The mid-afternoon September sun glinted through the trees, warming my face as I sipped a deliciously strong coffee. Surrounding me were quaint, picturesque French farm buildings in a peaceful courtyard, and beyond lay a rolling forest of pines. The only sounds to be heard were the birds, the occasional clink of teaspoon on saucer and the quiet patter of French being spoken inside the restaurant where I was dining al fresco.
You might think such an idyllic location would involve a seriously long drive and plenty of European camping experience, but you’d be very wrong. I was soaking up the ambience at the on-site restaurant at La Bien Assise campsite, just 23 minutes from Calais ferry port, 18 minutes from the French side of the EuroTunnel Le Shuttle and populated with British campers. I was with a group from the Club’s Travel Services department on a product knowledge trip – the kind that helps make this team the knowledgeable and experienced group it is.
Our group included Travel Services Product Operations Manager Donna Bloy, Travel Services Senior Marketing Executive Sarah Hodgson, and four European Travel Specialists: Janet Scott, Kirsty Henshaw, Liz Eaton and Suey Bilke. The aim was to expand the knowledge of the European Travel Specialists and give them first-hand experience of the campsites, ferry crossings and travel they sell on a day-to-day basis. It also taught me that a great European camping holiday is much closer and easier than I had previously imagined.
We had caught the overnight P&O ferry from Hull to Zeebrugge, before a short drive to Blaarmeersen, a Belgian campsite on the outskirts of Ghent. This site is one of two in Belgium in our European campsite network and is located in quiet, flat countryside as part of a municipal sports complex just three miles from Ghent city centre. This large site which can accommodate tents, motorhomes and caravans is adjacent to a beautiful lake with a beach, playground, cycle hire, and watersports activities such as kayaking. The site had excellent provisions and facilities and is well-managed by friendly, English-speaking staff – there are even some glamping huts.
From here, we headed west to France towards Calais and the Bien Assise site. Now, it’s true Calais is a city with some well-documented controversies over the last few years, but this trip showed me and my colleagues a different side to the region. We were given a very warm welcome by campsite owners Sophie and Frédéric Mancho and shown around the site which features generous tree-lined pitches, a covered swimming pool, traditional French restaurant, children’s playground, an on-site shop and bar and generally beautiful surroundings. The site also has some fixed mobile-homes, one of which was recently converted to allow full disabled access and a charming seven-room hotel – L’Auberge du Colombier.
When speaking with Sophie and Frédéric, I realised this region of France – while ideal for a pit-stop on your way to or from somewhere further – is actually a great destination in its own right. There’s a national forest just south of the site, the nearby village of Guînes houses a traditional market every Friday, and local buses can take you to some stunning nearby beaches (Cap Blanc-Nez and Cap Gris-Nez), a Go Ape-style tree top adventure facility and several Second World War museums. There’s even some interesting history on the campsite itself – a dovecote from the 1500s and a delightful, classical chateau.
As the unseasonably warm September day drew to a close, we made the short hop to Calais and returned to Dover via another P&O ferry, each with a far better understanding of the Club’s European campsite network and a changed perception of the Calais region.