# Aire at Grand Fort Phillipe



## jumar (Dec 30, 2010)

*Aire at Gravelines.*

Hi everyone,

has anyone of you overnighted at Pt.Fort Phillippe, near Gravelines. France. Its in the Aires book, but is new to me.

Thanks. Jumar


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

I have moved this from the thread about difficulties with subscribing???? :? 

We have stayed at Grand Fort Phillipe and it's OK, but it's just a car park on quite a considerable slope. No facilities at all and a tortuous route to get there, especially if you follow the Tom Tom . . . well, ours anyway!The swine took us along the estuary road which was a single lane with no passing places for part of the way!!! 8O 8O 

The Aire at Gravelines is in a pretty spot, and there is a Borne just a little way away for replenishing and dumping. Much easier to get to from the Dunkerque port.

Dave


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## 113016 (Jun 5, 2008)

*Re: Aire at Gravelines.*



jumar said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> has anyone of you overnighted at Pt.Fort Phillippe, near Gravelines. France. Its in the Aires book, but is new to me.
> 
> Thanks. Jumar


Hi Jumar.
We have overnighted at Grand Fort Phillippe and we much prefer it to Gravelines, although Gravelines is a nice spot overlooking the marina.
It is at the mouth of the estuary.
It has no facilities and is just a dedicated parking area for motorhomes but the view is nicer in our opinion than Gravelines and is more French. By that I mean that it has not been taken over by the English.
I understand that the aire at Pt Fort P has no view,
Zebedee, we had no difficulty in finding either Grand or Petit and we were never on single track roads. Maybe you should throw away the Tom Tom   lol

The beach is a 5 minute walk to the left of the photographs.

This is Grande Fort Phillippe and Pt Fort P is across the water.


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

*Re: Aire at Gravelines.*



Grath said:


> Zebedee, we had no difficulty in finding either Grand or Petit and we were never on single track roads. *Maybe you should throw away the Tom Tom*   lol


What a sensible suggestion! :lol: :lol: :lol:

What annoyed me most was that the damn thing took us back via a perfectly good route, so why did it mess us about on the way there . . . in the pitch dark??? 8O 8O

Forgot to mention earlier that there's a Super-U on the approach to Grand Fort Philippe (_the proper one_!! :roll: ) where the diesel was cheaper than most other places locally.

Pity about the slope. It's OK right next to the estuary, but those places fill up first of course.

Dave


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## 113016 (Jun 5, 2008)

*Re: Aire at Gravelines.*



Zebedee said:


> Grath said:
> 
> 
> > Zebedee, we had no difficulty in finding either Grand or Petit and we were never on single track roads. *Maybe you should throw away the Tom Tom*   lol
> ...


Hi Zebedee.
I think you are referring to the single track road opposite the Graveline aire. We did not go that way but followed the signs.
We have a Garmin and I must say that it also tries to send us down some silly routes, but on the whole it is pretty good.
Yes it is on a bit of a slope and to get level the wedges will be required.
There is also an excellent take away with super large portions next door.
To be honest we like both Gravelines and Gd Ft P, it just comes down to choices.
The Super U is quite a large one but we did not reckon much of the wine choice. There is also a good Aldi


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## busterbears (Sep 4, 2010)

Hi Jumar - we overnighted there 10th August on our way back to the tunnel, very pretty spot, got there from the A16 no prob following the directions in the aires book, facilities are not at the aire but at a campsite nearby (signed) it said in the book it was for 15 vans but by 10ish at night there was at least 25 crammed in, we arrived about teatime and got parked on the flat along the side of the marina, it was a really windy night and we did wobble a lot (the van, not us) but it was ideal as near the tunnel. The vans parked in the bays all needed level blocks due to the slope.


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## drcotts (Feb 23, 2006)

Hi
I am a bit confused as I thought the air at Fort Phillipe was the one that is beside the actual fort. the ones shown in the photos dont seem like the Fort Aire. I have stayed on the one near the fort and its got a red Gravel parking area next to the river but its a long strip only long enough for one van and not like the Car Park Shown.
Not that bad a slope.

There are no facilities on that one ether except waste disposal but its a 5 min walk to the town. 

I dont remember driving down any bad roads either..and i have a Garmin.

The one i say on is 2 min walk to the Marina and "appears" to be on the other side of the river
Are there 2 aires then?

Phill


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## 113016 (Jun 5, 2008)

Hi Guys.
My Aire photo definitely is Grande Phillippe with Petite Phillippe and the light house over the river and in the back ground
There are signs stating M/H parking at the location shown at Grande Phillippe. 
The Aire book refers to Petite Phillippe
We have used the aire at Grande Phillippe a couple of times and also we have used Gravelines at least twice. Both are nice although Phillippe is much quieter.
There is parking adjacent to the fort and along the road but there are signs stating NO Campervans.
The parking area shown seems to be the only place where the council want you to park, but it is not a problem as you can see.
The Fort and beach is less than a 5 minute walk away.


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

Grath said:


> Hi Guys.
> My Aire photo definitely is Grande Phillippe with Petite Phillippe and the light house over the river and in the back ground


Grath is quite correct. :wink:

The Aire that is usually referred to as "_The Gravelines Aire_" is on the lighthouse side of the river. That's the one with the Borne facilities a little way away, and clearly signposted.

The "Aire" at Grand Fort Philippe is not an Aire. It's a Campervan Stop and has no facilities anywhere near . . . it's just a car park in fact.

There was a Lidl a few hundred metres away, but unfortunately that has closed down. Bit of a bummer as we needed milk a few weeks ago and found it all boarded up. 8O

Dave


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## 113016 (Jun 5, 2008)

Zebedee said:


> Grath said:
> 
> 
> > Hi Guys.
> ...


Hi Zebedee, thanks for the confirmation. 
Shame about the Lidl, I take it you mean the one across the river nearly opposite to the Graveline aire? We used it on 21/7/11.
Yes Grande Phillippe is little more than a car park but it has a nice view and the French go there. 
We also consider Gravelines to have a nice view but it tends to be mainly UK vans and although the borne is near it is not on site.
I suppose it depends on if you need or do not need the borne!
One further point to help folks that don't know the places. The Graveline aire is across the river on the lighthouse side but it is about 2 km up river (I have not measured this and it is a guess)


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## 113016 (Jun 5, 2008)

The Graveline Aire










The Graveline overspill area


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

Grath said:


> Shame about the Lidl, I take it you mean the one across the river nearly opposite to the Graveline aire?)


No - there was one in the middle of Grand Fort Philippe, as shown on the Autoroute map below, just a couple of hundred metres from the car park "Aire".

_(Just for interest, the narrow road we found ourselves on (in the pitch dark) is the Boulevard de la Republique. How the SatNag managed to choose it I can't imagine - and it is certainly not a boulevard, especially when there are several huge lorries parked there. 8O 8O )_

.


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## 113016 (Jun 5, 2008)

Zebedee said:


> Grath said:
> 
> 
> > Shame about the Lidl, I take it you mean the one across the river nearly opposite to the Graveline aire?)
> ...


Thanks, I never knew there was a Lidl there and I wrongly assumed it was the one at Gravelines that you were referring to as it is not in exactly a nice location.
Our Garmin has also sent us down some silly roads, but it is useful for the last couple of miles into an aire. We went down it a few years ago, although in daylight. It has a couple of passing places (from memory)
From your map, I think that Boulevard de la Republique is the one that runs alongside the river that you can see opposite the Graveline Aire.
As I am quite used to driving over on the European mainland, (ex International trucker ) I tend to rely on a good map for the journeys and the sat nav as I get near to a location. Most of the RN main roads I know but not all of the scenic routes.
Works for me!


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## Spwt (Jun 27, 2007)

We've stayed by the Marina in Petit Phillipe several times over the years ( BTW you're not supposed to park on the quayside by the boats, only on the gravelly bit, the fishermen'boat owners have complained).

But this July tried the car park in Grand Fort Phillipe.
No facilities, but great fish market next door.

Ventured into the Dundee pub a couple of times too. Just up the road towards the sea.
A real locals bar and perhaps not for the faint hearted...


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## Losos (Oct 28, 2009)

Grath, nice photos of the Graveline Marina aire, this is the one I use (Can't be doing with the extra time and hassle to get to Grande or Petite Fort Philipe)

Also I found it's only five minutes walk to the town square where there is a handy little mini market just off the square so that makes the marina preferable to me since I usually need some grub before setting off across Europe.


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## Skar (Jul 13, 2010)

Spwt said:


> BTW you're not supposed to park on the quayside by the boats, only on the gravelly bit, the fishermen'boat owners have complained.


You can park on the quayside, no problem, but not between the boulders which is clearly marked as for boat owners only.


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