Hi there we%26#39;re travelling(2 adults 2 kids) to france june 2006. My 5 year old daughter is disabled so we%26#39;re looking for an area that is relatively flat. We%26#39;re probably travelling from hull to zebrugge so somewhere in northern france would be ideal. Ive been looking at the loire valley and brittany but havent really much of a clue to tell you the truth. Nothing too busy or too quiet,just a nice town/city with plenty of good views and sights. Any advice would be greatly appreciated,thanks,bye.
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Why not the Normandy coast ? The region of Deauville is flat, there is lots of sights and things to do there, including for youngsters. It%26#39;s quite close to the northern France - another option would be to take a ferry from Brighton/Portsmouth to Dieppe, to avoid the travel from Zeebruge to Normandy.
Have a look at http://www.normandy-tourism.org
to get some infos first then come back here :)
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Hi jenster - the Loire and Brittany are quite far from Zeebrugge. I believe there is another ferry that goes from Rossyth to Ostende overnight. Would you consider driving down to Dover, staying the night in a Travel Inn or a Travel Lodge and then just hopping over on one of the 1.5 hour ferries?
We have just returned from Normandy and Picardy and visited some lovely buggy/wheelchair friendly places. As the previous poster mentioned, the area around Deauville-Trouville is lovely. However it can be a bit pricey.
There is a lovely Butterfly Farm on the outskirts of Honfleur (Naturoscope) that is wheel-chair friendly. Houlgate is also lovely with a long promenade along the edge of the beach and most of the restaurants appear to be wheelchair friendly. You are also within reach of Pegasus Bridge and the D-day landing beaches there as well. Really interesting. There are also some zoos etc in the area but we didn%26#39;t visit them.
In Picardy, Nausica in Bologne was wheelchair friendly and our kids aged 5-13 loved it. Well worth a visit. Bagatelle Theme Park, near Berck was not as wheelchair friendly as Legoland nor as good but there are areas which are friendly. Watch out for the gnome music though.....you%26#39;ll probably need medication to cure the effects :O)
We also visited the Memorial of the Unknown at Thiepval and the Canadian Memorial at Beaumont-Hamel (Just beyond Albert, which is to the East of Amiens). In Beaumont-Hamel the WWI Trenches are still preserved AND are wheel-chair friendly. Worth a visit and only costs Euro 1 for the guide-book. This is the only cost.
The Beaches at Merlimont and Berck are wheelchair accessible.
Finally the Cite Europe in Calais (Near the Chunnell terminal) is a wonderful shopping centre that is very accessible for both wheel-chairs and credit cards :O)
Hope this has helped. Have a wonderful trip.
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The Superfast service runs from Rosyth to Zeebrugge and takes 17 hours - not aware of any long distance services into Ostende. And I would normally allow two hours from Zeebrugge to the Calais area - it can be quite slow journey from Zeebrugge port out to the motorway. If you do decide to travel from Dover, have you considered Norfolkline to Dunkirk? The service takes two hours to cross the Channel and while the boats lack the frills of the Calais route, they also don%26#39;t attract the crowds with two comfortable lounges plus a bar and basic cafetaria, you%26#39;re well provided for. My wife uses a wheelchair and we%26#39;ve gone with Norfolkline for several years now because it is more relaxed than the competitors - priority loading close to the lifts to the upper decks and offers of assistance if required.
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Apologies for the error and thank you for pointing it out mtse. We did consider the Norfolk Line last time but plumped for the familiar. May I ask, are there lots of trucks on that ferry? When we were passing Dunkirque we noticed lots and lots of trucks.
Take care.
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Thanks to all who replied to this post particularly beanalainn for that in depth info. I apologise for not leaving any reply until now. We,re still going in 2006 although in july now. The problem we have is that we stay in glasgow and theres no way the drive to dover etc is possible. Well it is but my wife says no way and well, thats that!Although i mentioned the loire valley we still havent made up our mind and some of the places mentioned above sound ideal.The rosyth to zebrugge superfast ferry will probably be our choice although superfast and 17hours somehow dont sit together well,but i,ve looked at these and they look quite a luxurious way to spend 17 hours. So any more info would be great and thanks again bye.
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Hi Jenster - Do what the wife says!! Life is nicer when its quiet :o)
We have spoken to quite a few people from Scotland who have taken this high-speed ferry (it is very similar to the high speed ferry from Cork to Roscoff) and they find it great. Very nice. My Mum and some of my friends have taken the High Speed Cork-Roscoff and found it great - so no worries there, I think.
We stay with Key-Camp who do have some wheel-chair friendly areas
Keycamp
92-96 Lind Road, Sutton, Surrey SM1 4PL
(0870) 7000 123
keycamp
Range of mobile homes includes the Supernova 35 home designed to meet Mobility Access Level 2 guidelines allowing wheelchair access to lounge, kitchen, bathroom and master bedroom.
They might be worth contacting directly. Their site in St. Valerie sur Somme in Picardy is relatively flat - we have stayed there twice and loved it. The great thing about camp sites, we find, is that there are so many other kids, you don%26#39;t have to constantly try to entertain!! This site is where we stayed when we were visiting Bagatelle, Nausicaa and the Trenches.
Have a great trip, whatever you do.
Take Care.
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