Travel Review: Eurocamp's La Croix du Vieux Pont parc, Berny Riviere (From The Northern Echo)

Happy families

2:26pm Friday 10th February 2012 in Reviews By Matt Westcott

Matt Westcott finds it is possible to please all of the people, all of the time, on a Eurocamp trip to France.

THE problem with family holidays, is, well, the family.

Unless your little unit is in a permanent state of bliss, finding activities that everyone is happy to engage in at the same time can be highly problematic.

While our foursome – me, my wife and sons aged five and eight – is hardly dysfunctional, we do have our disagreements.

On a previous visit to Italy, for example, I wanted to go to the Ferrari factory in Modena. My wife wanted to go to Venice. I twisted her arm and she acquiesced only for us to find that, after a three-hour motorway journey on one of the hottest days of the year, we had arrived on a bank holiday and the whole town was in virtual lock-down. You can imagine the scene that followed. There was plenty of red to be seen, but none bore the emblem of the prancing horse.

With that memory still burned on my brain, we opted to go to France last year, to Eurocamp’s La Croix du Vieux Pont resort at Berny Riviere, just a short hop from Paris.

It’s about three hours from Calais and the journey was made far easier by the unblemished and, to a large extent, congestion-free roads between the coast and our destination.

I was later to find out that the two things are not unconnected. The French, it would seem, are largely averse to paying the tolls that fund their super highways, preferring to keep their euros in their pockets and use the longer established and less well-maintained routes.

What that meant for us was that, in the main, our days out were relatively stress-free in terms of getting there and back.

The route to Berny Riviere is somewhat circuitous in nature. Located on the banks of the River Aisne in Royal Compiegne countryside, it is off the beaten track, while remaining within reasonable distance of all that the Champagne region has to offer.

Main roads dissolve into country lanes with fields of arable crops, or in some places, sunflowers, on either side. It many respects it is reminiscent of home, with picturesque villages dotted in between.

Berny Riviere itself is a quaint little settlement with stone-built houses, the occasional boulangerie and bar, and nods to the role the area played in two world wars. This region paid a heavy price and there are numerous memorials and graveyards that are well worth a visit.

A little way down from one of these is the campsite, though calling it that is doing it something of a disservice.

You drive into it and are greeted by a courtyard with reception, bike hire and two shops, including an excellent bakery. It’s not as though you can’t get French bread back home, but baguettes taste better here and there’s just something about wandering down early in the morning, catching the unmistakable whiff of freshly-baked offerings.

Covering a wide area, a great deal of thought has gone into the park’s layout so that, despite the number of families present, you never really feel on top of one another. There are leafy lanes, pleasant cul-de-sacs and areas which offer privacy for those who want it.

OUR mobile home was set in its own little garden, with hedges running around. With three bedrooms, a decent-sized kitchen, living area and bathroom with shower, there was more than enough room for four. On an evening, with the children eventually in bed, it was nice to be able to sit and relax on the sofa or outside on the veranda.

However, you don’t go to a place such as this to admire the inside of your living quarters and here is where La Croix du Vieux Pont really scored highly. If you cannot find anything to do here, whatever your age, sex or interest, then you really aren’t trying hard enough.

There are three lakes, one of which caters for anglers – some, like the stereotypical tourists of Germanic persuasion, bagged their spot in the early hours of each morning.

You can also hire pedaloes, canoes and swim if the mood takes you.

If you fancy some time to yourself, you can send the kids off to the abseiling wall or the archery field for a couple of hours or let them run riot at the numerous kids clubs. There are bikes to hire, a football pitch and basketball court, adventure playgrounds, crazy golf and motorised cars.

And that’s before we get to the swimming pools, of which there are three. Two indoor, one safe enough for even the youngest swimmers, and one outdoor with water features and plenty of space to soak up the sun.

Add to that several restaurants and bars and there’s really no need to leave the site at all.

But if, like us, you like to immerse yourself in what else a country has to offer then there are plenty of towns and cities within easy reach – not to mention Eurodisney, which was so big we had to visit it twice to get the most out of it.

We visited Amiens and called in at the zoo, enjoyed a traditional meal in the hillside town of Compiegne and spent an exhausting day in Paris.

The capital city can be explored on foot, but to see the architecture in all its glory you should take a riverboat.

When you only have a couple of weeks a year in which to put work to the back of your mind, choosing a holiday that suits everyone is of huge importance. It’s easier said than done, but in Berny Riviere and the surrounding area, we think we found the answer.

Travel Facts

Eurocamp offers a wide selection of family camping holidays throughout Europe and the US, featuring a range of activities and age-specific children’s clubs.

They have a wide choice of accommodation, including mobile homes, lodges, modern chalets, bungalows and fully equipped tents.

• A seven-night break from April 13 at Eurocamp’s La Croix du Vieux Pont parc in Berny Riviere, staying in a three-bedroom Horizon mobile home with decking (sleeps eight, maximum four adults), costs from £349 per party, accommodation only, including an early booking discount if booked by February 22.

• For further information on Eurocamp, call 0844-406-0552 or visit eurocamp.co.uk