Le Grand Large, Les Pieux, Normandy, France

Fantastic location right next to the beach but slightly sheltered by the sand dunes. Sunsets can be watched each night (weather permitting) and it is possible to walk along the coast for quite a way (much further than the kids wanted to) in each direction. However, do be aware (if you are as concerned as we are about these things) that there is a nuclear power station just over the headland plus a reprocessing plant at Cap de La Hague just up the coast - which discharges the 'treated' waste into the sea. For this reason we decided not to try to cram the body board and wetsuits into the car and gave sea swimmming a miss which was a shame as the sea looked very inviting and areas of the beach nearby are watched by lifeguards. The site has two pools although they were often too crowded for proper swimming (it was the school summer holidays). The reception and shop are open long, sensible hours and a visiting fruit and veg market sets up once a week - but you would need to go to Les Pieux (which has two supermarkets as well as other shops and a weekly market on Fridays) for fruit and veg at other times. There was daily entertainment of some kind but this was for specific age groups, so there wasn't something for under 12's each day. There was a fortnightly magic show which also included a scantily-clad dancing lady - I thought rather inappropriate for a family evening but my husband seemed to enjoy it... There is a children's playground and area for football/other games. Whilst there we visited Mont St Michel, Bayeux and Arromanches (one of the D-Day beaches) but it was a long drive to each of these. We also went to Cherbourg which was much nicer than the guidebook claimed. The site has an indoor recreation room for table tennis (take or buy your own bats/balls) and air hockey; there is also a bar and take-away with TV room.