Self-catering in France - how much actual cash to take?

[Lovage]

There's four of us (2 adults, kids of 8 and 5), we'll be there for 2 and a bit weeks, we won't be eating out much (we're veggie, which is a right pain in France). We'll do some food shopping in supermarkets (=credit card, Nationwide = cheap) but I hope quite a lot of shopping for food in markets and village bread van = cash. Days out I think will mostly be on plastic (things like entry to attractions and museums) but we'll need some cash for ice-creams and cafe stops. What else might we need cash for?

How much would you take for this kind of set up?

why cant you just get cash out of the bank?

Because you pay much more that way - 2% fee and £1 charge per withdrawal on my card, which is not a particularly bad one. You can check fees here: www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money#checker

I know taking the cash with you is a risk, but my initial guess is that we are probably only in the £500 ballpark, so it's not a total disaster if it gets nicked (I mean, obviously it would be bad and cast a horrible pall over the holiday, but it's a risk I don't mind taking, especially as we'd do obvious things like not keep it all in one place)

i would just take a lot out half way through.
one pound per withdrawal ? i think you can cope?

I usually get out a couple of 100 at a time. The charge is nothing really in the scheme of things. DH have half each so risk of losing the lot is avoided.