South of France

 

 

When we were younger several holidays were spent in the south of France. The Cote d’Azur was famous for its association with many artists and had become the post war holiday destination for many celebrities The traditional Riviera had become extended further along the coast. In particular Saint Tropez was in the 60’s at the height of fashion and glamour. Although desirable it was far too expensive to even consider for a holiday. St Tropez which is actually quite small is on a sort of peninsula looking to the landward side of the bay. At the end of the peninsula is the famous Pampelonne beach while also there is a quieter less attractive and much smaller beach at Les Salins. The peninsula is hump backed and on top of the hump is the inland village of Ramatuelle. This village is much older and was a fortified village against seaborne pirates. St Tropez itself originally was a tiny harbour but became glamorous by association with French actress Brigitte Bardot.

The French south is a long way, about a thousand miles from the English North West, as we found on our first attempted visit. We diverted because the journey was just too hot and tiresome in a tiny Hillman Imp. We went to the nearer Atlantic Coast near Les Sables d’Olonne and had a great holiday although it didn’t meet our original plan. It did whet our appetite for visiting France.

Having visited and enjoyed the Atlantic coast we next went a bit further south; still not as far as the Riviera. This visit in 1968 went well until the return journey. A bout of bad weather caused us and many others to head north early. The result was a day of traffic jams as we all followed the one major route north from Les Landes. We eventually got on the midnight ferry. I was so exhausted I slept on deck through what was fortunately a fine night.

In France of course they speak French. I was hopeless at French at school ( wasn’t even entered for the final GCE exam ) and Annette wasn’t much better. However we did go to French evening class in Birkenhead. This was surprisingly entertaining and improved our knowledge over two sessions in two successive years. Incidentally evening courses were amazingly cheap in those days unlike today.

We eventually reached the Riviera travelling in greater style in an Austin Maxi. Generations of painters have enthused about the marvellous clarity of light. This combined with the semi tropical plants and the stunning views makes for a great visual experience.

After one visit we then had two children in fairly quick succession and could not return quickly although we resolved to do so when the children were a little older. This time we went to Ste Maxime which is a less famous resort near the foot of the St Tropez peninsula. We camped at “camping des Mures” a largish site outside St Maxime. Driving into St Tropez becomes an endless traffic jam in high season. It was still just about possible to bypass the resort itself and head for the beaches. Although some stretches are private a lot is still open to the general public.

During our camping holiday our children were about 4 and 2. Travelling such a long distance with small children demanded some journey planning. We aimed to set off in the early evening, travel  through London in the small hours and catch the short ( Dover-Calais ) ferry and be heading south as it became light. We then aimed to travel around Paris before the morning peak and then on to  afternoon before staying at a Holiday Inn just before Lyon. Leaving the next day after breakfast we aimed to be at the destination by mid day ready to make camp. In this way we planned not only to minimise traffic in the UK but maximise the travel time when the children were asleep. Return to the UK was by setting off in the evening, travel overnight and aim to return without any other overnight stops to the UK. This gave a full 24 hours of travel leaving the channel port just in daylight and arriving by tea time,. We were living near Birkenhead..

Long car journeys are boring for small children so Annette made light trays fastened on the car seats and populated by small toys. Playmobil was particularly suitable so some new sets were included. Travel down the French autoroute wasn’t cheap but with stopping areas ( Aires) every 10-15miles and service areas maybe every hundred it was fairly straightforward. Because of the cost the traffic was only dense on the free stretch around  Paris. Even in early morning this was hideous and needed great concentration.

We were amused on one journey to be followed for miles by an UK registered car. On one junction we took the wrong exit and had to return to the autoroute. When we stopped at a service area our follower stopped also and thanked us for our navigation. I don’t think they realised they had faithfully followed our mistake.

The French government realises it has a wonderful tourist asset in the Riviera and has been looking to expand much further along the Mediterranean coast towards Spain .They have encouraged the building of new facilities including a new township at La Grande Motte. In this case they have attempted  very futuristic apartments in a pyramidal shape. These large buildings perhaps 10 storeys high make for a striking skyline.

By  Ste Maxime there is a new village, Port Grimaud, built to serve boat owners. Essentially this is a marina with attractive houses built right alongside a sea access mooring. This was convenient walking distance from our camp site. Although brand new it already had a settled appearance. There was one enormous problem that the walkways alongside the canals are unfenced. With two toddlers anxious to walk and explore this was very anxiety inducing. We only managed to resolve the problem by wearing the kids out on the walk then putting them in push chairs around Port Grimaud itself.

In our last visit ( now in a Fiat 131 estate ) we decided to eschew camping and rent a flat. By this time our youngest and latest was about a year old and when not sleeping wanted to practice walking. The traffic to Ste Tropez was even worse so we just went to Pamplelonne beach once. As it happened this was my fortieth birthday. French beach life was quite staggering; topless sunbathing had become fashionable there and I was amazed. It is now normal at practically all Mediterranean resorts but was still rather daring and very French then. I was always impressed by the beach vendors who always seemed to approach in correct language.  They must pick up on quite subtle clues. We spent a lot of time on Ste Maxime beach. When she wasn’t asleep I spent a lot of time walking Frances along the water line. I don’t think I have ever felt more proud than walking slowly along holding the hand of this charming blond little girl. I certainly imagined we were getting a lot of envious looks.

This was our last trip to the south while the children were small. It just wasn’t fair to subject them to such long car journeys. With no air conditioning the heat was oppressive in the car  although so nice when we stopped. As Alison said plaintively as we travelled” It’s a long, long, long way to the seaside”