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Camping Les Fontaines
74210 Lathuile
Haute Savoie
France
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Our first site was to be Camping Les Fontaines, around
510 miles from Calais, a reasonable distance to drive
in one day, but more of that later, first the sea
crossing.
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Seacat |
Our booked crossing from Dover was with Hoverspeed
on one of their fast Seacats. Another first for us
as we have only used normal ferries and the channel
tunnel before (none of us are particularly fond of
being at sea so the quicker the better).
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The ship itself is very 'tardis' like and for the
first time Seacat traveller there will be amazement
that so many vehicles can be stowed in such a 'small'
vessel. Once you have driven aboard you will see how
all vehicles are packed very close together causing
problems for those not quick enough to exit their
car.
The crossing is quick and fairly stable with embarkation
and disembarkation proportionally quicker due to less
traffic as compared with a normal ferry.
There is no restaurant aboard but drinks and light
snacks are available. Those that smoke will be restricted
to a small, outside deck area, one either side of
the ship.
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Rest stop
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Once we had landed at Calais,
we set off for Annecy using the Peage. As is usual on
these long runs of ours, we make use of the frequent
'aires' to stop and rest with a nice cup of tea. |
Camping Les Fontaines is
situated not far from the shore of Lac D'Annecy which
itself is nestled between two long Alpine mountains.
This does cause the sun to be unpredictable. Depending
on where you are located, determines when the sun appears
over the mountains.
We also found the valley to have it's own climate. When
there is large cloud cover across the mountains, it
tends to seal in any weather. Cloud will make the nights
warmer but days colder. |
Camping
Les Fontaines |
Terrace |
Fontaines is not a large
site by normal French standards having around 170 pitches
with about half of the site on terraces.
The centre of the site is near the entrance where the
shop, two pools and reception may be found. |
Our caravan accommodation
was very comfortable and had a very nice covered sun
deck outside.
The Venue Campsite Representative was a very pleasant,
experienced and helpful chap and made us feel at home
immediately.
Other than the odd gas bottle change, we had no need
to call on his services throughout our stay. |
Our caravan |
| Below are some
additional photos from around the site. |
Smaller pool |
Lizzard |
Bird |
Pool area |
Laverie |
Towards reception
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Mountain scene
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Walk uphill
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Turkeys heading for the trampoline
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From the road |
There is a 360-degree panoramic
picture of the swimming pool available. Simply click
the picture to the right and it will open in another
window.
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450k |
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Just 15km from the beautifully preserved medieval
town of Annecy, this is a welcoming campsite located
within peaceful orchards and meadowlands, providing
a superb base from which to explore this beautiful
region.
Excellent facilities are on offer such as the fantastic
waterslide and pool complex, beside which you can
laze around after a spot of sightseeing. This is obviously
a walkers paradise with many itineraries available
or if you fancy a family bike ride take advantage
of the 15km of cycle paths.
The campsite shop provides basic provisions and there
is a large supermarket in the charming town of Doussard,
just 4km away.
There are many bathing areas around the lake - some
with diving platforms and grassy sun bathing areas.
The lake water is clean and excellent for a cooling
dip.
Back at the campsite a barbecue under the stars with
the towering peaks of the Alps silhouetted against
moonlight provides a perfect end to an action packed
day.
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Conclusion
A site suited to those that require either a quiet
holiday or those that want more active pursuits close
at hand.
We found the site clean and tidy and very peaceful.
The temperature could have been higher but allowances
have to be made for the time of year that we visited
(early September).
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| Move on to Week
2 or see our review of Venue
Holidays, the company we booked with. |
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Camping Les Fontaine's website
can be found at
www.campinglesfontaines.com
Email:
info@campinglesfontaines.com
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