Loupian

We’re installed at Loupian on its camping municipal. There is also an aire de Camping Car in Loupian, which I believe is one of the Camping Car Park chain. Having tried one out on our way south and found it decent, we had a brief debate with ourselves over where to stay in Loupian but it was only a very brief debate.

The aire de Camping Car has some 44 spaces and it was well subscribed. The vans are more or less on top of each other. This would cost you a tad over €13 a night but BBQs are not permitted. There is wi-fi, though.

The camping municipal, on the other hand has what is, in France, the pretty standard 100m² pitches, which literally do tend to be a 10m x 10m square with room to BBQ and stick up a washing line. If you are in possession of one of the “Dutch always want a deal” ACSI cards, the municipal costs you €17 a night plus taxe de séjour (60¢ each or so). Personally, I don’t see much debate.

As far as I know, the French for both camper van and motor home, if you draw a distinction, is camping car. I don’t believe the French language does draw a distinction. [One of our friends once described French as “an impoverished language”.] The “car” part has nothing, of course, to do with the English “car; camping car literally means camping bus.

For some reason, the Loupian campsite has attracted several examples of camping car that take the term literally by being about the size of a single-decker bus. This one is a Dethleffs monstrosity of 8.61m [I looked it up] and was towing a trailer with what appears to be a euro equivalent of a Mini Moke loaded on it. Squeezing that lot onto a 10m x 10m square must’ve been quite a challenge. Just driving a train length of 13.5m or so around the campsite would be challenge enough. Some of the camping car parks don’t permit trailers so sometimes options get limited.

This leviathan must be 9m if it’s an inch. When we arrived it was in the road outside the campsite with hazard flashers going, we heard because of a flat battery. Campsite Man joked that it might be very expensive [it most certainly would be] but they should’ve forked out extra for a battery. I’m not sure how but it was encouraged back into life and drove into the campsite. Whilst I think its an embarrassing disgrace, I must say I was impressed that the owner managed to get it into this pitch apparently unscathed. There must be about half a metre to spare at either end and you have to make an S-turn past trees and a building to get in. Bravo.

Side thrusters for camping cars? Now there’s an idea.