beachfront

MY childhood summer holidays began and ended with me squashed into a hatchback car with tents, campbeds and pool floats, as my family travelled to Europe for a week’s camping.

The only luxuries were a wine and cheese evening (for my parents), the morning croissant run to the bakery on site (my sister and I) and our mains-powered coolbox (my dad).

Oh, how the world of camping has changed since then.

This summer, a school-mum pal and I took our kids to one of the top-rated sites of camping specialist Eurocamp — and 5* Les Prairies de la Mer, on the French Riviera, just 15 minutes from St Tropez, could not have been more different from those breaks of my early years.

This huge beachfront site even has its own spa, that bakery on site, which also features seven kinds of fresh bread, a seriously glam pool and a supermarket stocking about 30 different types of rosé wine.

Oh, and some of those wines were just 4.50 euros a bottle — and perfectly drinkable.

WAIL OF A TIME

I drove Irish Route 66 with deserted golden beaches and pirate-like islands

TEMPTED?

Tiny ‘Bali of Europe’ town with stunning beaches, €3 cocktails and £20 flights

There are also further delights — a petting zoo, small fairground, two beachfront bars and restaurants, a hair salon and an inland bar that plays really decent live music every night.

If you can hack the heat, there are plenty of sporting activities, too, from sailing and archery to tennis and football.

I could lie and say I did all of the sports — but I didn’t.

In 35C heat in May, with three seven-year-old boys in tow, most days we pinballed between pool and beach, fairground and playground.

The huge, lagoon-shaped beachside pool, with its own palm tree, is a joy in itself — and only more so for its stylish bar, serving enormous pitchers of rosé for six euros, and French fries.

But it would be criminal to visit the French Riviera and not explore.

Les Prairies de la Mer is next to Port Grimaud, a car-free seaside town with waterfront Provencal-style houses that each have their own mooring for a boat.

You can see why the place is nicknamed the Venice of Provence.

We had a great time wandering the streets and visiting the Sunday market, which sells everything from local olives to honey and flowers.

The campsite also lays on a land train (€10 adults and €6 kids) to the medieval hillside village of Grimaud where you will find cobblestone streets, a 12th-century church and an even older ruined castle, all with great views over the surrounding countryside.

We also made it down to glamorous St Tropez, famed for its annual film festival.

The place is worth a visit just to ogle the huge yachts in the marina, wander the old town and eyeball the rich tourists who head to upscale shopping street Rue Francois Sibilli for high-end stores such as Louis Vuitton, Dior and Hermes.

But my favourite day was when we rented a speedboat — through SamBoat, an app that bills itself as “the AirBnb of boats”.

It allows you to search locations, near where you are holidaying, for more than 50,000 chartered boats and yachts, that come with or without a captain.

We opted for a large speedboat that could take up to 12 people, as it could pick us up from the neighbouring marina — and it was super-easy to book.

The speedboat hire was 380 euros without a skipper, otherwise 630 euros.

We opted for the latter and, if there are 12 of you, this works out at just over 50 euros a head — not bad for a day on the water.

We bought cheese, wine, cakes and other goodies beforehand, at the marina supermarket, then toured the beautiful coastline before mooring in one of the many bays, where we swam, played on lilos and generally had the best time.

On the way home, we stopped off in the St Tropez marina to check out again the beautiful people and yachts.

This fabled French town is also the setting for the upcoming fourth series of TV hit The White Lotus, expected to air next year — and this corner of France is a serious magnet for celebrities.

Indeed, on our flight alone there were THREE famous faces.

Glamour girl Kelly Brook was in Business Class with actor husband Jeremy Parisi, while Pixie Geldof and sister Tiger Lily Hutchence-Geldof roughed it with us in Economy.

They were all (like us) taking advantage of British Airways’ newest route from London City Airport to Toulon-Hyeres in the South of France, which operates twice-weekly during the summer months.

The seaside city of Toulon is a taxi ride away from St Tropez and other A-lister holiday destinations such as Grimaud and Sainte Maxime.

Or if you don’t have deep pockets like the celebrities, there is a coach to St Tropez that leaves twice daily from the airport and costs 2.50 euros per person.

It also stops at a number of other holiday destinations en route.

It took us nearly all the way to our Eurocamp site, from where it was just a ten-euro cab ride.

So, plenty of spare cash for the lashings of rosé.

THE seaside town of Brighton isn’t exactly off the radar – but it could be become a new hub for tourists.

In terms of its artsy scene, the coastal city has been said to potentially ‘rival Margate‘ with a new attraction.

With buildings covered in beautiful murals, handmade trinkets being sold at markets and the fact that it’s home to many creatives, it’s surprising that Brighton doesn’t have an art gallery.

But that could be set to change as a development plan has revealed one could open on the seafront.

This isn’t too dissimilar to Margate in Kent which is home to the world-class Turner Contemporary.

The Black Rock area in Brighton next to Brighton Marina is set to be developed – while there are no official plans, it could become a gallery.

CHECK IN

Sunny European city breaks cheaper than a night out… £14 flights & £3 JUGS of wine

HOL YES

Cheap holiday destinations with 86p beers, £15 flights & £129pp package breaks

According to Time Out, the local council are in talks with a major London art institution. 

That isn’t the only part of Brighton getting a new look – another part of the town’s redesign is on the seafront.

The council are looking to update the King’s Road paddling pool and play area.

The local council are currently looking for proposals that must have a “high-quality family play area and paddling pool that will remain free for residents and visitors to enjoy.”

The hope is that the existing pool, play area as well as surrounding facilities will be upgraded and modernised.

Speaking of pools, Brighton just a few years ago opened a seafront lido called Sea Lanes which sits right by the seafront on Madeira Drive.

The 50metre swimming pool has six lanes and is heated to 19C year-round.

On the day sessions are £11.90 per adult and £7.60 for concessions.

Thanks to several businesses being open on-site, Sea Lanes is a great spot to grab a drink and bite to eat.

One such place is a cafe called Fika, which boasts about serving “an epic brunch and damn good coffee“.

Think re-fuelling smoothies and enormous breakfast and brunch sandwiches.

There’s barbecue restaurant Wood x Coal, which “captures the essence of Brighton and Hove’s spirited soul” by serving “smoky flavours with modern culinary twists”.

Among its best loved options are its pizzas, which are served overlooking to beach.

Bison Beer meanwhile is a local craft beer company and has two bars, with 14 different draft beer options as well as spirits, wine and cocktails.

Another part of Brighton set to be upgraded is its historic arches along the King’s Road.

The seafront arches are home to independent shops and beachfront cafes – and are set to undergo a £22million investment.

Later this year, the nearby Grade II listed Madeira Terrace will reopen  following a £750,000 revamp