The morning trudge to the campsite bathrooms turned into one of the surprising
highlights of the day. The sun coming up behind the jagged Picos de Europa
mountains, turning them salmon-pink, heralded the start of another beautiful
day. The Spanish lavatories were ultra-clean and there was even soft paper.
By midday, the mercury was bursting out of the thermometer. So the next few
hours were spent swimming in the pool and resting under the shady trees,
taking a drive in the air-conditioned hire car or eating juicy watermelon on
the sheltered picnic tables.
Most evenings we sat outside our tents, plastic plates balanced on our knees
after heating a saucepan supper on the small gas stove. Our three boys —
Matthew, 9, Douglas, 7, and Alistair, 4 — did the ritual post-meal ant kill
and joined in a game of football with the neighbours. Around us, Spanish
families sat comfortably on their chairs, eating from tables with electric
lighting, fridges humming and even a television blaring in some cases.
We had arrived in northern Spain at the height of the holiday season with a
map and couple of rucksacks for a family fly-drive camping holiday.
We had borrowed a couple of old, but strong, tents from the local Scout group
and the steel poles made up most of the weight. It was a good thing that the
five sleeping bags and roll mats we were also carrying were fairly light.
We had decided to avoid the annual road trek to the south of France or Spain
and book cheap flights on the internet. We were not alone. Research carried
out by Keycamp Holidays revealed that 20 per cent of its customers now make
their own travel arrangements, by air, compared with 4 per cent ten years
ago.
So, one winter’s night, after a couple of glasses of wine, we booked a flight
to Bilbao via the British Airways website.
Normally the cost of flights in school holidays is prohibitive, but we found a
return flight from Gatwick in August for five of us for £591.50. It was
nearly summer before we got around to researching hotels and villas. By
then, we found that they were too expensive or fully booked — so it was
camping or spending two weeks in a hotel 160km (100 miles) from the sea.
The main question was: would we be able to get into the campsites at the
busiest time of the year? We picked up a guidebook and rang a few
Spanish-run campsites along the northern Spanish coast. Most spoke some
English and said that as long as we arrived early we would get a pitch.
It turned out to be fine; if we didn’t like the campsite or the neighbours
were too noisy, we packed up and moved on somewhere where there was a strict
“no noise or driving cars after midnight” policy.
Travelling west of the ports of Bilbao and Santander, we stayed by the sea in
Cantabria before spending most of the second week in the Picos de Europa
national park.
All the campsites were clean and friendly and, provided we turned up by the
early afternoon, we always had a space. After a week on the hot beaches, we
decided to head for the cooler temperatures of the mountains.
We looked at the map and headed inland for Potes and the park, with its
massive limestone mountain range with thick beech and oak woods. We had
planned to return to the beach after a few days in the mountains, but we
enjoyed the spectacular national park so much that we found two excellent
campsites with swimming pools and stayed put.
The first, in Mieses, near Potes, had a top star-rating which made it a few
euros more expensive. But it was worth it for the wonderful views of the
mountains and even better from the boys’ point of view as it had a large
swimming pool, including a fenced-off toddler paddling pool.
It made a great base for exploring the park, where we took a stunning
cable-car ride up the Fuente Dé mountain. One highlight was a foggy drive
into the heart of the mountains to Lago de Enol, where all we could hear was
cowbells clanking.
The mist rolled back and we went for a walk around the clear mountain lake,
making our way through the grazing goats. “Where’s the troll?” said
Alistair, who had been listening to The Three Billy Goats Gruff
cassette.
Continued on page 2()We came home and bought two lightweight
tents in the sales. As we can no longer squeeze into one family room, the
cost of buying two hotel rooms means that the budget dictates holidays under
canvas for the next few years.
NEED TO KNOW
Getting there: The Knight family booked return flights from Gatwick
to Bilbao on BA (www.britishairways.com) on the internet, paying £591.50 for
five. EasyJet (www.easyjet.co.uk) also flies to Bilbao and Asturias, Ryanair
(www.ryanair.com) to Santander.
Where to stay: La Viorna (00 34 942 732021,
www.liebanaypicosdeeuropa.com) charges £24 a night for family of five.
Getting around: Car hire with Alamo (0870 4004596,
www.alamo.co.uk) costs about £275 for a week
OTHER OPERATORS
Keycamp (0870 7000123, www.keycamp.co.uk) offers seven nights at Camping
Château des Ormes in Brittany. The cost starts at £743 for a family of two
adults and up to four children in a four-bedroom supertent.
Camping Life (0870 1976953, www.campinglife.co.uk) has seven nights for a
family of four at Camping Port de Plaisance near Bénodet (Brest or Nantes
airports). From £668 for up to six people.
Eurocamp (0870 3667552, www.eurocamp.co.uk) offers seven nights for two adults
and three children at Camping Toscolano near Lake Garda. The cost is £618 in
high season.
Canvas Holidays (01383 629000, www.canvasholidays.co.uk) has seven nights in a
fully equipped tent for two adults and up to four children at St Aygulf on
the Côte d’Azur (nearest airport Nice). Cost from £733.
Vacansoleil (0870 0778779, www.vacansoleil.co.uk) offers accommodation-only
packages at campsites near airports servicing budget flights. Seven nights
at Camping Marina di Venezia at Punta Sabbioni (Venice/Treviso airport)
costs from £726 for a family of six.
Yes, google "camping costa brava" and you'll get a nice list.
If you want a REAL camping still on the Costa Brava visit http://www.campingneus.cat very very quiet: squirrels, the forest and only 850m from the beach & http://www.campingsantpol.cat have wooden bungalows for glamping glamour camping
eugenia, girona, Spain
Googling "campsites in northern Spain" worked for us! We have found a lovely site 50 miles west of Santander, with beautiful beaches nearby.
Paul King , Bath,
Sounds great. Unfortunately, the most important piece of information is missing.
What guidebook did they use to find the campsites?
k, a, p