A little information about the Limousin region and the camping resources you will find there

The Limousin region is really south central France and is made up of several departments, Correze, Haute Vienne and Creuse. Limousin is situated on the western edge of the Massif Central. The capital of the region is Limoges which has a busy airport just to the north of the city. We have linked to a map of the region so that you can get your bearings. It is a great area for camping and mobile home holidays, with unspoilt countryside and lots of walking/cycling to keep you fit. This is one of the least populated areas in France, and possibly one of the most beautiful.

Now and again one stumbles into something rather special, and that is what has just happened to us. We very recently came across a site called the which is in Limousin and which has an area for caravan and camping, a survival course, fishing and another area for teambuilding. Looks good to us!

Getting to the Limousin region is easy enough, depending on where you wish to be, so let us assume you are making for the capital, Limoges and we will give you directions that should enable you to reach the city from your ferry port without the aid of a map.

If you have pre-booked your holiday though a travel agent or tour company which ownes/operates it's own camping sites or parts of them then you will almost certainly have been "given" the Dover/Calais ferry crossing unless you have opted for another. In a way this crossing is the best to have you down to the Limousin in the least time, but it is also very difficult to avoid Paris or it's outskirts when going south from Calais to Limousin, and believe me, you don't want to go there!

However, some of you will, so on that route you need to get on to the Boulevard Péripherique, or Paris ring road, rather like our M25 but 10 times worse. It is a frequently congested stretch of 4- to 8-lane dual carriageway, and is one of the busiest freeway/motorways in Europe, with traffic between 1.1 and 1.2 million vehicles per day in 2002.Travelling speed on the road is limited to 80 km/h (50 mph). It does not feature a hard shoulder, and gives priority to entering vehicles. If you manage to get out of there in one piece then head south (Sud) for Orleans on the A10. Somewhere around Orleans you will pick up signs for Limoges.

Personally I would avoid Paris like the plague, especially if you either haven't driven there before or don't know your way around. From Calais I would go south west to Rouen, down to Chartres and then down again to Orleans and Limoges. It is a slightly longer route but avoids any possibility of taking a wrong turn on the Boulevard Péripherique and ending up like lost vagrants in Gay Paree. Sometimes the longer route is far quicker.

The rivers Creuse, Vienne, Auvézère, and Corrèze flow through the Limousin region, so that means exploring by boat and probably a spot of fishing and cooking your catch by the camp fire. Seriously though, you will find masses of camping facilities in the Limousin from just renting a pitch and setting up your own tent, to hiring a pre-erected tent with all the bits and pieces which make a camping holiday comfortable such as cookers, fridge freezers, beds etc, and for those wanting more comfort still then the most popular type of camping holiday is in a mobile home.