Les vallades question

[rainydogday]

Off next week. Very excited! Any recommendations for days out. Caves, kayak tours, towns or castles to explore? Also nearest big supermarket etc x

One of our favourite sites, though only been once and so there'll be other people with much more valuable information.
From memory, decent supermarkets are about a ten minute drive away. We visited the caves - the one that was a pain was www.grottederouffignac.fr/index.php/en/ because you couldn't buy tickets online and had to queue for that same day them come back later. It may have changed now. Well worth visiting though. www.gouffre-proumeyssac.com/en/2-visites-du-gouffre/ was completely different and had a light show.
Make sure you canoe down the dordogne.

We left visiting Domme until the last day which was a mistake as we only had an hour and I'd have liked to spend a lot longer there.

There is a carrefour in Siorac just over the river, but think there's also supermarkets in Le Bugue which is the other way.

Would add Domme, Sarlat, Beynac, and on a Wednesday, they do a lovely evening in Belves where you can buy foods from a variety of stalls, eat it at picnic benches and they also have entertainment.

Thsnks! Taking lots of notes!

Are the campsite owners/reception helpful with recommendations of trips etc? Thinking of booking an organised kayak trip down the dordonge, but there is so many to choose from online!

Yes we booked a canoe trip through the campsite and it was great. The foodie evening in Belves is great as Prof mentioned. We are lazy campers but did some local trips to caves. Sarlat is a nice day out too. If you're anything like us you may find that the lake and pool takes up a lot of your time! Enjoy it, it's a great site 😀

Thanks for the tips! We've just spent a week at Les Valades and loved it! Booked the pitch with own toilet/shower. Thought the site was great - very peaceful and kids v happy with lake. I was surprised that the swimming pool was €4 per person per day so we gave it a miss.
Had a day out at Sarlat, canoed down the Dordogne (stopping for lunch at Beynac), visited the caves at Gouffre de Proumeyssac, and had dinner at the food market in Belves.

We also survived a terrific thunderstorm one night which brought down quite a few trees, including one on top of a caravan!!
Will def be going again. Did you have a good time Rainydogdays?

Glad you enjoyed it. We did that canoeing.
I'm shocked and disappointed that they now charge for the swimming pool though! We did both the pool and the lake - I'd have found it hard to pick one over the other. They've extended the pool though so maybe need to recoup some money?

I've just had a nosey on the website and there's no mention of charging for the pool either

Wow 4 euros! How do they monitor that? That would put me off returning TBH, as it soon adds up as a family. It should be included in the pitch I think. I haven't stayed on any other site where the pool hasn't been included. Even municipals often give you a token if you stay.

We are there now and haven't paid extra for the pool! I did read that somewhere but I read it as that is what guests or visitors coming to see campers pay. If you see what I mean?! Lovely place. We are quite shady in the trees near the reception. We look longingly at the fancy new lodges up on the hill. We found the trip down a bit stressful. All good one the first leg to Poiters as on nice toll roads. Then from Poiters to Les Valades on horrible N roads with massive lorries and very busy. Any good ideas of a easier route preferably toll on the way back? We did the canoe trip, Castelnaud-la-Chapelle, the big caves and a few smaller ones, Domme, st Cyprein was lovely with the flowers. We are planning on Belvès evening market on a Wednesday which is our last night. Really liked the area and very beautiful, but stressful with SATnav and grumpy children and DH! Thinking camping trips may have run their course......I think the chalets look really nice!

We stayed on pitch 40 which was good for some things but a long way to the pool and the lake! We couldn't have done the trip in one go, but were towing a caravan so slower traveling anyway.
Are you going to calais?

No to Cherbourg but have a stop over in Poiters.

We found the Poitiers-Audrix part the worst too. From memory there just isn't a straightforward motorway bit. We came down from the east of Poitiers and it was a popular lorry route. Last time, we certainly via Bordeaux but that was not great either, very queued although it might be different on a Thursday. Next time, I'd consider going to the west of Poitiers, via Ruffec.

Glad to hear that pool is still free though ( puts LV back on list!)

Ah we came from calais and went via Paris, limoges and brive. The roads were fine that way.

We were at Les Vallades 2 weeks ago. @Pinotpony I think you have misread the information booklet. The pool charge is for visitors of people staying at the campsite NOT for people staying on the campsite! We used the pool and lake every day.
It was a nice campsite. Not sure it lives up to the mumsnet hype- not my favourite French campsite but I would def go for another site with lake and canoes if we can find one and wouldn’t rule out going again. The toilets were not up to scratch....... often dirty, no soap and not even hand basins in the ones nearest our pitch. We did have a great time...... not dissing the site but MN expectations are high.

We were in one of the xl deluxe pitches with the little wooden gazebo things which was not great as there was no shade and it was 37 degrees....... also the site is extremely hilly which is tricky if you have mobility issues or a pushchair or an elderly dog, which we have all three so made moving around the site in the heat very tricky.

Mental I get what you mean about the no soap in loos thing but we have also just returned from another site in France which was the same. At les valades I asked the owners about it and they said it was because kids would pump loads of soap out and it would make the floors slippery. Not good enough in my opinion. We have always camped in the shade on the left as you approach the pool and lake so never had issues with heat or direct sun. Agree the site is difficult terrain for many.

Sorry meant we have always camped on the right - not the left as you approach pool and lake 😀

I can't think of a French site I've stayed on that has provided soap. A fair few don't even supply loo roll which is an utter PITA to remember to take. There was one place we stopped that had a bar soap stuck to a stuck out peg, reminded me of the roller towels you sometimes find in community halls but I was glad of the soap.
We have camped up near reception which is much shadier, but then you have to remember everything to take down to the pool, getting there and remembering goggles is like aaaarrrgh! There were a number, I remember who drove. But yes, it's a hilly site, even scooters and bikes don't really help.

Yes we have encountered no soap and no loo roll before in France but the loos were pretty grim too. I think because we were close to the pool/ lake the toilets were heavily used throughout the day so got in a state probably with unsupervised kids and could have done with extra scheduled cleans.

We still had a fab time and I wouldn’t rule out going again..... was mainly posting to clear up the wrong info upthread about having to pay for the pool. We envied the pitches surrounded by trees close to the pool....... they looked much better. Although this year has been exceptionally hot and if it hadn’t been 37 degrees we might not have been so desperate for shade