Come on!” I shouted while ramming a bottle of wine and two glasses into a rucksack.
It was our last night at La Rive camping resort in Biscarrosse, on the southwest coast of France.
With a few wispy white clouds streaking across the sky and very little breeze, it was going to be a beautiful sunset and I wasn’t going to miss it.
We (husband and children William, 12, and Charlotte, nine) set off at a pace through the resort set within a pine forest, then across the wooden boards to the beach. La Rive, meaning “the shoreline”, gets its name from its prime spot on the eastern edge of the vast Lac de Biscarrosse et de Parentis.
From its sandy, west-facing beach, the sunsets are dazzling, with windsurfers and sailboats dramatically silhouetted and framed by the trees on the opposite side of the water.
Sitting on the lake shore watching the spectacle with a glass of smooth Bordeaux from the famous wine region just up the coast was absolute bliss. A proper happy holiday moment that will stay with me for a long time.
We’d spent a lot of time at the lake during our week at La Rive last summer. It had everything – a watersports centre with hammocks and ice creams, beach volleyball, pegs for fishing on the creeks, picnic tables, soft sand for sandcastles, warm shallow water for safe swimming – and it was all within a three-minute walk of our three-bedroom Azure mobile home with decking and gas barbecue which we’d booked through Eurocamp. It’s one of its newest models and it even had a dishwasher – deep joy!
It was here we’d tried stand-up paddle boarding for the first time. This trendy pastime looked so serene when I’d Googled it and it probably would have been if we’d not picked the windiest day of the week to do it.
I could barely lift the board without being spun around like a weather vane. A wobbly mess on the water, standing up felt like I was always half a second from disaster. Still, we had some laughs doing it – what’s a holiday abroad if there aren’t a few embarrassing tales to tell?
Not only special for its scenic lakeside spot, La Rive also lives up to its five-star rating for its facilities. There’s a huge swimming pool complex in the centre, with outdoor and indoor pools, lazy river, wave machine, splash park with chutes, water cannons and tipping buckets, and the biggest hit of them all – the river rapids.
Forty-five seconds of plunging torrents, chicanes, buffers and uncontrolled barrel-rolling down a widely proportioned water slide is hilarious – if you’re 12. As a 47-year-old who’s self-conscious in an M&S cossie and sticks to gentle breaststroke to avoid getting wet hair, I volunteered to be the one to wave at the kids from the side as they swept past. “No, I don’t mind, really, you go and have fun..!”
Travelling down in our own car, via Brittany Ferries’ Portsmouth to St Malo service, we’d brought everything we needed for our holiday, including our body boards.
With its crashing Atlantic waves, this area of southwest France is renowned for its surfing and we spent a couple of afternoons being pounded by the beach breakers at Biscarrosse Plage.
We’d also spent a lovely day at Arcachon, an upmarket seaside town known for its sailing and oyster farming.
It is also home to Europe’s tallest sand dune, the 350ft high Dune du Pilat. You can approach what has been described as the “menacing sand wall” and “sand monster” from the rear, through the dense pine forest, then climb an immense set of steps to the top. Not easy, very sweaty, and you’ll need all your stamina, but there is a rope to steady yourself.
Or you can approach it from the north side through a posh residential area set within the pine trees. We parked on the Avenue des Dunes, then went through a gap in the fence for a slightly easier climb because you’re already part of the way up.
From the ridge at the top of the dunes there’s a spectacular 360-degree view of the Cap Ferret peninsular, Arcachon Bay and the sandbank Banc d’Arguin.
North of the campsite is the classical port city of Bordeaux on the Garonne River. We parked in the underground car park by Place de la Bourse, its historic and UNESCO-listed square, then strolled into the narrow lanes of the city which are bulging with beautiful buildings such as the Saint-André Cathedral and the Grand Théâtre, plus there’s an impressive collection of art museums.
While you’re there, do try the Bordeaux canele cake, a small fluted sponge with a crispy outer-edge flavoured with rum and vanilla. We bought ours from La Toque Cuivree on Place Gambetta. If you like your wine, visit La Cite du Vin – the design of its vast distinctive building is inspired by a swirling glass of wine. Or cross the river to the Darwin Ecosystem, a successful regeneration project of a former army barracks now full of art, shopping and dining, all powered by green energy.
After all that walking, a paddle in the Miroir d’Eau, a spectacular fountain which alternates between a mirror and a misting effect every few minutes, had an amazingly restorative effect on the feet.
Back at the camp there was always plenty of action to join in with, from table tennis in the twilight, pinball in the games room and the camp entertainment, which really is in a league of its own.
One night, we got soaked to the skin at a 90s-style foam party, featuring glow sticks, ultra-violet lights and the entire Spice Girls
back catalogue.
La Rive also has an extremely cool two-tier circular theatre where entertainment staff put on professional singing and dancing shows with full costumes, lights and audience participation. Every night it was full with camp guests enjoying Disney medleys, Lady Gaga and Britney tributes and magicians – the shows really are worth getting a good
seat for.
We’d done so much on our action-packed French vacation. After days spent surfing, sightseeing and climbing enormous sand dunes, those moments of calm, sipping smooth vin rouge by that breathtaking lake, were savoured all the more.
Book the holiday
Stay there: A week in a two-bedroom Comfort Vista mobile home (sleeps 6) with air-conditioning at the five-star La Rive resort in Biscarrosse, Landes, France, is £257 per party, arriving on May 6, and £1,433.25 arriving July 22 with Eurocamp. Book at eurocamp.co.uk.
Get there: Brittany Ferries sails daily from Portsmouth to St Malo, with an overnight southbound sailing, and a northbound return by day. Spring (March-May) fares start from £582 return each way for a car and family of four, including an en suite cabin on the outward overnight sailing, brittany-ferries.co.uk.
More information: For information on the Bordeaux Cite Du Vin wine museum visit laciteduvin.com.
You can also find out more at bordeaux-tourism.co.uk.
