CÔTE OF MANY COLOURS

WHIZZING through fields golden sunflowers and along poker-straight lanes flanked with poplar trees, the drive to the Côte de Beauté, in France's Charente-Maritime region, is just glorious.

With the windows wound down, we hear the birds singing and feel the rush of the warm breeze as we snake past dainty cottages with blue painted shutters and terracotta roofs.

This area, just north of Bordeaux, is not called the "beautiful coast" for nothing. There are modern marinas and ancient forests to explore, medieval towns and lively resorts. Miles of sandy beaches, wild dunes and somewhere a little bit retro - if you like stepping back in time, but not too far.

Fresh from our overnight crossing with Brittany Ferries from Portsmouth to St Malo, we were off the ship by 8am and managed the 244mile journey in super-quick time, arriving at La Palmyre Loisirs campsite in Palmyre, well before check-in at 3pm.

Close to superb beaches and interesting coastal towns, it's a restful place to spend summer days sightseeing and soaking up the sunshine. We were self-catering with Eurocamp in a smart three-bedroom Azure caravan positioned on a high ridge among mature pines, so we had a good view of the campsite and a prime spot to watch the sun go down through the trees.

Ripping up the rulebook is the key to happiness with our kids in the hols. When they're fed up with timetables, homework and school uniforms, Eurocamp enables youngsters to roam freely around the campsite on bikes or scooters in safety, laze about in their scruffs, let loose in the swimming pools and slides.

Going off on their own to the camp shop for sweets, baguettes, croissants and souvenirs becomes an adventure. Suddenly 'old' classics such as pinball, Space Invaders and air hockey staples in the games rooms of European campsites are the coolest things ever.

And there are no TVs in the caravans, so they won't be glued to the box.