Coastal paradise is a shore thing in the South of France
Richard McComb discovers the hidden gems of a southern France family haven.
It’s amazing how quickly apparent disaster can turn to triumph.
We had been to the French Côte Vermeille, south of Perpignan towards the Spanish border, on several occasions. My wife and I first visited the place as backpacking students in the 80s and we have returned in subsequent decades with children in tow.
So we’ve always had a soft spot for the area: the dramatic location, where the sun-baked Pyrenees mountains crash down into the sea; the food and fruit-soaked wine; and that general sense of je ne sais quoi.
We arrived at Les Criques de Porteils, a parc recently introduced to Eurocamp’s portfolio, in the middle of a glorious heatwave. By the time we unpacked the car we had almost melted. Forget about frying eggs on the Tarmac. We could have roasted a goose.
Heading to the beach (at this stage we did not know what this entailed, or what we were missing) seemed far too adventurous. I have painful memories of traipsing over baking sand-blown terrain with young children and didn’t fancy that in 40C.
So we decided to check out the campsite pool, which may be the smallest pool I have ever encountered. In fact, it was more like a lobster tank in a restaurant. It would have been fine in late spring but at the height of the season in August it was a seething mass of flesh, a human bouillabaisse. We had to sit on our towels in a space 2ft square in size.
Is this why we had come to the south of France? An icy chill broke across my sweating brow.
As the children’s lips trembled, I seized control and decreed we would trek to the beach, Foreign Legionnaire-style if necessary. The Eurocamp brochure had bigged up the local coves and this was the last throw of the dice. It was now or never: hell or glory. Who dares, swims.
And oh, what glory. Les Criques de Porteils is unique in having three private beaches. A coastal path sweeps past the campsite, heading north to Argelès and south to Collioure, but the riff raff are kept at bay by an ingenious network of discreet fencing. The beaches are for residents only and they are fantastic. Pebbley, yes, but that’s part of the fun and it’s bliss to lie back without fear of being showered with sand from the flip flops of a marauding German toddler.
