This year we decided to go back to the Dordogne, very (very) close to the campsite we stayed on in 2012. It was in the same village, just closer to the centre and, more importantly, in walking distance to the boulangerie!The campsite, Maisonneuve, was fairly small with 46 pitches and a few mobile homes. It was run by a couple of Brits who moved over a few years ago with their kids.
I think it is definitely one of my favourite campsites - it is pretty quiet, has great views and large pitches. The pool is lovely and the owners very friendly. I think the only drawbacks were that the bar/restaurant/reception area only opened at 6pm, meaning we couldn't have a sly beer at lunchtime or nip in for an early evening drink before dinner. The restaurant was also very popular with the local expats so sometimes it was difficult to get a table.
We again met up with a couple of 'holiday' families who we've met up with for the last few years but this year we arrived a few days before them. I made use of the time by catching up with my reading and managed to get through a good few books!
Once everyone had arrived, we had a few adventures out. One day we got our bikes and rode along the greenway - an old railway line from Saint-Pardoux-la-Riviere to Saint-Jean-de-Cole (described as one of the prettiest villages in the Dordogne). We took a picnic and enjoyed that the village (yes it was pretty pretty) but supplemented it, of course, with ice cream and beer (the photo of the girls was taken in the village).
Another day we decided to hire canoes and go along the river, previous years the kids have been a bit young and we wanted to wait until they were both confident in water. A minibus took us up river and we canoed back to Brantรดme. I would like to say that I enjoyed the adventure but it was bloomin' hard work and the weirs had dried up so were difficult to get over. I was very happy to get my feet back on dry land!
I think one of our favourite days was when we visited Grand Etang de Saint-Estephe, a lake about 40 minutes away from the campsite. It had a beautiful beach and lots of activities. We walked round the it and found a cool boat at the far end. You pulled on wires to bring the boat across the lake. The kids absolutely loved it and went back and fourth a few times - they would have carried on except for another family turning up and wanting a go!The whole holiday was very relaxing and we're already looking forward to next year - the guide books are out trying to find another great location.
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