Camping Courte de Vallée, 8 Rue de Courte Vallée

At a glance

Key Points

• Circa 300km from St Malo (ferry from Portsmouth)
• 10 acres of landscaped grounds
• 65 pitches with electric hook-up
• 6 fully serviced pitches
• 2 sanitary blocks
• Heated pool
• Restaurant
• Owners’ bungalow
• Nearby fishing in the River Thuoet
• Brit owned with strong Brit customer base and good profits
• http://www.caravanningfrance.com/

The Location

Camping de Courte Vallée is a campsite situated in the Deux-Sèvres department of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of France. The park is located in a rural setting in the valley of the River Thouet, just 300 metres from the river itself, and is less than a mile from the medieval town of Airvault. The nearby town of Airvault is a tourist attraction with a historic 11th and 12th century church and a medieval castle. There are also a number of local restaurants. The GR 36, a long distance walking route on the Grande Randonnée network, passes by the entrance of the park, making this an appealing destination for hikers.

Description

Camping de Courte Vallée consists of 10 acres of landscaped grounds, including 65 pitches with electric hook-up and 6 fully serviced pitches, with two sanitary blocks, including a modern unisex shower facility with disabled access. There are also two static holiday homes available to rent on the park, as well as a number of privately owned holiday homes which pay ground rent. The site is dog friendly. Amenities currently on the site include a heated swimming pool, a bistro restaurant with a shaded terrace for dining, a bar providing speciality coffees and a variety of beer and wines, and a small shop which offers bread to order. There is also boules and table tennis facilities, a children’s play area, and coin-operated laundry facilities. Travel cots are available for hire and free internet is provided. Activities provided to guests include speciality food evenings, wine tastings with vineyard tours, and barbecues, quiz nights, televised sporting events on a 42” flatscreen TV, and live musical entertainment. The site has a secure compound with hard standing where annual and temporary caravan storage and service is offered and which is well utilised by the sites UK customer base.

The Business

For the past 18 years the business has been operated by British owners and in that time has developed a loyal UK following. Income is derived from ground rents, touring income, the bar, secure caravan storage compound and the 2 hire vans. The site operates from March to October. The secure caravan storage is a popular base for UK customers who dont want to tow their vans over to France every year. Annual storage is €360. The two rental holiday homes owned by the park are the O’Hara static caravan which sleeps 6 and currently lets at €550 per week in low season and €600 per week in high season; and the Willerby static caravan which sleeps 8 currently lets at €600 per week in low season and €650 per week in high season. Accounts/Chiffre d’affaires for year end Dec 2022 show turnover €1,250,000 224,048 up from €156,466 the previous year. The improvement was primarily due to increased bar and pitch fee takings.

Development

Their is authorisation for a further 16 static caravans on the field adjacent to the campsite which is shown hatched red on the following plan.