Our Holiday at La Croix Du Vieux Pont

Last year we were invited by Eurocamp to stay at one of their holiday parks.  We chose La Croix Du Vieux Pont because of the short distance from Calais to drive and how child friendly it looked and we loved it so much that we paid to go back this year and ended up staying in the exact same mobile home!  The parc was fantastic for a young family like ours and the drive was around 5 hours door to door (including the ferry time). 

The parc is large and has a variety of accomodation from lodges (which we are tempted to try next year although they all seemed to be owned by Canvas) to mobile homes and then safari tents as well as areas to pitch your own tent too.  The accomodation is set around a large lake which has a family of ducks that the children loved spotting and pedalos, fishing opportunities and kayaks.  There is a 'fake beach' which was our favourite place offering the fun of the beach without the danger of waves and there was no limit on the size of your inflatables!

There are three swimming pools including a specific kids pool and a separate splash zone.  There were several playgrounds, mini golf, bowling, a soft play, table tennis centre, free kids clubs and you can hire bikes.  It was easy to spend five days here and we all could have happily stayed longer.

Usually we like to try new places but it was lovely coming back here, already knowing the layout and what we like and we had such an amazing holiday.  I put my phone away during the day so I could just enjoy being present and we spent days in the water, late evenings at the park and loved spending time together as a family away from home.

It was mostly sunny and warm although one day was overcast and you might spot a photo of four little swimmers fresh out the water with their hot chocolate as nothing was going to persuade them it wasn't beach weather!  They all gained so much confidence both in the water and in general and I loved seeing all their happy faces.  We often find swimming a challenge with them as having four under seven, none of who are good swimmers means we don't fit the ratios for some pools but LCDVP was perfect for us as the children's pool was shallow and they could have freedom and the beach was great with inflatables and the gradual decline into the water.

We love the parc and it is such a great fit for our family that I know this won't be our last visit there. The fresh croissants from the onsite bakery, the lure of the currently deflated swan and boat in the garage that we only seem to use when we are there and the love for the ducks is too strong a pull!

I wanted to share some photos from our holiday so I can look back on them in years to come and remember how wonderful and challenging holidays with four young children are.

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Eurocamp for a larger family

Nowadays we have to consider a lot more when choosing where to go on holiday as having four children makes us a larger than average family.  Not everywhere caters for families of six and often accomodation can be a struggle.  Our recent holiday with Eurocamp was fantastic for our larger family and everything from the accomodation to the activities was easy.

We stayed in a three bedroom mobile home that can accomodate up to 8 people if you include the pull out sofa bed.  Ideally we don't want to be using that as we enjoy having some space once we have put the children to bed, so we used the three bedrooms, having one single bed and one cot in each of the children's rooms.  Our mobile home had an indoor and outdoor table, both with four chairs but we were provided with two fold out chairs so that we could eat at either (and a highchair too). 

When it came to the swimming pools, there was no information about ratios and the staff had no issue with us having the four in with us.  In our local pools we are not allowed to take them all in unless they are all in floatation devices and they remain in them, but in the Eurocamp pools they could splash about as much as they liked.  

Being a larger family means the children already have playmates, and there was so much for them to do together.  I loved watching them bond in different ways and in different environments, the big two racing on their bikes, the little two sitting out on the decking each morning playing with the toys they had brought with them. 

The restaurant easily accomodated us, the hire centre had plenty of bikes with child seats or trailers and we found the holiday parc perfect for families like ours.

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Our Week in France with Eurocamp

We picked the La Croix du Vieux Pont Eurocamp parc for our recent holiday for many reasons; the closeness to Calais and therefore a short drive, the fact that the parc was really family friendly, the free learn to ride sessions they offered and the good reviews I had read online. We left the morning after Dylan broke up from school armed with a boot full of clothes and scooters and the footwells packed with trunkis full of toys.

It was an easy journey and it took us less than 6 hours door to door.  When we arrived the sun was shining and the thermometer read 28 degrees.  The boys have always loved staying in mobile homes and this was no different, with the added bonus that as soon as we stepped outside our little space we were right on the lake and there were ducks swimming around looking for leftovers.  We got changed into our swimwear and headed straight to the man made beach.

With the absence of a coastline this close to Paris, the parc created its own beach and it is perfect for building sandcastles, splashing about and swimming in.  The children were desperate to move after three hours in the car and our holiday couldn't have started better.

Unfortunately the weather took a dive after the first day and it rained on and off for the rest of our stay.  It certainly didn't stop us having fun though and we found so much to do in spite of the weather (I have written about some of our favourite activities here).  Our days seemed both relaxed and full at the same time with no pressure, no time we had to be anywhere yet lots to do.  It felt great to not look at the time  all day, eating when we were hungry and moving on to a new activity when we felt like a change.

The swimming pool was a big hit with us all, and having four so close we are not able to take them all easily at home.  There were no rules on ratios though and the children's pool was well designed so we felt confident having all four in the water there.  The boys had the option to go to the free kids club every day and they did a few sessions, Dylan really enjoying it.  Whilst it states from 4 years old, I think it was more suited to a child who was already at school.

One of my favourite things about the holiday was watching the bond between the children develop.  Dylan and Archie have been seperated for 5 days a week but suddenly they were together 24/7 and I saw them both change as they reconnected and encouraged each other.  Archie pushes Dylan physically to keep up and Dylan's play has evolved through school and I have seen Archie follow his lead and mature even more.

Finn and Cora have always been close, but this week gave them time to play with their big brothers too and Finn is desperate to be one of them with Cora not far behind.  They three boys played together so well (most of the time, they fought too of course) and I loved watching them experience these things together.

Our days started with fresh croissants from the on-site bakery and ended with either a Berny burger take away or a meal in the amazing restaurant.  We stayed on site other than an afternoon wander down to the nearest town one day and we had ice cream at any opportunity.

I took too many pictures, I always do,  but I have so many memories captured and I love every one of them. 

baths out on the decking are an important part of holidays and Eurocamp offer highchairs, cots, baby baths, potties and bed rails for hire.

The boys asked to go for a dip on our way home from dinner one night and I couldn't think of a good reason why they shouldn't. They loved splashing about as the sun went down.

Cora started to get her confidence with walking with lots of encouragement from her brothers.

This photo is only metres from our mobile home, they all spent ages just sitting and watching the lake and the wildlife.

You would not believe how fascinating a drain can be when you are two and a quarter.

My child who has never ridden a bike before was riding down the road with no stabilisers after only a couple of lessons.  He still has some learning to do, but he was so proud of himself and we couldn't have been more proud of him.

Our week in France was courtesy of Eurocamp but all thoughts and opinions are completely my own.

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