Guerande

It was time, however, to leave St Malo's  temptations behind and drive around 120 miles to southern Brittany for the first leg of our three centre trip. This had been very easily and efficiently organised through The Caravan Club's overseas sites and travel service.

Our first site was among the trees and close to a lake at Camping L'Etang, near Guerande.

Whilst six-year-old Sophie - and even Elena, at 17 - would happily have played on the bouncy castle or in the pool at L'Etang for hours, we had, after all, come to explore.

Our short drive along the peninsula of the Cote Sauvage to Le Croisic,  took us through the attractive little market town of Batz sur mer. Here we climbed up the 600-year-old  tower of the Eglise St Guenole for a bird's eye view of the bay and its tapestry of salt beds, which stretched as far as the eye could see.

We later drove along a causeway above the salt pans, pausing to watch as their owners’ diligently swept their livelihoods from atop the marshes, scraping it up into piles beside each plot. You could buy bags of the stuff at little stalls on the road  into Le Croisic, where we’d gone in search of midday sustenance.

My menu du jour of a tasty galette of ham, eggs and mushrooms, followed by a very sweet chocolate spread crepe was rather stodgy, I must say, but made much more palatable by the delicious local Breton cider, served in traditional bowls. Whilst I was wondering how I was going to get off my chair after all those calories, the rain came in.

Le Croisic

But the clouds really did have a silver lining, for we probably wouldn’t have ventured otherwise into Le Croisic’s nearby Ocearium . This turned out to be a great hit with all of us. I don’t think I’ve every seen so many tanks –over 400 of them, in fact. A tunnel gave us an ‘underwater’ view of some mean-looking sharks and tanks of jellyfish were lit in such a way that it made these incredible creatures look like they were performing in a weird and wonderful ballet.

The icing on the cake, though, was the large touch pool full of every possible kind of starfish, which children and adults alike were encouraged to handle.

It seemed that crowds of other tourists had come in out of the rain, too, including TV star Robert Lindsay, with his family. We came across the actor again a few more times as we meandered around the medieval walled town of Guerande, near our campsite, and its traditional street market.  No one (but us) gave him a second glance, which is probably why he looked as relaxed as we also felt.

Sleepy Charm

In this part of France, driving is easy. Off the main routes the roads are practically deserted, as are the villages and towns at lunchtime and in the early afternoon, lending a peculiarly sleepy charm to this part of France.

One such place was La Roche Bernard, perched high on a hill above the gorge through which the renowned River Loire flows to the Atlantic. Here we discovered more quaint alleyways and art galleries and walked beside the river, where we could have taken a boat trip. Instead we settled for the spectacular view of the gorge from one of the two magnificent modern bridges suspended high above it..

Discovering little gems like La Roche is, to my mind, what makes my holiday. Which is why I was equally delighted to find the Circuit des Falaises near our next site - L'Abri Cotier, at Etables sur Mer, in the Baie de St Brieuc.

Medieval Streets, Uncrowded Beaches

We'd taken the route north to Etables through Loudeac, with its pretty lake beside which those with tents can camp and Pontivy, with its medieval streets and castle. Our quiet site - the nicest of all those we stayed on - was only 500 yards from the beach, where we were still taking in the sunset well past 10pm.

The friendly British owner of L'Abri Cotier had recommended the drive along the circuit which wends around the coast from Plouha, north west of our site, and which opened up a wonderful panorama from a series of viewpoints. This was a paradise for photographers, bird watchers and walkers. If our girls hadn't been feeling so lazy we could have negotiated many a secret little winding path down to a tiny crescent of beach between the cliffs below for our very own private patch of sand.

Surprisingly perhaps, even for the height of the summer, the beaches were uncrowded, especially in early afternoon. The French, renowned for their lengthy lunches, don't seem to visit the beach until around 5pm, when the bucket and spade brigade of Brits like us are usually on their way home for tea.

At the pleasant nearby towns of Brehec, just beyond Plouha, and Binic,  a few miles south from our base, we found some more lovely beaches. Much to Sophie’s delight we also found some bungee trampolines at Brehec. This was, sensibly, before we feasted on glorious seafood pasta dishes, followed by the creamiest of crème brulees. Another memorable meal was at Binic, where we came across the local music and blues festival. We sat outside a restaurant eating a delicious casserole of scallops and potatoes for less than £6 a head  amused by the somewhat dodgy impressions of Doobie Brothers' classics from a local band.

Seafood and Circuses

Seafood is, of course, the mainstay of most restaurants along the coast.

A short drive north west took us to Paimpol, where we found the atmosphere more upmarket, with the yachting fraternity firmly esconced with their cocktails at the many harbourfront restaurants. Feeling somewhat humbled, we nevertheless enjoyed what had become our staple lunch of still-warm baguettes and cheese as we sat on the capstans whilst coveting the dazzling display of yachts before us.

Although people and boat-watching seems to be the main pastime here, we were far more interested in a different kind of creature altogether. Sophie and Elena had spotted the ubiquitous signs advertising a performance by the Cirque Stephane Zavatta.

The evening show would have kept Sophie up far too late so we opted to visit the animals at three Euros apiece. Whilst we don't advocate keeping animals in cages, it's interesting to see how the French do things so very differently to us, with the chance to get a lot closer to the beasts than you ever would in the UK. Almost unbelievably, this even extends to having elephants  - yes, you did read that right - wandering around the supermarket car park as part of the publicity. They were closely followed by a trailer-full of tigers, too. As I struggled with my trolley, I could barely believe my eyes. Well, you wouldn't see that at Sainsbury's, would you?

Favourite Beaches

A couple of miles north of Paimpol we came down to Pointe de l’Arcouest, where ferries filled with tourists continually dart back and forth the short distance to the picturesque Ile de Brehat. Despite this being the busiest place we were to come across all holiday it was easy enough to find a deserted swathe of the beach from which to watch all the activity.

It was time to head east again, to the Cotes d'Armor, to our campsite at Chateau de Galinee near the little market town of Matignon. This was a large site, with good leisure facilities, but rather too busy for our tastes. Nevertheless, it turned out to be an excellent base from which to explore the fabulous coastline, Cap Frehel and what are, without doubt, some of the best beaches in Brittany.

Just a few minutes drive away was one such example - the beach at Pen-Guen, on the road into St Cast. We'd wandered around the large and busy street market in St Cast, our tastebuds tantalised by the wonderful aromas from the food stalls. We couldn’t resist buying a jamboneaux - a 'little ham of pig' as the rotisserie stall owner so quaintly put it. I’ve never known Sophie devour a meal with such relish as she did that still-warm ham and baguette as we later sat overlooking the pretty bay at Pen-Guen.

After that – plus the most melt in the mouth homemade cake topped with sticky candied peaches, pineapples and cherries – we somehow could not find the energy to do anything other than lie in the sun. It was just as well we conserved ourselves. For the next day we had to rely on our energy reserves - and our nerve somewhat - as we hired a cycle-car to pedal around the wide streets of Sables d'Or les Pins, on the road leading to Cap Frehel.

Sables d'Or

It's easy to fall in love with Sables d'Or. With its wooden hotel verandahs and a couple of bars strung along its wide, dusty street it has the air of an Australian outback town. Curiously, it even has an Australian gift shop down by the beach.

And what a beach! In fact, you get two here for the price of one. A high tide creates a beautiful blue lagoon lapping dunes backed by pines. This is the first sight of Sables d'Or one gets as you approach from the south and one which, quite literally, made us gasp with delight. We were amazed, therefore, to learn that this beautiful spot is actually man-made. At least, the sand was shipped in around the lagoon in the 1920s to create what was then a very fashionable and upmarket resort for the region’s moneyed classes. It has to be said that the town does retain its slightly old-fashioned air, remnants of its more popular and prosperous past before the Stock Market crash in 1929 hit its wealthy visitors. But Sables d’Or certainly wears this mantle well.

As the tide goes out, of course, we were left with a huge stretch of sand and no water in sight. We soon found, though, that we only had to move a little further around the corner to find the sea again, backed by the glorious main beach.

It seems moves have been afoot to modernise Sables d'Or somewhat. A few years ago a smart casino was built overlooking the seafront and, recently, a concrete arena, where concerts and other events can be held. However, I think it will take a lot more than this for Sables d'Or to lose any of its appeal.

Medieval Dinan

Characterful is a word often used to describe Dinan - the very pretty medieval town on the river Rance. Possibly because it is criss-crossed with dark and narrow streets - and because the French themselves seem to stick to the modern quarter - it doesn't feel overcrowded, despite the large number of tourists it attracts. We had to drag the girls away from the artisans’ shops lining the steep cobbled street down to the river, where we hired a canopied electric boat to glide peacefully along the Rance. Halfway back up the hill again, though, we wished we'd hitched a ride on one of the little sightseeing trains that wind their way around the town's walls.

Cap Frehel

I must admit that we weren't quite prepared for the sheer number of sightseers swarming all over the point at Cap Frehel. The whole area is an important nature reserve and we had to stick to the marked paths. Everyone else seemed to congregate around the restaurant, with its panoramic windows, and the rather ugly 30s' built lighthouse, so we ventured off across the gorse-covered cliffs 70m above the crashing sea to be rewarded with the most spectacular of views. I am assured that on a clear day you can even see as far as the Channel Islands.

At the 14th century Fort la Latte, just around the headland from the Cap, there were few areas out of bounds at this intriguing, privately-owned castle. With some rather precarious and narrow steep steps, we needed to take extra care with Sophie, as she and Elena loved exploring all the nooks and crannies. Apparently, James II of Scotland found the Fort "menacing". Hollywood director, Richard Fleischer, must have experienced similar feelings for he chose the location for his 1958 blockbuster, The Vikings, with Tony Curtis and Kirk Douglas. There are even some stills from the film in a small exhibition.

Cap d'Erquy

Everywhere we went along the coast in Brittany we were rewarded with fantastic views, each one, amazingly, seeming even better than the last. If we thought the views couldn’t have got any better than those from Cap Frehel and the Fort, we were, again, naively mistaken.

Cap d'Erquy, just above the popular seaside town which carries its name, is undoubtedly the place which holds the most magical memories of my entire holiday. Whilst the girls thought the magnificent swathe of beach which runs between Erquy and its rather busy neighbour, le Val Andre, was the greatest, I was enticed by the tiny tracks leading off through the heather from the road to the Cap. These take you down, if you’re feeling sure-footed, to the smallest and prettiest of coves, which you can claim all to yourselves.

On the other side of the Cap, more tracks lead down through the pine woods and dunes to, dare I say it, even more beautiful, secluded beaches like Plage de Guen. Whilst the girls flew their kites here and splashed happily in the warm waters of La Manche, I hugged myself with contentment.

It’s not often you can feel that way about an entire holiday. The ease of travel, the pretty towns and countryside, magnificent coast and laid back ambience of most of our campsites all conspired to make us promise ourselves to return to Brittany again and again. I’m sure, now, you understand why.

FACT FILE

* We travelled courtesy of Brittany Ferries, which has five routes to France from the UK. Fares start at £166 return for a car and two adults travelling in August.  Sailings include Portsmouth to Caen (three  a day), Portsmouth to St Malo (daily), Portsmouth to Cherbourg (up to two a day by three hour high speed ferry), Poole to Cherbourg (up to three a day plus a high speed summer crossing), Plymouth to Roscoff (up to three a day).

Bookings can be made online at www.brittanyferries.co.uk (saving £10) or by calling 08705 360 360.

* Our sites and Red Pennant Travel Insurance were arranged through The Caravan Club, which can help club members plan their holidays abroad, from competitive

travel insurance, ferry booking services and descriptions of over 200 sites in Europe to all-inclusive holidays and itineraries. To join call 01342 318813 or visit www.caravanclub.co.uk

© Helen Werin