At the end of a narrow road with a quintessentially French name – Rue de Château – the life-guarded beach at Saint-Pierre-en-Port is pebbly but picturesque affair. At each side, great white cliffs climb to grassy tops where a handful of houses overlook the bay, while in the waters swimmers dot the waves. Families love it and campers of every age make their way here at some point during their stay. After all, the best of the local campsites is just a few hundred metres up the road. And, having spend all morning enjoy views from your tent out across the open blue, it’s only natural to want to take a dip.
Camping les Falaises has been in the village of Saint-Pierre-en-Port for years but has recently come under new ownership, investing in the facilities along the way. There are a couple of modern wash-blocks with all the essentials and a friendly reception building where you can leaf your way through pamphlets about nearby museums in Dieppe, fish markets in Fécamp or the major attractions in the cathedral city of Rouen (an hour away by car). The views, of course are nothing new, and the walk, from the campsite along the cliff tops is as spectacular today as it surely ever was. When the sun’s out the sea that stretches beyond is a beautiful brochure-blue.
The campsite doesn’t have a shop. There’s no need for it. Instead, the village has a small supermarket and the essential amenities you need, while a small tourist office next to the town hall can supply you with any information not found at the campsite. For most campers, it’s the beaches and the waterfront that attract, but there’s a host of good museums to be found nearby, too, and, further north, the famous monuments and historic sites of the D-Day landings. The campsites proximity to Le Harve and Calais – an hour to the former, two and a half to the latter – also make it a shamelessly convenient stop-off during longer journeys around France.