of Bloise, Amboise and the Leonardo da Vinci chateau at Amboise. I’ll cover these in a separate post as I took WAY too many photos to include here!

 

Get a flavour of the Yelloh! part of our holiday in my latest Vlogcation video – a DITL on the campsite here:

Filed Under: ADVENTURE Tagged With: family holiday to france, family travel, France, french family holiday, holiday, holidays to France, Yelloh!

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Hello and welcome! I'm Molly Forbes - podcaster, presenter and blogger with a passion for positivity, confidence and body image chat. Regularly writing and vlogging about empowering female issues from a motherhood angle, I also cover lifestyle and fashion topics for like-minded mums who want to rediscover themselves after having children. Thanks for stopping by! Read More…

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If you feel bad about your body you’re less like If you feel bad about your body you’re less likely to do nice things for it, including moving in a way that feels good and eating in a way that feels good. (FYI health is about more than just exercise and nutrition, but let’s get deeper into the exercise thing for a second...)
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Research shows kids who have low body image are less likely to get involved with sports and more likely to skip PE. 
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Want kids to move more? Stop teaching them that one type of body is better than another - because if their body doesn’t look like your version of a healthy / beautiful / successful body not only will they be more likely to feel shame over their body, they’ll be less likely to engage with the very behaviours you want them to do more of (or be more likely to engage with them in an UNhealthy way - compulsive exercise is dangerous).
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Instead:
💕Try talking about the intrinsic benefits of exercise over the extrinsic ones (ie. how it makes you FEEL instead of how it makes you LOOK).
✨Create opportunities for movement where ALL children feel welcome. 
💕Show children diverse representation so they can see sporting heroes with a range of body types and know that movement is for EVERYbody. 
✨Take a zero tolerance approach to appearance based bullying, body shaming and comments that perpetuate weight stigma (including even the hint that fat = bad). 
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(If you’re a teacher or youth leader interested in knowing more about this topic, a #BodyHappyKids workshop will help - follow the link in my bio 🥰❤️)
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[Image description: A multicoloured slide with an overlaid screenshot of tweet by Molly which reads ‘If your intention is to “get kids healthy” then you need to be aware of how weight bias, weight stigma and poor body image are active barriers to health. The end.]
Sharing this outfit pic with you because it’s a Sharing this outfit pic with you because it’s a crying shame only the piles of laundry got to see it, quite frankly. Finally, a pair of pre-loved jeans bought online that are true to size, consistent with the rest of the brand’s sizing and actually fit! 🎉 
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PS heads up - I’ll be doing a Q&A about body image and kids in my Stories on Friday. The Q sticker is up in my Stories now if you’d like to submit a Q! 💕 #BodyHappyKids
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[Image description: Molly is standing in front of the mirror looking very pleased with the fact her new jeans bought from Depop fit her. She is wearing pink patterned jeans with cherubs on them, a pink check jumper and pink trainers. There are piles of laundry on the bed behind her.]
Another photo of us on a walk, because it’s been Another photo of us on a walk, because it’s been our main form of entertainment this year. Anyone else? 
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I honestly now get excited about putting my boots on and being outdoors, even in the rain. I’m going to start hugging trees next and going on wild camping weekends that involve doing a poo behind a tree and making my own fire. Joke.... maybe. 
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Just another reminder that all movement is valid, exercise doesn’t need to have to be about burning calories or even tracking steps in order for it to be “worth it”. Hope everyone’s had a great weekend ❤️
#BodyHappyMum #JoyfulMovement
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Image description: Molly and her two daughters stand on a bridge in the countryside. They are all wearing hiking boots and outdoor clothes and smiling.
My body is good and excellent and my body only bel My body is good and excellent and my body only belongs to me ✨ (Words by Effie May, age 6 💕) #BodyHappyMum
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Image description: A close up of Molly’s bare skin as she hugs herself. It’s dark and part of her body is illuminated by light. She has her eyes closed and is smiling.
“Mummy I wrote a letter to myself,” she said. “Mummy I wrote a letter to myself,” she said. And my heart swelled. Maybe I’m doing an OK job after all 🤞❤️💕 #BodyHappyKids 
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I could leave this caption here but I need to make something clear: if you think it’s great that my daughter - a thin, white, nondisabled, cisgender kid - feels good in her body but you’re not here for the self-love of any kid who doesn’t look like her.... then you’ve missed the point.
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ALL bodies are good bodies, and without this important piece of the puzzle ALL children will be at risk of doubting their body. And what happens when they doubt their body? Well... hating our body doesn’t make us treat it with love, and the same is true of kids. 
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Great, now we’ve cleared that up, can we take a moment to appreciate the incredible phonetic spelling on show here?! 
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Image description: Effie, age 6, stands against a white wardrobe holding up a letter she has written to herself. It is spelled phonetically and reads “My body is good and excellent and my body only belongs to me.”
I used to struggle to buy stuff for myself if I ha I used to struggle to buy stuff for myself if I had any spare cash - not just treats, but basics like pants and tights that fit properly. I’d tell myself I didn’t need it, didn’t deserve it, couldn’t justify the expense. There’s still that little voice (the habit of putting everyone else’s needs first and my own last dies hard it seems) but I’m leaning into exploring why it still sometimes rears its head, instead of always listening to it. 
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I’m trying to buy as much as I can from pre-loved places or small businesses these days, which is why I’m very happy to share with you some of my latest finds: a star dress from Depop (£5), earrings from @kelzojewellery by @ourtransitionallife (£12) and the comfiest tights I’ve ever owned in Raspberry Pie by @snagtights (£6.99) 💕💕💕
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Have you found any great small brands lately? Shout them out in the comments so we can all support in the run up to Christmas. ⬇️⚡️
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Image description: Molly is smiling and sticking out her tongue to the camera. Her hair is freshly dyed a light shade of pink. She’s wearing a pink t’shirt underneath a black and white star patterned slip dress, with bright pink tights and black and pink earrings decorated with a boob design.
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