Le Chateau de Poinsouze, Boussac, Limousin (Camping Sites in France in general)

Member Name: Liz Woods

Product:	Camping Sites in France in general
Date:	26/02/03 (1482 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very relaxing, Great for young families

Disadvantages: Not a lot happening in low season, Not for families with teenagers

This was our first experience of an overseas family holiday (the children then were 4, 2 and 10 weeks), and has made Francophiles of us all! We went at Whitsun (end of May/beginning of June 2001), so we were still technically in the low season and the site had only been open for a week or two. I will admit now, that we cheated and stayed in an excellent mobile home, although some friends of ours stayed in a tent on the same site.

The drive from Calais is about 7-8 hours, plus time for stops etc. On the whole, the drive was fine, except around Paris (without the detailed instructions it would have been very easy to get lost on the various ringroads circling Paris). The last hour or so of the drive is cross-country rather than by Autoroute, but the scenery is breathtaking.

THE SITE

The campsite itself is quite small and is set in the grounds of the Chateau and is run by the Count and Countess, who are often to be seen emptying bins, cleaning up etc - the Countess is also well known for dashing about in her golf cart and taking orders for bread etc for the next day (which can be collected from the small grocery/take-away) - if you miss her, bread can be ordered from Reception.

Most of the site is on very level ground, although you do have small hill to walk up to get to the pool, bar and restaurant. There is a large lake and (I believe) pedallos/boats can be hired and I believe fishing may be allowed.

For the children there is a nice play area which is mostly enclosed (although if you have a determined Houdini they can get out) and is mainly covered in sand - so even if they don't want to play on the swings, slides etc, they will normally be quite happy to play in the sand (and bury their shoes, just to watch you on your hands and knees searching for them)! There is a childrens pool with a very small plastic slide - the pool is about 1-2 feet at its deepest. Although the older children much preferred going
down the waterchut
e and being caught at the end in the separate pool.

The main pool is wonderful, but probably a little small during high season. The waterchute is fun, but again quite small - however it was a great hit with both the adults and children alike. Again in high season it may get a bit crowded.

Although there is a restaurant, we didn't get to try this out, prefering to spend our evenings around the barbeque with some friends who were also staying on the site. The bar seemed a little expensive, although no more than most local bars.

The on-site grocery is quite small, but does stock the basics. There is a medium sized Champion and a rather cramped Atac in Boussac (about 5 minutes drive away). The town of Boussac itself is fairly quiet, although it does get busier on market day. The nearest big hypermarket that we could find was a Carrefour in Gueret.

The shower/toilet block is only a couple of years old and purpose built. Although we didn't need to use it since we were in a mobile home, our friends (who were in a tent) found the facilities excellent and extremely clean.

Since we went out of season, there were not many activities going on and there was limited opening hours for the bar and shop.

In general it is a quiet site, ideally suited to either very young families or for those whose families have grown up and want to take things easy.

Whilst we went with a holiday company (Fleur - www.fleur-holidays.co.uk), it is possible to hire either gites or mobile homes directly or to arrange with them to pitch a tent or a camper. They do have a website (www.camping-de-poinsouze.com), which has some great photos and details of their direct rates (but don't forget you have to add the cost of getting there).

This is definitely a site we would visit again, although being relatively new converts to overseas holidays, we are currently trying out various d
ifferent regions in France.

THE AREA

Boussac is about a mile (at most) from the campsite. Whilst we did not find a huge amount to do there, we did stumble across the Chateau de Boussac, which was well worth a visit. Although we did have a slight language problem (my French is very rusty and the guide's English is non-existent), we did manage to understand most of what was being said. Parts of the Chateau itself date from (if I remember correctly) the 15th or 16th centuries. It is built on the top of a cliff, with the walls continuing upwards from the cliff-face. From the balcony there is a sheer drop, which for those that suffer from vertigo, would be terrifying. However, the views over the valley are breathtaking.

Although there aren't too many shops in Boussac itself, they do have the basics. There are two supermarkets (as mentioned above), a sports shop, tabac, post office, gift shop, hairdressers, shoe shop, pattisserie etc. There are usually two markets a week, in the mornings (I believe on Tuesday and Saturday, although I may be mistaken).

For eating out, a very good and reasonably priced meal can be found at the Pizzeria (sorry can't remember the name) - where many of the locals congregate and they aren't fazed when 4 adults & 6 children turn up for a meal!

Limousin itself is a very lush, green region with a small population. The roads are well maintained and signposted, making driving a pleasure. This is definitely a region worth exploring.

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