Not sure about aires

[Manic]

That Aire is near the Circus School and have to agree I wouldn’t want to stay on it, we’ve only ever stayed on it to have lunch, differently better Aires than that.

 

[Chris]

The worst thing about Aires I found was that they were mainly in France.

Not my cup of tea.

 

[Wh05apk]

Fresnay was our first aire as well 18 months ago, as you say seems a bit weird, but very quiet till about 8;00am when the locals start using the recycling bins. Since then we have stayed on about another 50 or so, and like the easy going nature.

 

[Littlewheels]

The worst thing about Aires I found was that they were mainly in France.

I note that you say mainly in France but many are now opening in Spain though thank goodness not on the Costas. They are in real Spain and funded by the EU.

My criteria for an Aire is definitely away from a Tourist spot, safe,and within easy distance of a Bar (pre dinner) and Restarants, it’s horses for courses we like to eat out and have been doing this for over 40years.

 

[Littlewheels]

I do not know what went wrong with the above post but the 2nd&3rd paragraph are my comments.

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[Puddleduck]

You are absolutely right. Sometimes they are convenient for one night, but others are so special they deserve an extra couple of nights. We never out stay our welcome, if its busy then we just move on to the next surprise.

The ones we stayed on were pretty quiet in October

We are not ones for meals out except special occasions so near places we can buy local food or a good local market suits us. I like places with some history or local crafts to seek out and explore.

 

[tinkerbell]

Hi Clarkey, where are those aires, they lovely

 

[FIDGET]

As too @Clarky 's photo's , 2nd is Sancoins lovely aire
And 3rd is La Mailleraye sur Seine again fab aire .
We parked next to him there in sept last year .

 

[Clarky]

As too @Clarky 's photo's , 2nd is Sancoins lovely aire
And 3rd is La Mailleraye sur Seine again fab aire .
We parked next to him there in sept last year .

Yes, it was great to meet you at last @FIDGET.
The top one is Lac de Pareloup, a municipal campsite now converted into an aire. Hookup and water at the pitches and high up in the hills south of Rodez.
There are video's showing the way to all those aires and many more on my YouTube channel with a link below this post.

Richard.

 

[fifthwheel]

Not sure Westy, who is r j budge ?

I used to buy plant and vehicles from them in the seventies/eighties.

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[Rob and Val]

I suspect we will be down in Cadiz early

Cadiz has 4 colour-coded walks to assist tourists. Pick up a map of the walks at the tourist information centre. The Cadiz Tourist Information Centre is a large, round dark-grey building located in a grassed area on Avenida Cuatro de Diciembre de 1977 – not far from the ferry port.

 

[Howard H]

Moved on today’s a long drive about 350 miles to an aire at Biarritz it’s a pay before you enter 12 euros. The French crack me up there are at least 3 units with trailers taking up 4 parking slots each and another 2 look like they live here they even have dog kennels out side there vans lol . But we do have electric so all is good . Mellowing slightly from last nights views .

 

[Clarky]

Moved on today’s a long drive about 350 miles to an aire at Biarritz it’s a pay before you enter 12 euros. The French crack me up there are at least 3 units with trailers taking up 4 parking slots each and another 2 look like they live here they even have dog kennels out side there vans lol . But we do have electric so all is good . Mellowing slightly from last nights views .

There is a very pleasant walk around the country park beside the aire. Is seem to remember it was quite a pleasant aire from our last visit just over a year ago.
There were a couple of French vans then that seemed to be permanent fixtures.

Richard.

 

[keithchesterfield2]

A few Aires on my Youtube channel if you want to compare good ones and not so good ones -
www.youtube.com/user/keithchesterfield

 

[Howard H]

A few Aires on my Youtube channel if you want to compare good ones and not so good ones -
www.youtube.com/user/keithchesterfield

Thanks Keith will have a look

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[Hilewaychile]

View attachment 278174 Well parked up on our first Aire , I am not so sure I think I am a campsite man at heart lol . It’s very quite but I can’t just get my head round the concept of parking up on waste ground not knocking it or anyone but I guess it’s just me . By the way we are at fresnay sur Sarthe .

I've been to that one. Yes, just a bit of hard standing with a tap and waste drainage. Left over from the days when the station, to the rt of the tent, had trains. If you walk out of the photo, to the right, there's a supermarket. I hope you found it.

It is one of the least inspiring aires but it served as a waypoint for me and a couple of FR MHs that pulled up. I watched one of them come to a halt. Then there was a whirring sound - wha? TV sat dish being aligned! How very different life must be in one of those to my self-build. But I wouldn't swap.

About as bleak as you can get is the one at Tafalla, in Spain. Just one of those occasions when you have done the miles for the day and just need to pull up. It's the waste ground of where a factory used to be. There's a tap and a waste drain....

 

[TrebleH]

Yep, don't be too eager to judge, there are some fantastic aires out there, we think it getting harder due to immigrants in certain places but we have had some great stays on aires and there are many to choose from in France, if you don't like the look of where you are, there is usually another not too far away, just move on.

 

[Quick Quick]

Naturally, when something is presented as "free", the English look for a catch. If you do your homework, Aires can be economical in the extreme.
In the UK, apart from Scotland, we have a poor attitude to motorhomes and if we simply park up for the night, we are considered gypsies. I had eggs and silly string plastered on my windscreen on one occasion!
I was very fortunate to tour New Zealand in a MH, and seen the way in which the country welcomes MH's, even advertising "Motorhome Friendly Town" and directing you to Freedom Camping Sites. Even the NZMCA club has a directory of sites, and charges $6 a night (£3) normally.
In the main, France is ok, and a pleasure to drive through, Non Toll, of course, compared to UK roads, which seem to handle half the trucks in Europe at one time.
A directory of known Aires, published by the club would be useful.