# Touring France or Devon and Cornwall ? , Mid September 2013



## alitone (Jun 17, 2009)

We have toured some of France before and found the country fantastic for Motorhomes with all the Ayres to stay at ( many are free and some have hook up ). We also want to do Devon and Cornwall at some stage but feel even with the Ferry costs over to France will be more interesting , less cost , and feel more like a holiday.

Any advice on how Devon and Cornwall stacks up ? > By the way we live in the Tyne Tees area which is according to an idiot in the house of lords.. in the "Desolate North" only fit for fracking. 

So will we be dissapointed with Devon and Cornwall and should we go to France ? Any advise please


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## vicdicdoc (May 14, 2005)

Devon & Cornwall is nice-expensive but nice, i and many others refuse to pay the 'holiday season' rates for campsites, & as there are very very few places you can overnight cheap or free-we head for France & its aires.


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

If you have the time, Camping de la Plage or Des Mures on the mediterranean beach front get my vote.

And from around €16 a night inc EHU for 2 Adults

Bargain.

TM


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## Snunkie (Mar 21, 2011)

Devon and Cornwall are of course beautiful but a nightmare to park anywhere, campsites are overpriced and the roads are very narrow.

I think it would work out cheaper and easier to find places to stop in France. Having done both options (I have family in Devon) France was definitely cheaper and easier for us

Lucy


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## 91502 (May 1, 2005)

teemyob said:


> If you have the time, Camping de la Plage or Des Mures on the mediterranean beach front get my vote.
> 
> And from around €16 a night inc EHU for 2 Adults
> 
> ...


Gets my ote too, 36 degrees yesterday with overnight dropping to 18.5 in the hills where we are and I am told they are forecasting a god September.

James


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## 96299 (Sep 15, 2005)

Hi

We have recently come back from touring round Devon & Cornwall and there really are some very pretty places to visit.. They are indeed lovely counties but, as someone said earlier, it is mostly narrow roads, you just got to take your time and you will be fine. We have a Burstner Argos and only had the one scare where the road was very very narrow, so after that we made sure to cross reference the sat nav with a our trusty truckers atlas and make adjustments to the sat nav where necessary.

Having went in August, it was really busy, so next time we go it will be definitely out of season. 

Steve


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## RabnSueH (Aug 29, 2013)

What is the best way to find all the Aires and where they are? 
We are setting out on our first venture abroad soon but finding it difficult to find the best place to stay and also how to book in advance?

Any help would be appreciated


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## blackbirdbiker (Mar 12, 2007)

Rip off Britain.....nah, go to France, much more friendlier cheaper and easier to park up in their Aires.

Keith


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## blackbirdbiker (Mar 12, 2007)

RabnSueHiggs said:


> What is the best way to find all the Aires and where they are?
> We are setting out on our first venture abroad soon but finding it difficult to find the best place to stay and also how to book in advance?
> 
> Any help would be appreciated


Get the book All the Aires France..brilliant

Keith


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## Ozzyjohn (Sep 3, 2007)

JP said:


> Gets my ote too, 36 degrees yesterday with overnight dropping to 18.5 in the hills where we are and I am told they are forecasting a god September.
> 
> James


James,

Does this mean we should all pray (for good weather?) in September?

Sorry, I'll get my coat 

Regards,
John


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## WildThingsKev (Dec 29, 2009)

We live in Cornwall so never use sites here but I just looked up a nice nearby site to see what their rates are in September and it is £5 per adult: that's it, unless you want hookup which an additional £3.

Doesn't seem a rip-off to me?


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

WildThingsKev said:


> We live in Cornwall so never use sites here but I just looked up a nice nearby site to see what their rates are in September and it is £5 per adult: that's it, unless you want hookup which an additional £3.
> 
> Doesn't seem a rip-off to me?


The issue for me with a motorhome would be access to beaches and beach car parks.

No such issue around Grimaud as many of the sites are around the beach, if not 3 of them actually on the beach.

Safe cycle paths along the coast too.

Devon and Cornwall is a nightmare for parking. Height barriers and dangerous roads to cycle on.

In a camper I might of considered it. In a motorhome, no.

TM


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

You dont say how long your going for which is an important factor.

There are several things to weigh up.

If you only have a couple of weeks then your not going to get far in France unless you are prepared to have several long drives. The best bits of France IMO are hundreds of miles from Calais. Normandy and Brittany are probably the nearest worth visiting again IMO.

Then if you want good weather you need to be well down south of the Loire. If you have weeks and weeks this is the direction I would go.

However. Do you also have secondary transport? We carry a scooter and have toured Devon and Cornwall a few times. Dead simple if you have secondary transport as there are some fabulous CL and CS Sites around a fiver a night. We love it there. IF your fit and have push bikes, again CL touring could be the answer.

Dont get me wrong, I much prefer France. I am in the Ardeche right now and its stunning. I live up near you as well though and wouldnt consider crossing the channel for less than a month but thats just me.


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## Zozzer (Aug 13, 2006)

There was a councillor from Cornwall on TV the other night who was asking for change in the Highway Code. He wanted a warning sign to tell people to ignore their Satnav's. My answer to that would be spend money widen the roads out and chop down those ludicrously high hedges on single track 'B' road.

I don't go to Cornwall or Devon unless I really have to, Europe is so much cheaper and more beautifull.


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## WildThingsKev (Dec 29, 2009)

There are plenty of places to park along the coast in the south west but equally plenty of places which are difficult to access. However, mile for mile, there are far more scenic spots to stop off at than you will find along the French (and Spanish for that matter) Mediterranean coasts which I find very boring and overdeveloped.
I was just watching Countryfile with a piece on Watersmeet near Lynmouth, lovely around there too, and very few stretches of coast anywhere in Europe like it.

OK can't argue with the weather but September is usually pretty good down here. As Barry says, less than 2 weeks you will have to do a lot of driving to enjoy the best of France. Much much less traffic around here already than last week.

We are off to Italy and Sardinia for 2 months in October, hoping to find some nice spots by the beaches there but not expecting the quaintness of home, just different.

Kev


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

WildThingsKev said:


> There are plenty of places to park along the coast in the south west but equally plenty of places which are difficult to access. However, mile for mile, there are far more scenic spots to stop off at than you will find along the French (and Spanish for that matter) Mediterranean coasts which I find very boring and overdeveloped.
> I was just watching Countryfile with a piece on Watersmeet near Lynmouth, lovely around there too, and very few stretches of coast anywhere in Europe like it.
> 
> OK can't argue with the weather but September is usually pretty good down here. As Barry says, less than 2 weeks you will have to do a lot of driving to enjoy the best of France. Much much less traffic around here already than last week.
> ...


I agree about the coasts. I think we have pretty much dipped in to just about every area of coastline of France from time to time and the only bit I really love is Normandy and Brittany. Brittany is very much similar to Devon and Cornwall (well its not that far). It just has more Aires than any other region of France and therefore is easier.

Weather about the same. When we toured Cornwall and Devon for a month in September a few years ago it was lovely. Quiet but not dead. Similarly we did the same in Brittany last November. Quiet but not dead. Both lovely but again if I only had two weeks I woudl choose Cornwall and Devon or if I was feeling really flush and had a bit longer maybe both! We once looked at going down through Devon and Cornwall and then across from Plymouth to Roscoff (Brittany) then coming back through Brittany and Normandy and Calais. The Brittany ferry is the big expense though.


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## Hawcara (Jun 1, 2009)

There are lots of great sites in Devon and Cornwall and there are lots of expensive ones.
Most of the sites we visit on weekends away are cheap- ish.

There is a site at Looe, near Talland Bay, under £10 a night with elec and toilets, Exmouth National Trust site close to beach, then there is the Fox and Hounds (pub site) right on Dartmoor, bit tatty but cheap-ish. Went to a site CL near Coverack, brilliant £10 a night.

If you ask on here you will find many with ideas for cheap sites


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## Hawcara (Jun 1, 2009)

There are lots of great sites in Devon and Cornwall and there are lots of expensive ones.
Most of the sites we visit on weekends away are cheap- ish.

There is a site at Looe, near Talland Bay, under £10 a night with elec and toilets, Exmouth National Trust site close to beach, then there is the Fox and Hounds (pub site) right on Dartmoor, bit tatty but cheap-ish. Went to a site CL near Coverack, brilliant £10 a night.

If you ask on here you will find many with ideas for cheap sites


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

We lived in Devon for 41 years and I would agree with the comments about narrow lanes and high banks - you can actually see much better from a MH than from a car......

BUT there are no aires and the sites can be expensive and wild camping is difficult to locate with many car parks having height barriers to deter travellers.........

Crossing to France can be expensive if you use the Western routes operated by Brittany Ferries, but Dover - Calais or the tunnel can be much more economic but delivers you to a part of France with perhaps less of interest......

You can tell which I would recommend by where we live now....... :lol: 

The roads are quiet, but of a high standard, there are many aires, wild camping is fairly easy and parking the MH is easy and rarely do you pay for parking in towns.......

Do let us know what you decide........

Use the site reviews on here for some good suggestions of suitable places to use for stays.

Dave


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## alitone (Jun 17, 2009)

RabnSueHiggs said:


> What is the best way to find all the Aires and where they are?
> We are setting out on our first venture abroad soon but finding it difficult to find the best place to stay and also how to book in advance?
> 
> Any help would be appreciated


Its been mentioned before but if you get in touch with

Vicarious books

http://www.vicariousbooks.co.uk/ and buy "All the Ayres of France"

you will find directions to about 2000 places to stay including sat nav directions to each site .....


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## alitone (Jun 17, 2009)

Penquin said:


> We lived in Devon for 41 years and I would agree with the comments about narrow lanes and high banks - you can actually see much better from a MH than from a car......
> 
> BUT there are no aires and the sites can be expensive and wild camping is difficult to locate with many car parks having height barriers to deter travellers.........
> 
> ...


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## GROUNDHOG (Mar 7, 2006)

We live in Cornwall, heading off to France in two days time. Says it all really.

As others have said, couple of weeks come here, longer go to France!

Either is beautiful in parts and ugly in others, in France places are just further apart!


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## 91502 (May 1, 2005)

If you are heading to the south of France then as it is now into September there is no problem with finding places to park for free.
In our village which is only 16km from the coast in the hills above St Tropez there are always MH's on the carpark even in August. 
I have noticed a MH parked by the side of the road as your leaveing St Tropez for Pampelonne beach all week.
Most of the beaches wouldn't be a problem except Pampelonne where you have to pay even in a car and they have height barriers at the moment but the Aire at Bonne Terrace end of Pampelonne or Tamaris could be used even just for day parking.
James


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## Pard (May 1, 2005)

WildThingsKev and barryd's comments make the most sense. It all depends on how long you've got. 

For Cornwall & Devon you'll need to do more planning ahead, and think about using public transport if you want to visit local coves where roads can be narrow and parking limited. The most popular resorts usually have some suitable parking, and it shouldn't be a significant problem in September, but again you might find you're a little farther from the centres than you might get to in a car. Those honeypot places are where you'll find height barriers, but Cornwall has far fewer pro rata than most cities. Because of the sheer volume of tourism, Cornwall has a great many camping sites on or near the coast - but they'll probably cost you more because of that. Plenty of CLs offer cheaper solutions. In west Cornwall you're rarely more than 5-6 miles from the coast anyway.

Of the two, while it pains me to say it, Devon is more friendly to motorhomers than my native Cornwall. On the other hand the roads are broadly less intimidating in Cornwall, and an A road usually provides the width you'd anticipate - not always the case in Devon!

As for France, I love it - but you do cover many more miles as Barry said to get to the best of it.


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