Fonclaire Holidays

With facilities including a swimming pool, a kids’ playground, two fishing lakes and a five-acre woodland, you might assume that Fonclaire Holidays was a huge site with hundreds of campers. You’d be wrong. The list of facilities belies the fact that this is a family-run campsite with just six camping pitches, four pre-erected tents and a trio of holiday gîtes. Situated in the Haute-Vienne region of Limousin, in middle France, it’s also a lovely place for a holiday and a suitable stopping-off point on journeys south.

Fonclaire Holidays sits in 25 acres of greenery that’s typical of this part of central France which is characterised by rolling hills, woods, lakes and waterways. With a maximum of 13 families sharing the site at any one time, there’s plenty of space to enjoy. In fact, that roominess is another characteristic of this part of the country sometimes known as “empty France”. Here, as you’ll discover on your drive, there are vast fields and only small villages and towns; it’s a sparsely populated region compared to more popular holiday spots. And that’s exactly why some campers will enjoy it.

Camping pitches here are grassy and spacious. All have electric hook-up and are as good for caravans and campervans as they are for tents. All are welcome here, and that includes your dog. And if you don’t have a tent, that’s okay, too. They’ve pitched some for you; a couple of bell tents and a pre-erected air beam or two. There are lots of thoughtful touches including combined shower and toilet rooms that are handy for families, and campers' and glampers' kitchens where you can cook up a storm should one rumble overhead. But it’s those facilities that really make the place: the pool and its terrace, the fishing lakes with adjacent barbecue area and on-site woodland walks. All things you’d expect from a larger site where you’d have to share with more people or wait longer for your turn.

This British-run site in Limousin is handily between Paris and Toulouse and en route to Spain. As such, it makes a handy place to stop off that’s not far (but far enough) off major roads. But it’s definitely worth staying longer than a night or two to appreciate the peace of this empty part of France. Walking and cycling in the Monts de Blond hills, swimming in lakes and visiting pretty villages like nearby Mortemart can fill your days while evenings are spent barbecuing by the lake or listening to the local wildlife from the terrace at Fonclaire.