Camping in the Charente

Welcome to our home, Twinlakes Caravan Park situated in Soumeras, a family owned campsite set in the region of the Charente Maritime, on the south west coast of France, we enjoy the long hot summers and mild winters, The local micro climate gives this area more hours of sunshine than any other part of France, or so we are told, although in January last year we had the snow, yes the first time I am told since 1985, and now our home is our working life.

Our nearest town is Montendre, the old town centre with its narrow streets, more than 4 centuries old, we still have the two medieval towers the remains of the Montendre castle, a visit is a must to look out over the town and take in the surroundings, of this most beautiful part of France. Around ever corner is a little history set in the buildings. Sit outside one of the bars or cafes and take in the French way of life.

Each Thursday there is a local market, and during July and August a night market on a Tuesday, with hot and cold food stalls wines and local produce, along with entertainment this goes on from 7pm until midnight around the stalls choose your food - tables and chairs are provided, choose a bottle of wine sit and enjoy the entertainment. In fact a market is held each day in one of the surrounding villages.

November has just seen the yearly market, in Montendre, from early morning till late at night, each street is set with the stalls of local artisans and traders from far and wide, and thousands of people visit each year. The lake in Montendre set in 10 hectare this has a large sandy beach, and a restricted area for swimming, there is also an outdoor swimming pool near by the lake, for the walkers, ramblers and cyclists, and in the area is some 15 designated pathways and circuits to choose from.

France is famous for its fine wines and cheese's, but then our area is special we have the Pineau, we do arrange each Monday night, from the campsite, to visit our local producer, to tour the vines, take in the history and then sample his fine wines pineau and cognac. Christian will tell you a little history of the pineau, wine and cognac have been produced in this region for thousands of years, then in around the 16th century one distiller had blended his wine and made the mistake of putting it into a barrel that had some remains of cognac in, on his mistake he put it to the back of the distillery and it was left there for many years, on opening the cask years later history was made. And each producer has his own recipe handed down from generation to generation, and with Christian it's still a well kept secret. We are 40 mins drive from both Cognac and St Emillion, where you can also visit one of the big distilleries. Also the wines of Bordeaux and Medoc .

Here in Soumeras we have a local chateau, La Bruyere, we can also arrange a visit there, and the chef Phillipe will do cookery demonstrations for us, followed by a 3 course meal - a typical French cuisine of the region. Followed by a tour of the chateau and the history that surrounds it, the owners are restoring the chateau to its former glory. Tracing back the history with photographic evidence is just amazing, from the research they are doing, we find that at one time, “Twinlakes” was part of the estate. Our hamlet is called the Faiencerie, and in La Bruyere it is noted that clay was mined from “Twinlakes” for the making of pots, hand painted by famous artist from both Paris and Italy , the research continues.

November sees the changing colour of autumn to winter, although still very mild here, our summer season of tourist have gone, we closed our static mobiles at the end of October and we now enjoy the autumn and winter tourists, making a stop over enroute to Spain and Portugal for the winter months, staying a few nights to break the journey, the fishermen still visit mostly weekends for fishing on one of our lakes, and now for us the work starts, with new projects around the campsite.

If you would like further information then please go to our website www.twinlakesfrance.com we hope you’ll find the following statement says it all.

“We cater for those seeking a quiet and restful holiday in rural France away from the hustle and bustle of every day life. Our guests will exchange the traffic jams for the French countryside, the crowded pavements for a coastal path, the urban stress for the great outdoors, and a holiday in Charente-Maritime , France is the perfect antidote for de-stressing from modern day life, sit back, relax, and enjoy."

We look forward to seeing you soon!

www.twinlakesfrance.com